The efficacy of medical research is highly dependent on the study design adopted for a research. The design guides researchers throughout the process thus leading to a conclusion that provides appropriate answers to the study questions. The research being reviewed in this case is known as Handwashing and was written by Amy Lowery. The researcher concludes by providing the importance of literature review in conducting a study. To effectively conduct a study, one has to come up with a topic from their area of interest and then develop research questions that are feasible and researchable. The next process involves analyzing the PICOT question. The PICOT question makes it easy to develop a valid research question. One is then ready to conduct research. This conclusion is informed by the process of coming up with a research problem, generation of questions for the study, developing PICOT questions and variables as well as identifying and explaining the keywords.
The author supports their conclusion by providing reasons why literature review is important to a study. Notably, it helps in providing a background to a research. The researcher can then determine gaps that exist in the area and then develop a research problem. According to the researcher, literature review helps one to connect how the articles are linked to the research PICOT question. Establishing the connection helps in covering various areas of the study thus facilitating the whole process of the research (Polit & Beck, 2017). The author thus needs to only dig deeper on the topic of interest when conducting the actual research. The conclusion provides an overall overview of the whole research process. The conclusion has some weaknesses that need to be improved to make the article insightful. The weakness noted in the study is that it fails to provide an expected outcome in the study. According to Röhrig, Du Prel and Blettner (2009), anticipating the research outcomes helps in creating a connection with literature review and the questions of study identified under the PICOT questions.
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The researcher could also have generated an alternative conclusion for the data by linking the data collected with the research questions of the study. The conclusion could have incorporated the efficacy of hand rubbing using alcohol-based solutions in comparison with handwashing using soap and water. The conclusion should have briefly outlined why handwashing with alcohol-based solution helps in eliminating germs and bacteria compared to use of soap and water. The conclusion should have included an overview of why handwashing using alcohol-based solutions is considered more effective in removing bacteria that spread infections.
The article finds out that handwashing is an important procedure in helping to prevent the spread of nosocomial infections. The article note that despite the efficacy of hand rubbing using alcohol-based solutions, few healthcare professionals adhere to the procedure. The persons that observe the hand hygiene procedure rarely go beyond 40 percent (Huang, Stewardson, & Grayson, 2014). As a result, healthcare facilities are increasing the number of handwashing stations and place them in strategic positions in the hospital to facilitate observance of the procedure. The findings note that handwashing procedure using alcohol-based solutions is helps in eliminating infection-spreading germs more efficiently compared to handwashing using soap and water.
The researcher could conduct additional research to determine reasons why most healthcare professionals do not adhere to handwashing procedures. The study will help identify the problem of compliance and develop appropriate strategies that could help facilitate adherence.
References
Huang, G. K. L., Stewardson, A. J., & Grayson, M. L. (2014). Back to basics: hand hygiene and isolation. Current opinion in infectious diseases , 27(4), 379.
Polit, D., & Beck, C. (2017). Nursing Research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice (10 ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.
Röhrig, B., Du Prel, J. B., & Blettner, M. (2009). Study design in medical research: part 2 of a series on the evaluation of scientific publications. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International , 106 (11), 184.
