Applying Research Skills

Create a 3-5-page annotated bibliography and summary based on your research related to best practices addressing one of the health care problems or issues in the Assessment Topic Areas media piece faced by a health care organization that is of interest to you. Introduction In your professional life, you will need to find credible evidence to support your decisions and your plans of action.

You will want to keep abreast of best practices to help your organization adapt to the ever-changing health care environment. Being adept at research will help you find the information you need. For this assessment, you will review the Assessment Topic Areas media piece and select one of the health care problems or issues to research a current health care problem or issue faced by a health care organization that is of interest to you. Demonstration of Proficiency By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:

Competency 1: Apply information literacy and library research skills to obtain scholarly information in the field of health care. Identify academic peer-reviewed journal articles relevant to a health care problem or issue and describe the criteria used for the literature search.

Competency 2: Apply scholarly information through critical thinking to solve problems in the field of health care. Assess the credibility and relevance of information sources. Summarize what was learned from developing an annotated bibliography. Analyze academic peer-reviewed journal articles using the annotated bibliography organizational format. Competency 4: Write for a specific audience, in appropriate tone and style, in accordance with Capella’s writing standards. Summarize a health care problem or issue and describe a personal interest in it and experience with it. Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.

Write following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references. Instructions Note: The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. At a minimum, be sure to address each point. In addition, you are encouraged to review the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed. For this assessment, research best practices related to a current health care problem.

Your selected problem or issue will be utilized again in Assessment 3. To explore your chosen topic, you should use the first two steps of the Socratic Problem-Solving Approach to aid your critical thinking. View the Assessment Topic Areas media piece and select one of the health care problems or issues in the media piece to research. Write a brief overview of the selected topic. In your overview: Summarize the health care problem or issue. Describe your interest in the topic. Describe any professional experience you have with this topic. Identify peer-reviewed articles relevant to health care issue or problem.

Conduct a search for scholarly or academic peer-reviewed literature related to the topic and describe the criteria you used to search for articles, including the names of the databases you used. You will select four current scholarly or academic peer-reviewed journal articles published during the past 3–5 years that relate to your topic. You will want to access the applicable Undergraduate Library Research Guide related to your degree (found at the NHS Learner Success Lab) for tips to help you in your search. Use keywords related to the health care problem or issue you are researching to select relevant articles.

Assess the credibility and explain relevance of the information sources you find. Determine if the source is from an academic peer-reviewed journal. Determine if the publication is current. Determine if information in the academic peer-reviewed journal article is still relevant. Analyze academic peer-reviewed journal articles using the annotated bibliography organizational format. Provide rationale for inclusion of each selected article. The purpose of an annotated bibliography is to document a list of references along with key information about each one. The detail about the reference is the annotation. Developing this annotated bibliography will create a foundation of knowledge about the selected topic. In your annotated bibliography: Identify the purpose of the article. Summarize the information. Provide rationale for inclusion of each article. Include the conclusions and findings of the article. Write your annotated bibliography in a paragraph form. The annotated bibliography should be approximately 150 words (1–3 paragraphs) in length. List the full reference for the source in APA format (author, date, title, publisher, et cetera) and use APA format for the annotated bibliography. Make sure the references are listed in alphabetical order, are double-spaced, and use hanging indents. Summarize what you have learned from developing an annotated bibliography. Summarize what you learned from your research in a separate paragraph or two at the end of the paper. List the main points you learned from your research. Summarize the main contributions of the sources you chose and how they enhanced your knowledge about the topic. Example Assessment: You may use the following to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like: Assessment 2 Example [PDF]. Additional Requirements Your assessment should also meet the following requirements: Length: 3–5 typed, double-spaced pages, not including the title page and reference page. Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point. APA template: Use the APA Style Paper Template [DOCX] as the paper format and the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] for guidance. Written communication: Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. Content: Provide a title page and reference page following APA style. References: Use at least four scholarly or academic peer-reviewed journal articles. APA format: Follow current APA guidelines for in-text citation of outside sources in the body of your paper and also on the reference page. If you would like assistance in organizing your assessment, or if you simply have a question about your assessment, please do not hesitate to ask faculty or the teaching assistants in the NHS Learner Success Lab for guidance and suggestions.   Selecting a topic for your written assessments can be challenging, but it’s important to make a thoughtful choice. Choose a topic area of interest to you from the topic suggestions in this media piece. You will use this topic to complete Assessments 2 and 3. Be sure to select a topic that will be manageable for a written assessment. To explore the chosen topic, you should use the Socratic Problem-Solving Approach, focusing on the sections specifically called out in the assessment guidelines. Topic 1: Limited Access to Healthcare   Short Description: Consumers face barriers to healthcare access for assorted reasons. For example: due to geographic location, provider availability, transportation issues and mobility. Potential Intervention Approaches: – Healthcare information online – Telemedicine – In–home healthcare services Keywords for Articles: online health information seeking, health care access, health information systems, consumer health information, chronic disease, health information search, health seeking behavior, rural nursing   Topic 2: Healthcare Disparities   Short Description: In 2010, the Federal Department of Human and Health Service (DHHS) launched the Healthy People 2020 goals to include a goal to eliminate health inequality/disparity. Healthy People 2020 defines a health disparity as “a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage. Health disparities adversely affect groups of people who have systematically experienced greater obstacles to health based on their racial or ethnic group; religion; socioeconomic status; gender; age; mental health; cognitive, sensory, or physical disability; sexual orientation or gender identity; geographic location; or other characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion” (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2017, p.1). Potential Intervention Approaches: – Federal goals – Community health improvement plans – Patient advocacy efforts – “Triple Aim” for populations Keywords for Articles: health disparities, community health assessment, community health improvement plan, strategic planning, local health departments, health inequities Topic 3: Medication Errors   Short Description: A medication error is a preventable adverse effect of a patient taking the wrong medication or dosage, whether or not it is evident or harmful to the patient. Medication errors can be a source of serious patient harm, including death. Potential Intervention Approaches: – Medical staff education – Packaging improvements – Patient medication safety training Keywords for Articles: medication administration, medication errors, medication safety   Topic 4: Healthcare System Errors   Short Description: The health care system in the United States has been the subject of much debate as experts try to determine the best way to deliver high-quality care. In Crossing the Quality Chasm, the Institute of Medicine (2001) called for the redesign of health care delivery systems and their external environments to promote care that is safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable. Potential Intervention Approaches: – Systemwide transformation – Process redesign – Electronic health records Keywords for Articles: multi-stakeholder collaboration, healthcare system redesign