Research Question.. Need to adapt it.. please help

[angelsy]

Hi all

Really hope someone can assist me. For my research paper we are required to select one issue arising from a clinical experience that involves the nurse in a decision making capacity.

One of the significant trends i noted on a clinical rotation were the vast amount of clients entering the clinic for very low acuity conditions eg: small cough, tingle in the throat.

Access to healthcare has being a major focus within the community and I wondered to myself with such ease of access have we now contributed towards dis-empowering the community as there seems to be very little self management prior to presentations.

Is there anyway i can adapt this into a question that would fit the above criteria? eg something around education or patient rights?

One other issue that I identified on a different rotation surrounds hydration of the elderly. I noted many nurses allowed only soft drinks as a form of hydration as the patient dis-liked water. This lead me to consider the effects this would have on their current health including recovery time.?

Any thoughts on how I can adapt these issues into a researchable question that meets the 'decision making' component

[ckh23, BSN, RN]

Try putting the information into a PICO format and it should help you come up with something.

Here is a link for more information on PICO.

http://www.usc.edu/hsc/ebnet/ebframe/PICO.htm