NR 449 Week 3 RUA – Topic Search Strategy
Student Name
Chamberlain University
NR-449 Evidence-Based Practice
Prof. Name
Date
NR 449 Week 3 RUA – Topic Search Strategy
Clinical Question
The focus of this paper is on health literacy and its influence on disease prevention. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2022), “Personal health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.”
Health literacy plays a critical role in healthcare outcomes because individuals who struggle to comprehend health information are less likely to manage their health effectively. A deficiency in health literacy can have serious consequences for patient safety and well-being. For example, consider a scenario in which a nurse presents a parent with a consent form for a blood transfusion for their child. If the parent is unable to interpret the information, they may hesitate to sign the form, leading to delays in treatment. Such delays could worsen the child’s condition or cause irreversible harm.
Multiple factors influence an individual’s health literacy, including educational background, medical history, socioeconomic status, age, and access to healthcare resources. Research shows that improving health literacy has the potential to significantly reduce healthcare burdens: approximately 26% fewer preventable hospitalizations, 9% fewer hospital readmissions, and 18% fewer emergency department visits could occur with higher literacy levels (United Health Group, 2020).
The selected PICOT question in this context is:
In children diagnosed with asthma, does low health literacy compared to high health literacy play a role in reduced disease management?
The aim of the group paper is to investigate the differences in health outcomes among children with asthma, analyzing how variations in caregiver health literacy influence disease management. This week’s individual paper focuses on the search strategy used to identify credible, peer-reviewed sources for the Week 7 group assignment, specifically examining the relationship between health literacy and pediatric asthma outcomes.
Levels of Evidence
To my understanding, the type of question being asked is related to prognosis.
In medical terms, prognosis refers to the anticipated progression and outcome of a disease. This paper explores how health literacy—particularly that of caregivers—affects the course and management of asthma in children.
To effectively answer this question, a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods is needed:
| Research Type | Purpose in the Study | Examples in Context |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative | Measures the degree of health literacy and tracks health outcomes over time. | Surveys assessing caregiver comprehension scores, clinical data on hospitalization or exacerbation rates. |
| Qualitative | Captures subjective experiences and perceptions from stakeholders. | Interviews with parents, caregivers, healthcare providers about perceived changes in asthma control. |
Quantitative research allows measurable and objective tracking of variables—such as the health literacy score of a caregiver and the frequency of asthma-related hospital visits—while qualitative data provides context and insight into lived experiences, cultural influences, and personal challenges. Together, they create a comprehensive understanding of how literacy impacts asthma prognosis.
Search Strategy
The PICOT question centers on two primary topics: “health literacy” and “asthma.” The search strategy was designed to retrieve relevant, recent, and high-quality studies addressing both.
- First Article Search
- Platform: Chamberlain University Library
- Keywords: pediatric health literacy with asthma
- Filters: Publication years 2017–2022
- Results: 76 articles
- First selection: “The Impact of Caregiver Health Literacy on Pediatric Asthma: An Integrative Review”
- Access Issue: The article ID was invalid in the university library system.
- Solution: Located the same article in the NIH Library of Medicine database using keywords “the impact of health literacy on pediatric asthma.”
- Accessed through the PubMed “Free full text” link.
- Article Details: Abrams (2020) examined the link between caregiver literacy levels and asthma management in children, providing integrative evidence on how comprehension affects treatment adherence.
- Second Article Search
- Platform: Chamberlain University Library
- Keywords: asthma management in children
- Filters: Publication years 2017–2022, only peer-reviewed journal articles.
- Results: 5,949 articles
- Selection Criteria: Chose an article not already selected by group members, aligning with the PICOT question.
- Final Choice: “Designing an Indoor Air Quality Monitoring App for Asthma Management in Children: User-Centered Design Approach” by Kim, Park, and Ackerman (2021).
- Article Focus: Explored the design of a mobile application that monitors indoor air quality to assist children and caregivers in managing asthma symptoms more effectively.
This methodical search ensured access to up-to-date, relevant literature while addressing the specific research objectives of the group project.
Conclusion
Health literacy is a vital determinant of health outcomes, particularly in chronic conditions like asthma. Enhancing caregiver literacy can lead to improved disease management, reduced hospitalization rates, and overall better quality of life for pediatric patients. Evidence-based research serves as a cornerstone in addressing literacy gaps, enabling healthcare systems to implement targeted interventions and educational tools—such as mobile health apps—to empower families.
Sustained research efforts, combined with policy initiatives aimed at improving public understanding of medical information, could substantially decrease the burden of preventable health complications in vulnerable populations.
References
Abrams, E. (2020). The impact of caregiver health literacy on pediatric asthma: An integrative review. Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology, 33(3), 110–116. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9353981/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). What is health literacy. https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/learn/index.htm
NR 449 Week 3 RUA – Topic Search Strategy
Kim, S., Park, Y., & Ackerman, M. (2021). Designing an indoor air quality monitoring app for asthma management in children: User-centered design approach. JMIR Formative Research, 5(9), e27447. https://www-proquest-com.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/publiccontent/docview/2575368864
United Health Group. (2020). Improving health literacy could prevent nearly 1 million hospital visits and save over $25 billion a year. https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/content/dam/UHG/PDF/About/Health-LiteracyBrief.pdf