Identifying a Clinical Issue for Inquiry- A Guide to Formulating Focused Research Questions
Childhood obesity has turned out to be a pandemic in developed nations, resulting in a host of medical conditions that contribute to premature death and increased morbidity. According to the World Health Organization, obesity and overweight are excessive or abnormal fat buildup that presents a health risk (Kumari et al., 2022). The occurrence of pediatric obesity has increased over the decades. According to statistics, childhood obesity increased to 5.6% from 0.7% for girls and to 7.8% for boys from 0.9%, while the Basal Metabolic Index has also continued to increase. The World Obesity Federation approximates that 206 million adolescents and children aged 5-19 years will have obesity by the year 2025 (Jebeile et al., 2022).
Childhood obesity is a clinical issue that requires all hands on deck and effective strategies for various reasons. Obesity in childhood is more likely to proceed into adulthood and is related to not only psychosocial and cardiometabolic comorbidity but also premature mortality (Smith et al., 2020). Disorders like metabolic syndrome, which commonly partner with undesirable body fat and insulin resistance, are more likely to be found in children due to obesity. Furthermore, overweight children present with significant psychosocial conditions like increased conduct difficulties such as disruptive, disobedience, disastrous, and aggressive behavior, and verbal and physical abuse (Smith et al., 2020).
This paints a clear picture of the negative impact of childhood obesity on public health. It is for this reason that I have an interest in the prevention of childhood obesity, specifically by the use of technology. Traditional methods, such as educational programs and paper-based resources, do not seem to tackle the clinical issue effectively due to the current technological advancement. Therefore, it is prudent that we assess the effectiveness of using technology in obesity prevention in children.
Search Results
Upon typing in the keywords in Walden University Library, I got approximately 500 articles that were relevant to “childhood obesity prevention technology.” I added the Boolean operator “AND” to include physical activity, “Childhood obesity prevention technology AND physical activity”, and the results returned 300 articles on original research. Adding the Boolean operator “OR” to include healthy eating habits, “Childhood obesity prevention technology AND physical activity OR healthy eating habits,” returned 200 articles. Changing the search with more specific terms, “Childhood obesity prevention technology AND physical activity intervention OR healthy eating education”, narrowed down the search to 145 articles. After a further change using additional terms and dropping irrelevant terms, “Childhood obesity prevention technology AND physical activity intervention OR healthy eating education NOT adults,” returned 80 articles.
Strategies to Improve Database Search
There are various ways that one can improve the rigor and effectiveness of a database search. First, one can use medical subject headings, which are standard terms used in databases such as PubMed, to arrange articles (Heath et al., 2021). For instance, using “Child,” “Obesity/ control & prevention,” AND “Technology” as medical subject headings can help narrow down the search to relevant articles. Also, one can use limiters like publication language, date range, study type, and age group to focus the search on relevant studies (Heath et al., 2021). For example, one can employ limiters such as study type as randomized controlled trials and children aged 5-12 years as the age group. Lastly, according to Heath et al. (2021), one can use multiple databases like PubMed, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library to maintain comprehensive coverage and decrease bias from database-specific limitations.
References
Heath, A., Levay, P., & Tuvey, D. (2021). Literature Searching methods or guidance and their application to public health topics: A narrative review. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 39(1), 6–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12414
Jebeile, H., Kelly, A. S., O’Malley, G., & Baur, L. A. (2022). Obesity in children and adolescents: Epidemiology, causes, assessment, and management. The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 10(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/s2213-8587(22)00047-x
Kumari, S., Shukla, S., & Acharya, S. (2022). Childhood obesity: Prevalence and prevention in modern society. Cureus, 14(11). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.31640
Smith, J. D., Fu, E., & Kobayashi, M. A. (2020). Prevention and management of childhood obesity and its psychological and health comorbidities. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 16(1), 351–378. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-100219-060201
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Question 
When you decide to purchase a new car, you first decide what is important to you. If mileage and dependability are the important factors, you will search for data-focused more on these factors and less on color options and sound systems.
Identifying a Clinical Issue for Inquiry- A Guide to Formulating Focused Research Questions
The same holds true when searching for research evidence to guide your clinical inquiry and professional decisions. Developing a formula for an answerable, researchable question that addresses your need will make the search process much more effective. One such formula is the PICO(T) format.
In this Discussion, you will transform a clinical inquiry into a searchable question in PICO(T) format, so you can search the electronic databases more effectively and efficiently. You will share this PICO(T) question and examine strategies you might use to increase the rigor and effectiveness of a database search on your PICO(T) question.
To Prepare:
- Review the Resources and identify a clinical issue of interest that can form the basis of a clinical inquiry.
Review the materials offering guidance on using databases, performing keyword searches, and developing PICO(T) questions provided in the Resources.