What is the quality of the evidence (see p. 32 Polit & Beck)

Once the evidence is gathered and reviewed in a summary table (the TOE), it is time to critically evaluate the evidence and determine if the evidence can be applied to nursing practice, or what implications it has for nursing practice. This final stage in the process is necessary in order to begin the process of translating research into practice. In 2000, Balas and Boren stated that it took about 17 years to put research findings into practice. Over the years since that proclamation, the evidence-based practice (EBP) process has taken root within health care and has changed our approach to healthcare decision-making. EBP is defined as the use of clinical expertise, best research evidence, and patient values and circumstances to guide patent care decisions. No longer are we waiting for the perfect evidence to change and improve practice, rather we rely on the emerging and best evidence to continually ensure we are using best practices in our medical and nursing interventions.

Instructions:

This is an individual, not a group project. Collaboration on this paper is not acceptable. The purpose of this project is an evaluation of your ability to review and analyze research data and then summarize and synthesize the findings with recommendations for clinical practice. The critical analysis section is NOT a summary of each article. Analysis and synthesis means to both break apart and look at individual aspects of the articles (like sampling, methodology, design)—and to synthesize—that is, put your ideas together to see the overall pattern of what the articles told you in regards to answering the PICOT.

You will follow the outline below to submit a summary paper that demonstrates your understanding of the evidence presented in your group TOE and your ability to analyze and synthesize the findings. You will submit two separate files:

1) Critical Analysis and Nursing Implications paper

2) Appendix A – your group TOE (with all edits/corrections made)

All APA format and styling are required and graded.

Critical Analysis and Nursing Implications paper

Cover Page – following APA format

· Introduction, Problem Statement, and PICOT (from your group submissions)

· This is your group EBP Project Part 1

· You must re-read the group work, and update as needed if the PICOT has been changed since this original Part 1 was submitted, or edits/corrections were given to your group by the professor.

· Points are deducted for not making revisions that were given by the professor when Part 1 was graded.

· Remember to add any references from this section to your reference list for this paper.

· Search Summary

· This comes from your group EBP Project Part 3.

· You must re-read the group work, and update as needed if edits/corrections were given to your group by the professor.

· Points are deducted for not making revisions that were given by the professor when Part 1 was graded.

· Table of Evidence

· Write 1-2 paragraphs introducing and describing overall the group TOE (e.g. contains 8 articles that were XX designs and looked at XXX). Then refer to the TOE and the Appendix where it is located (per APA formatting).

· Critical Analysis of the Evidence

· Write 5-10 paragraphs evaluating the studies in the TOE. Discuss the following:

· What is the quality of the evidence (see p. 32 Polit & Beck)

· What is the evidence—overall what did these studies, as a collective group, find?

· What are your critiques of these studies? (e.g. type of design, sample size, sampling methods, subjects, type of instruments—this is your opinion, but provide examples to back this up, as you do in your RAS discussions.

· What were the major findings overall?

· What were the limitations of this search?

· Did the studies answer your PICOT question? Explain your rationale.

· Nursing Implications

· Write 2-3 paragraphs discussing how the results from your review and analysis could impact nursing practice.

· Consider some of the following:

· What changes can/should be made?

· What resources, costs, risks/benefits are there to implementation?

· How should nurses respond?

· Is more research needed to better answer, or continue to address your PICO question?

· Reference List

· Include all TOE references and any others you used to complete the above paper requirements in APA format.

· Ensure that edits/corrections given by the professor related to the APA format of any reference form any previous graded part of this assignment have been corrected. Even if an article was formatted incorrectly by a group member on your group TOE, in this final paper, you will graded based on how you present the references in APA format.