PICOT Questions and an Evidence-Based Approach

PICOT Questions and an Evidence-Based Approach

PICOT questions are an essential component in the process of evidence-based practice. PICOT questions enable the researcher to remain objective by identifying keywords to guide the research process. Additionally, PICOT questions help to eliminate bias and increase the effectiveness of the research process. PICOT questions identify the target population, the chosen intervention, the group of comparison, the outcome, and the projected timeframe. This paper identifies a practice issue of interest and uses the PICOT framework to evaluate the problem. Do you need help with your assignment ? Reach out to us at eminencepapers.com.

Practice Issue to be Explored Via a PICO(T) Approach

The practice issue of interest is the use of telehealth technology in managing patients with diabetes mellitus. Telehealth is an example of healthcare technology that can be used to optimize the delivery of healthcare services (Howland & Wakefield, 2022). Telehealth is beneficial because it brings flexibility to the healthcare setup. It eliminates the need for face-to-face patient-healthcare provider sessions (Howland & Wakefield, 2022). As such, patients can consult or seek clarifications promptly. Furthermore, telehealth technology enables healthcare providers to monitor patients continuously (Lewinski et al., 2022). This is achieved via remote patient monitoring using wearable devices.

In this case, the PICOT question is, among patients with diabetes mellitus receiving outpatient services, does the use of telehealth technology compared to face-to-face follow-ups improve patient adherence to the treatment plan over six months? The population is patients with diabetes mellitus receiving outpatient services, and the intervention is the use of telehealth technology in patient management. The comparison is the use of face-to-face sessions in patient management. Finally, the outcome is improved patient adherence to the treatment plan, and the timeframe is six months.

Sources of Evidence

Organizational websites and online medical databases are key evidence sources to tackle the PICOT question. Researchers should ensure that the chosen corporate websites provide credible, relevant, scholarly information. Thutilizede accomplished by checking the organization’s uniform resource locator. Credible information is provided by websites whose uniform resource locator ends in .edu, .gov, or .org. The Rural Health Information Hub is an example of an organization whose website provides credible evidence to answer the PICOT question (RuralHealthinfo.org, n.d.).

On the other hand, online medical databases enable the researcher to access scholarly articles. Additionally, the databases allow the researcher to access the most current evidence through customized features that facilitate timeframe selection. Online medical databases provide case studies and peer-reviewed articles relevant to the topic of interest. In this context, the researcher should use keywords such as “telehealth”, “diabetes mellitus”, “treatment”, and “adherence”. The credibility and reliability of journal articles should be assessed by checking the accuracy of the articles’ information, purpose, and authority. This criterion is harmonious with the CRAAP test. Online medical databases include Google Scholar, Embase, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (Pei & Wu, 2019).

Findings from Articles

            Telehealth comprises various technologies such as mobile health, video confanalyzeg, and reorganizing monitoring. These technologies can improve the management of patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus (Howland & Wakefield, 2022). Mobile health features such as reminders and messages are key in managing diabetes mellitus (Wong et al., 2021). Reminders improve medication adherence and organize other non-pharmacological approaches by allowing patients to set alarms. Other mobile health features like audio and text messages enable healthcare providers to monitor the patient’s progress (Wong et al., 2021). Similarly, videoconferencing allows real-time patient monitoring. Real-time interactions enable the healthcare provider to evaluate the patient’s overall well-being and compliance with the treatment plan (Wong et al., 2021).

Remote patient monitoring is invaluable in the management of patients with diabetes mellitus. In this context, wearable devices enable patients to record, upload, and transmit their vitals to healthcare providers (Appuswamy & Desimone, 2020). Relevant vitals such as random plasma glucose levels, pulse rate, and blood pressure can be used to evaluate the patient’s progress (Appuswamy & Desimone, 2020). Well-controlled random plasma glucose levels indicate adequate compliance with the treatment, whereas poorly controlled glucose levels indicate poor compliance (Wu et al., 2018).

Findings by Wu et al. (2018) reveal that telehealth improved clinical outcomes in patients with diabetes mellitus. This was evidenced by tight glycemic control among these patients. This is attributed to increased adherence to the treatment plan and continuous patient monitoring. Appuswamy and Desimone (2020) report telehealth eliminates the physical barrier and improves compliance with the treatment plan by diabetic patients. Similar findings were reported by Howland and Wakefield (2022). Telehealth plays a significant role in promoting adherence to the treatment plan by facilitating self-management. This applies to pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions involving lifestyle modification (Howland & Wakefield, 2022). Furthermore, telehealth promotes collaboration between healthcare providers, patients, and their families in the treatment process. This is associated with higher levels of compliance and better patient outcomes (Lewinski et al., 2022; Wong et al., 2021).

Relevance of Findings from Articles

The findings revealed telehealth’s impact on managing diabetes mellitus and other chronic conditions. In the context of diabetes mellitus, telehealth was associated with better clinical outcomes compared to face-to-face sessions. This was facilitated by telehealth technologies such as remote patient monitoring using wearable devices, mobile health, and videoconferencing. Wu et al. (2018) report that the introduction of telehealth led to tight glycemic control among patients with diabetes mellitus. Tight glycemic control is an indicator of improved adherence to the treatment plan. Additionally, telehealth eliminates physical barriers between patients and healthcare providers. Telehealth proved effective during the COVID-19 pandemic by enabling continuous monitoring of diabetic patients (Wong et al., 2021).

The findings are relevant to the PICOT question because they evaluate the effectiveness of telehealth versus face-to-face sessions on compliance and clinical outcomes in diabetic patients. Telehealth is the intervention, whereas face-to-face sessions are the comparison. The articles evaluate the impact of the interventions and compare the outcomes (compliance with the treatment plan). According to the findings, telehealth is associated with higher proportions of adherence to the treatment plan than face-to-face sessions. This is evidenced by better clinical outcomes among diabetic patients when telehealth is embraced. As such, the researcher will use these findings to answer the PICOT question.

Conclusion

Telehealth comprises technologies such as mobile health and remote patient monitoring. It is beneficial because it brings flexibility to the healthcare setup and eliminates the need for face-to-face patient-healthcare provider sessions. As a result, patients can consult or seek clarifications promptly. Furthermore, telehealth technology enables healthcare providers to monitor patients continuously. Subsequently, this is associated with better treatment plan compliance than face-to-face sessions. Healthcare facilities should embrace telehealth to improve workflow and enhance the collaboration of patients with healthcare providers to improve clinical outcomes.

References

Appuswamy, A. V., & Desimone, M. E. (2020). Managing Diabetes in Hard to Reach Populations: A Review of Telehealth Interventions. Current Diabetes Reports, 20(7). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-020-01310-2

Howland, C., & Wakefield, B. (2022). Diabetes Mellitus : An Integrative Review. 44(1), 92–110. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.22077.Assessing

Lewinski, A. A., Walsh, C., Rushton, S., Soliman, D., Carlson, S. M., Luedke, M. W., Halpern, D. J., Crowley, M. J., Shaw, R. J., Sharpe, J. A., Alexopoulos, A.-S., Tabriz, A. A., Deitch, J. R., Uthappa, D. M., Hwang, S., Ball Ricks, K. A., Cantrell, S., Kosinski, A. S., Ear, B., … Goldstein, K. M. (2022). Telehealth for the Longitudinal Management of Chronic Conditions: Systematic Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(8), e37100. https://doi.org/10.2196/37100

Pei, L., & Wu, H. (2019). Does Online Learning Work Better Than Offline Learning in Undergraduate Medical Education? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Medical Education Online, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2019.1666538

Wong, V. W., Wang, A., & Manoharan, M. (2021). Utilization of telehealth for outpatient diabetes management during the COVID-19 pandemic: how did the patients fare? Internal Medicine Journal, 51(12), 2021–2026. https://doi.org/10.1111/imj.15441

Wu, C., Wu, Z., Yang, L., Zhu, W., Zhang, M., Zhu, Q., Chen, X., & Pan, Y. (2018). Evaluation of the clinical outcomes of telehealth for managing diabetes: A PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis. Medicine (United States), 97(43). https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000012962

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Create a 3-5 page submission in which you develop a PICO(T) question for a specific care issue and evaluate the evidence you locate, which could help to answer the question.

PICOT Questions and an Evidence-Based Approach

Introduction
PICO(T) is an acronym that helps researchers and practitioners define aspects of a potential study or investigation.

It stands for:

P – Patient/population/problem.
I – Intervention.
C – Comparison (of potential interventions, typically).
O – Outcome(s).
T – Time frame (if the time frame is relevant).
The end goal of applying PICO(T) is to develop a question to help guide the search for evidence (Boswell & Cannon, 2015). From this perspective, a PICO(T) question can be a valuable starting point for nurses applying an evidence-based model or EBPs. Searches become more efficient and effective by taking the time to precisely define the areas in which the nurse will be looking for evidence. Essentially, by precisely defining the types of evidence within specific areas, the nurse will be more likely to discover relevant and useful evidence during their search. When applying the PICO(T) approach, the nurse can isolate the interventions of interest and compare them to other existing interventions for the evidenced impact on the outcome of the concern.

You are encouraged to complete the Vila Health PICO(T) Process activity before you develop the plan proposal. This activity offers an opportunity to practice working through creating a PICO(T) question within the context of an issue at a Vila Health facility. These skills will be necessary to complete Assessment 3 successfully. This is for your practice and self-assessment and demonstrates your engagement in the course.

Reference
Boswell, C., & Cannon, S. (2015). Introduction to nursing research. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Professional Context
As a baccalaureate-prepared nurse, you will locate and identify credible and scholarly resources to incorporate the best available evidence to enhance clinical reasoning and judgment skills. When reliable and relevant evidence-based findings are utilized, patients, healthcare systems, and nursing practice outcomes are positively impacted.

PICO(T) is a framework that can help you structure your definition of the issue, a potential approach that you will use, and your predictions related to the issue. Word choice is important in the PICO(T) process because different word choices for similar concepts will lead you to additional existing evidence and research studies to help develop your initial question. When writing a PICO(T)-formatted research question, you want to focus on the intervention’s impact and compare the desired outcome.

Scenario
For this assessment, please use a healthcare issue of interest from your current or past nursing practice.

If you do not have an issue of interest in your nursing practice, review the optional Case Studies presented in the resources and select one of those as the basis for your assessment.

Instructions
Select a healthcare issue of interest for this assessment and apply the PICO(T) process to develop and research the research question. Your. The initial goal is to define the population, intervention, comparison, and outcome. In some cases, a time frame is relevant, and you should include that when writing a question, you can research related to your issue of interest. After you define your question, analyze it, and organize your initial findings, select the two sources of evidence that seem the most relevant to your question and explore them more deeply. Specifically, interpret each source’s findings and best practices related to your issues and explain how the evidence would help you plan and decide on your question.

If you need some structure to organize your initial thoughts and research, the PICOT Question and Research Template document (accessible from the “Create PICO(T) Questions” page in the Capella Library’s Evidence-Based Practice guide) might be helpful.

In your submission, make sure you address the following grading criteria:

Define a practice issue to be explored via a PICO(T) approach. Create a PICO(T)-formatted research question
Identify sources of evidence that could be potentially effective in answering a PICO(T) question (databases, journals, websites, etc.).
Explain the findings from articles or other sources of evidence related to the identified healthcare issue.
Explain the relevance of the findings from chosen sources of evidence to deciding a PICO(T) question.
Communicate using the current APA style using clear, logical, and professional writing with correct grammar and spelling.