Critically Appraising Practice Guidelines

While there are several tools to critically appraise practice guidelines, the most comprehensively validated appraisal tool is the AGREE II Instrument. The AGREE II Instrument can be used by individual practitioners to critically appraise health guidelines and by decision makers to inform policy decisions. The purpose of the AGREE II Instrument is to provide a framework to:

  1. Assess      the quality of guidelines.
  2. Provide      a methodological strategy for the development of guidelines.
  3. Inform      what information and how the information ought to be reported in      guidelines.

Overall assessment includes rating the overall quality of the guideline and whether the guideline would be recommended for use in practice.
 

Items are rated on a 7-point scale from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 7 (Strongly Agree). A score of 1 is given when there is no information on that item or if it is poorly reported. A score of 7 is given if the quality of reporting is excellent and when full criteria have been met (Score explanations found in the AGREE II-GRS Instrument).
 

A quality score is calculated for each of the six domains, which are independently scored. Domain scores are calculated by summing up all the scores of the items in the domain and by scaling the total as a percentage of the maximum possible score for that specific domain.

For this assignment, you will choose a guideline and assess the overall quality and whether the guideline would be recommended for use in practice.

General Requirements:

Use the following information to ensure successful completion of this assignment:

  • Download      the AGREE II instrument.
  • Doctoral      learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The      APA Style Guide is located in the      Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
  • This      assignment uses a rubric. Please Review the rubric prior to the beginning to become familiar with the      expectations for successful completion.
  • You      are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.

Directions:

Perform the following tasks to complete this assignment:

  1. Using      the AGREE II instrument as your guide, create a table that discusses a      practice guideline in which you might have questioned the recommendations.      (Note: You may be able to copy and paste the instrument into a new Word      document and complete the information.)
  2. Each      domain must have its own cell (similar to the one shown in the manual) and      add domain scores and an overall guideline assessment. Be sure to include      comments and additional considerations that influenced your rating      decision and cite any sources used.

3. Apply Rubrics

Critically Appraising Practice Guidelines

While there are several tools to critically appraise practice guidelines, the most comprehensively validated appraisal tool is the AGREE II Instrument. The AGREE II Instrument can be used by individual practitioners to critically appraise health guidelines and by decision makers to inform policy decisions. The purpose of the AGREE II Instrument is to provide a framework to:

  1. Assess      the quality of guidelines.
  2. Provide      a methodological strategy for the development of guidelines.
  3. Inform      what information and how the information ought to be reported in      guidelines.

Overall assessment includes rating the overall quality of the guideline and whether the guideline would be recommended for use in practice.
 

Items are rated on a 7-point scale from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 7 (Strongly Agree). A score of 1 is given when there is no information on that item or if it is poorly reported. A score of 7 is given if the quality of reporting is excellent and when full criteria have been met (Score explanations found in the AGREE II-GRS Instrument).
 

A quality score is calculated for each of the six domains, which are independently scored. Domain scores are calculated by summing up all the scores of the items in the domain and by scaling the total as a percentage of the maximum possible score for that specific domain.

For this assignment, you will choose a guideline and assess the overall quality and whether the guideline would be recommended for use in practice.

General Requirements:

Use the following information to ensure successful completion of this assignment:

  • Download      the AGREE II instrument.
  • Doctoral      learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The      APA Style Guide is located in the      Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
  • This      assignment uses a rubric. Please Review the rubric prior to the beginning to become familiar with the      expectations for successful completion.
  • You      are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.

Directions:

Perform the following tasks to complete this assignment:

  1. Using      the AGREE II instrument as your guide, create a table that discusses a      practice guideline in which you might have questioned the recommendations.      (Note: You may be able to copy and paste the instrument into a new Word      document and complete the information.)
  2. Each      domain must have its own cell (similar to the one shown in the manual) and      add domain scores and an overall guideline assessment. Be sure to include      comments and additional considerations that influenced your rating      decision and cite any sources used.

3. Apply Rubrics

Environmental Factors Affecting the Health of Infants


To prepare for this assignment view the following brief video from the American Medical Association titled, “Health Literacy and Patient Safety: Help Patients Understand.” The video can be accessed through the following link:

Part I: Pamphlet

  1. Develop a pamphlet to inform parents and caregivers about environmental factors that can affect the health of infants.
  2. Use the “Pamphlet Template” document to help you create your pamphlet. Include the following:
  3. Select an environmental factor that poses a threat to the health or safety of infants.
  4. Explain how the environmental factor you selected can potentially affect the health or safety of infants.
  5. Offer recommendations on accident prevention and safety promotion as they relate to the selected environmental factor and the health or safety of infants.
  6. Offer examples, interventions, and suggestions from evidence-based research. A minimum of three scholarly resources are required.
  7. Provide readers with two community resources, a national resource, and a Web-based resource. Include a brief description and contact information for each resource.
  8. In developing your pamphlet, take into consideration the healthcare literacy level of your target audience.

Part II: Pamphlet Sharing Experience

  1. Share the pamphlet you have developed with a parent of an infant child. The parent may be a person from your neighborhood, a parent of an infant from a child-care center in your community, or a parent from another organization, such as a church group with which you have an affiliation.
  2. Provide a written summary of the teaching / learning interaction. Include in your summary:
  3. Demographical information of the parent and child (age, gender, ethnicity, educational level).
  4. Description of parent response to teaching.
  5. Assessment of parent understanding.
  6. Your impressions of the experience; what went well, what can be improved.

Submit Part I and Part II of the Accident Prevention and Safety Promotion for Parents and Caregivers of Infants assignment by the end of Topic 1.

While APA format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected and in-text citations and references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

Please use the attached Templates to the assignment.

Environmental Factors Affecting the Health of Infants


To prepare for this assignment view the following brief video from the American Medical Association titled, “Health Literacy and Patient Safety: Help Patients Understand.” The video can be accessed through the following link:

Part I: Pamphlet

  1. Develop a pamphlet to inform parents and caregivers about environmental factors that can affect the health of infants.
  2. Use the “Pamphlet Template” document to help you create your pamphlet. Include the following:
  3. Select an environmental factor that poses a threat to the health or safety of infants.
  4. Explain how the environmental factor you selected can potentially affect the health or safety of infants.
  5. Offer recommendations on accident prevention and safety promotion as they relate to the selected environmental factor and the health or safety of infants.
  6. Offer examples, interventions, and suggestions from evidence-based research. A minimum of three scholarly resources are required.
  7. Provide readers with two community resources, a national resource, and a Web-based resource. Include a brief description and contact information for each resource.
  8. In developing your pamphlet, take into consideration the healthcare literacy level of your target audience.

Part II: Pamphlet Sharing Experience

  1. Share the pamphlet you have developed with a parent of an infant child. The parent may be a person from your neighborhood, a parent of an infant from a child-care center in your community, or a parent from another organization, such as a church group with which you have an affiliation.
  2. Provide a written summary of the teaching / learning interaction. Include in your summary:
  3. Demographical information of the parent and child (age, gender, ethnicity, educational level).
  4. Description of parent response to teaching.
  5. Assessment of parent understanding.
  6. Your impressions of the experience; what went well, what can be improved.

Submit Part I and Part II of the Accident Prevention and Safety Promotion for Parents and Caregivers of Infants assignment by the end of Topic 1.

While APA format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected and in-text citations and references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

Please use the attached Templates to the assignment.

HEALTH INFORMATICS

Are there areas in your practice that you believe should be more fully explored? The central aims of nursing informatics are to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom. This continuum represents the overarching structure of nursing informatics. In this Assignment, you develop a research question relevant to your practice area and relate how you would work through the progression from data to information, knowledge, and wisdom. 

To prepare:

· Review the information in Figure 6–1 in Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge.

· Develop a clinical question related to your area of practice that you would like to explore. 

· Consider what you currently know about this topic. What additional information would you need to answer the question?

· Using the continuum of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom, determine how you would go about researching your question. 

o Explore the available databases in the Walden Library. Identify which of these databases you would use to find the information or data you need.

o Once you have identified useful databases, how would you go about finding the most relevant articles and information?

o Consider how you would extract the relevant information from the articles.

o How would you take the information and organize it in a way that was useful? How could you take the step from simply having useful knowledge to gaining wisdom? 

Write a 3- to 4-page paper that addresses the following:

· Summarize the question you developed, and then relate how you would work through the four steps of the data, information, knowledge, wisdom continuum. Be specific. 

o Identify the databases and search words you would use. 

o Relate how you would take the information gleaned and turn it into useable knowledge.

· Can informatics be used to gain wisdom? Describe how you would progress from simply having useful knowledge to the wisdom to make decisions about the information you have found during your database search.

Your paper must also include a title page, an introduction, a summary, and a reference page.

HEALTH INFORMATICS

Are there areas in your practice that you believe should be more fully explored? The central aims of nursing informatics are to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom. This continuum represents the overarching structure of nursing informatics. In this Assignment, you develop a research question relevant to your practice area and relate how you would work through the progression from data to information, knowledge, and wisdom. 

To prepare:

· Review the information in Figure 6–1 in Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge.

· Develop a clinical question related to your area of practice that you would like to explore. 

· Consider what you currently know about this topic. What additional information would you need to answer the question?

· Using the continuum of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom, determine how you would go about researching your question. 

o Explore the available databases in the Walden Library. Identify which of these databases you would use to find the information or data you need.

o Once you have identified useful databases, how would you go about finding the most relevant articles and information?

o Consider how you would extract the relevant information from the articles.

o How would you take the information and organize it in a way that was useful? How could you take the step from simply having useful knowledge to gaining wisdom? 

Write a 3- to 4-page paper that addresses the following:

· Summarize the question you developed, and then relate how you would work through the four steps of the data, information, knowledge, wisdom continuum. Be specific. 

o Identify the databases and search words you would use. 

o Relate how you would take the information gleaned and turn it into useable knowledge.

· Can informatics be used to gain wisdom? Describe how you would progress from simply having useful knowledge to the wisdom to make decisions about the information you have found during your database search.

Your paper must also include a title page, an introduction, a summary, and a reference page.

Assessment Tools and Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children

When seeking to identify a patient’s health condition, advanced practice nurses can use a diverse selection of diagnostic tests and assessment tools; however, different factors affect the validity and reliability of the results produced by these tests or tools.

Nurses must be aware of these factors in order to select the most appropriate test or tool and to accurately interpret the results.

Not only do these diagnostic tests affect adults, body measurements can provide a general picture of whether a child is receiving adequate nutrition or is at risk for health issues.

These data, however, are just one aspect to be considered. Lifestyle, family history, and culture-among other factors-are also relevant. That said, gathering and communicating this information can be a delicate process.

In this Discussion, you will consider the validity and reliability of different assessment tools and diagnostic tests. You will explore issues such as sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. You will also consider examples of children with various weight issues.

You will explore how you could effectively gather information and encourage parents and caregivers to be proactive about their children’s health and weight.

To prepare:

· Review this week’s learning resources and consider factors that impact the validity and reliability of various assessment tools and diagnostic tests. We will also review examples of pediatric patients and their families as it relates to BMI.

· This week you will be assigned one of the following DB by your instructor.

1. Select one of the following assessment tools or diagnostic tests to explore for the purposes of this Discussion:

§ Mammogram

§ Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test

§ Body-mass index (BMI) using waist circumference for adults

2. Select one of the examples on which to focus for this Discussion. What health issues and risks may be relevant to the child you selected?

§ Overweight 5-year-old boy with overweight parents

§ 5-year-old girl of normal weight with obese parents

§ Severely underweight 12-year-old girl with underweight parents

· Search the Walden Library and credible sources for resources explaining the tool or test you selected. What is its purpose, how is it conducted, and what information does it gather?

· What does the literature discuss regarding the validity, reliability, and are there any issues with sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, ethical dilemmas, and controversies related to the test or tool?

· Based on the risks you identified, consider what further information you would need to gain a full understanding of the child’s health. Think about how you could gather this information in a sensitive fashion.

· Consider how you could encourage parents or caregivers to be proactive toward the child’s health.

Post a description of how the assessment tool or diagnostic test you selected is used in health care. Based on your research, evaluate the test or the tool’s validity and reliability, and explain any issues with sensitivity, reliability, and predictive values. Include references in appropriate APA formatting.

OR

Post an explanation of the health issues and risks that are relevant to the child you selected. Describe additional information you would need in order to further assess his or her weight-related health.

Taking into account the parents’ and caregivers’ potential sensitivities, list at least three specific questions you would ask about the child to gather more information. Provide at least two strategies you could employ to encourage the parents or caregivers to be proactive about their child’s health and weight.

Assessment Tools and Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children

When seeking to identify a patient’s health condition, advanced practice nurses can use a diverse selection of diagnostic tests and assessment tools; however, different factors affect the validity and reliability of the results produced by these tests or tools.

Nurses must be aware of these factors in order to select the most appropriate test or tool and to accurately interpret the results.

Not only do these diagnostic tests affect adults, body measurements can provide a general picture of whether a child is receiving adequate nutrition or is at risk for health issues.

These data, however, are just one aspect to be considered. Lifestyle, family history, and culture-among other factors-are also relevant. That said, gathering and communicating this information can be a delicate process.

In this Discussion, you will consider the validity and reliability of different assessment tools and diagnostic tests. You will explore issues such as sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. You will also consider examples of children with various weight issues.

You will explore how you could effectively gather information and encourage parents and caregivers to be proactive about their children’s health and weight.

To prepare:

· Review this week’s learning resources and consider factors that impact the validity and reliability of various assessment tools and diagnostic tests. We will also review examples of pediatric patients and their families as it relates to BMI.

· This week you will be assigned one of the following DB by your instructor.

1. Select one of the following assessment tools or diagnostic tests to explore for the purposes of this Discussion:

§ Mammogram

§ Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test

§ Body-mass index (BMI) using waist circumference for adults

2. Select one of the examples on which to focus for this Discussion. What health issues and risks may be relevant to the child you selected?

§ Overweight 5-year-old boy with overweight parents

§ 5-year-old girl of normal weight with obese parents

§ Severely underweight 12-year-old girl with underweight parents

· Search the Walden Library and credible sources for resources explaining the tool or test you selected. What is its purpose, how is it conducted, and what information does it gather?

· What does the literature discuss regarding the validity, reliability, and are there any issues with sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, ethical dilemmas, and controversies related to the test or tool?

· Based on the risks you identified, consider what further information you would need to gain a full understanding of the child’s health. Think about how you could gather this information in a sensitive fashion.

· Consider how you could encourage parents or caregivers to be proactive toward the child’s health.

Post a description of how the assessment tool or diagnostic test you selected is used in health care. Based on your research, evaluate the test or the tool’s validity and reliability, and explain any issues with sensitivity, reliability, and predictive values. Include references in appropriate APA formatting.

OR

Post an explanation of the health issues and risks that are relevant to the child you selected. Describe additional information you would need in order to further assess his or her weight-related health.

Taking into account the parents’ and caregivers’ potential sensitivities, list at least three specific questions you would ask about the child to gather more information. Provide at least two strategies you could employ to encourage the parents or caregivers to be proactive about their child’s health and weight.

Conceptual Models, Theories, and Empirical Indicators

Details:

Conceptual models, theories, and empirical indicators are linked and provide a nursing knowledge system to apply the model or theory to nursing practice, research, and education. Advanced-practice nurses are required to understand the linkages as applied to nursing and translate the components into practice. To continue development of nursing knowledge, advanced practice nurses can create structure to test theory.  

General Guidelines:

Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:

  • This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
  • Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
  • This assignment requires that at least two additional scholarly research sources related to this topic, and at least one in-text citation from each source be included.
  • You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

Directions:

Write a 1,000-1,250 word paper examining how the Conceptual – Theoretical – Empirical (CTE) structure translates into nursing practice based on one of the middle range theories that has been formulated or derived from your preferred conceptual model of nursing. Translate and apply the selected theory to nursing practice using actual examples. Evaluate the theory using the CTE steps below:

  1. Evaluation of the conceptual-theoretical-empirical linkages.
  2. Evaluation of the selected theory.
  3. Evaluation of the empirical indicators.
  4. Evaluation of research findings.
  5. Evaluation of the utility and soundness of the practice theory.

Conceptual Models, Theories, and Empirical Indicators

Details:

Conceptual models, theories, and empirical indicators are linked and provide a nursing knowledge system to apply the model or theory to nursing practice, research, and education. Advanced-practice nurses are required to understand the linkages as applied to nursing and translate the components into practice. To continue development of nursing knowledge, advanced practice nurses can create structure to test theory.  

General Guidelines:

Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:

  • This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
  • Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
  • This assignment requires that at least two additional scholarly research sources related to this topic, and at least one in-text citation from each source be included.
  • You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

Directions:

Write a 1,000-1,250 word paper examining how the Conceptual – Theoretical – Empirical (CTE) structure translates into nursing practice based on one of the middle range theories that has been formulated or derived from your preferred conceptual model of nursing. Translate and apply the selected theory to nursing practice using actual examples. Evaluate the theory using the CTE steps below:

  1. Evaluation of the conceptual-theoretical-empirical linkages.
  2. Evaluation of the selected theory.
  3. Evaluation of the empirical indicators.
  4. Evaluation of research findings.
  5. Evaluation of the utility and soundness of the practice theory.