NHSFPX 4000 Assessment 2: Applying Research Skills

Applying Research Skills: Limited Access to Healthcare

Access to healthcare for all is important for the realization of optimum health outcomes globally. However, most of the populations in America currently experience challenges in accessing the care that they need because of factors such as cost, geographical location, and shortage of physicians in remote locations. Nurses and other healthcare providers should be proactively involved in implementing responsive strategies to address the limited access to healthcare for the diverse populations. The incorporation of novel technologies such as telemedicine could help overcome this problem in healthcare.

Nurses are responsible for ensuring the promotion and protection of diverse population’s right to access high-quality, safe and efficient care. A recent experience with a diabetic patient increased the understanding of the severe impacts that limited access to healthcare has on patients and their significant others. The patient was elderly, residing in a rural setting and had diabetic foot. He had not received diabetes care for the last two months because of the distance to specialized care, unaffordable care, and lack of diabetes specialists in her location. As a result, he came with a septic, diabetic wound and hyperglycemia, requiring his admission to the hospital for further management. This experience raised interest on examining the factors that limit access to healthcare for different populations.

Identifying Academic Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

A search for relevant literature on the effectiveness of telemedicine in reducing limited access to healthcare was performed in different databases. They included PubMed, ProQuest Central, CINAHL, and EBSCO. The keywords that were used in the process included telemedicine, telemedicine and access to healthcare, telemedicine and eliminating barriers in healthcare, and telemedicine efficacy in healthcare. The search was only limited to peer-reviewed journals that focused on medicine or nursing and published within the last five years in English language.

Assessing Credibility and Relevance of Information Sources

The credibility of the selected journals was done in some ways. First, the journals must have been indexed in nursing and medical databases to be selected for the review. They must have also been peer-reviewed to provide quality data on the topic. The articles must also have a high impact factor, translating into their considerable influence on nursing practice. The journal authors must have also been individuals with experience in nursing or medical fields.

Annotated Bibliography

Beauchamp, M. L. H., Amorim, K., Wunderlich, S. N., Lai, J., Scorah, J., & Elsabbagh, M. (2022). Barriers to access and utilization of healthcare services for minority-language speakers with neurodevelopmental disorders: A scoping review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 915999. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.915999

The above study examined the barriers to healthcare access for minority-language speakers diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorder. The researchers used 30 articles that met the developed inclusion criteria. Data analysis on the selected articles showed that minority language speakers with neurodevelopmental disorders and their families experienced barriers in accessing healthcare that included provider, systems, and family experience levels. The barriers affected the outcomes of the affected populations and their families as well. This article was included in this review because it expounds on the different level of factors that limit population’s access to healthcare. The article will provide insights into the different levels of barriers that contribute to limited access to healthcare for individuals with disabilities such as neurodevelopmental disorder.

 

Huot, S., Ho, H., Ko, A., Lam, S., Tactay, P., MacLachlan, J., & Raanaas, R. K. (2019). Identifying barriers to healthcare delivery and access in the Circumpolar North: Important insights for health professionals. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 78(1):1571385. doi: 10.1080/22423982.2019.1571385

The above study identified the specific challenges to healthcare service access and delivery for populations in the Circumpolar Noth. The research was a scoping review that used 43 articles published between 2005 and 2016. The researchers found that limited access to healthcare in the Circumpolar North is attributed to factors that include healthcare provider-related, physical geography, language and culture, and systemic-related factors. The results highlight the opportunities that should be explored to increase the access to healthcare for the diverse populations of the Circumpolar North. This article was included in the review because it explores the potential factors contributing to limited access to healthcare that may be applicable to America. The article will be used to explore the effect of factors such as physical geography, culture, and language among others on healthcare access.

Malik-Soni, N., Shaker, A., Luck, H., Mullin, A. E., Wiley, R. E., Lewis, M. E. S., Fuentes, J., & Frazier, T. W. (2022). Tackling healthcare access barriers for individuals with autism from diagnosis to adulthood. Pediatric Research, 91(5), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-021-01465-y

The above study examined the common barriers to healthcare access, barriers encountered during childhood, and advances in research for better healthcare access for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. The researchers undertook a review of literature on scholarly resources that were obtained from PubMed database using MeSH terms. The search yielded 248 publications that were assessed to identify the factors contributing to limited access to healthcare for this population. The analysis of data obtained from the selected articles identified barriers contributing to limited access to healthcare for those with autism spectrum disorders, to include shortage of healthcare services, physician knowledge, cost of services, family and individual knowledge, stigma, and language. This article was included in this review because it provides insights into the factors contributing to limited access to healthcare for those with autism spectrum disorder. The article will be used to inform the analysis of the potential causes of limited access to healthcare and determination if it can be applied to the wider population.

Matin, B. K., Williamson, H. J., Karyani, A. K., Rezaei, S., Soofi, M., & Soltani, S. (2021). Barriers in access to healthcare for women with disabilities: A systematic review in qualitative studies. BMC Women’s Health, 21(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-021-01189-5

The above study was a systematic review of qualitative studies that identified the barriers in access to healthcare services for women with disabilities internationally. The researchers used evidence obtained from 24 articles obtained from databases that included Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed. The results showed that women with disabilities experienced limited access to healthcare because of sociocultural, financial, and structural factors. This article was included in this review because it provides insights into the factors contributing to limited access to healthcare, which aligns with the selected topic. In addition, the article will be used to explore further the effect of structural and socioeconomic factors on access to healthcare for women with disabilities.

Learning from Research

            Several things can be learnt from the above annotated bibliography. First, vulnerable populations such as those with disabilities are highly affected by the limited access to healthcare. The challenges include shortage and cost of services, stigma, physician awareness, and suboptimal physician awareness of the needs of this population. The review also reveals the impact of socioeconomic and structural factors on access to healthcare for different populations. Therefore, the understanding informs nurses’ approach to addressing the issue of limited access to healthcare in practice.

References

Beauchamp, M. L. H., Amorim, K., Wunderlich, S. N., Lai, J., Scorah, J., & Elsabbagh, M. (2022). Barriers to access and utilization of healthcare services for minority-language speakers with neurodevelopmental disorders: A scoping review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 915999. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.915999

Huot, S., Ho, H., Ko, A., Lam, S., Tactay, P., MacLachlan, J., & Raanaas, R. K. (2019). Identifying barriers to healthcare delivery and access in the Circumpolar North: Important insights for health professionals. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 78(1):1571385. doi: 10.1080/22423982.2019.1571385

Malik-Soni, N., Shaker, A., Luck, H., Mullin, A. E., Wiley, R. E., Lewis, M. E. S., Fuentes, J., & Frazier, T. W. (2022). Tackling healthcare access barriers for individuals with autism from diagnosis to adulthood. Pediatric Research, 91(5), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-021-01465-y

Matin, B. K., Williamson, H. J., Karyani, A. K., Rezaei, S., Soofi, M., & Soltani, S. (2021). Barriers in access to healthcare for women with disabilities: A systematic review in qualitative studies. BMC Women’s Health, 21(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-021-01189-5

Create a 2-4 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, which will be a current health care problem or issue faced by a health care organization that is of interest to you.

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 4. To explore your chosen topic, you should use the first two steps of the Socratic Problem-Solving Approach to aid your critical thinking.

1. 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.
2. 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.
     • Refer to the NHS-FPX4000: Developing a Health Care Perspective Library Guide to help you locate appropriate references.
   • Use keywords related to the health care problem or issue you are researching to select relevant articles.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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: 2–4 typed, double-spaced pages, not including the title page and reference page.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
• APA tutorial: Use 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.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

• 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.
  • Analyze academic peer-reviewed journal articles using the annotated bibliography organizational format.
  • Summarize what was learned from developing an annotated bibliography.
• Competency 4: Write for a specific audience, in appropriate tone and style, in accordance with Capella’s writing standards.
  • Apply academic peer reviewed journal articles relevant to the health care problem or issue being researched.
  • Produce text with minimal grammatical, usage, spelling, and mechanical errors.
  • Integrate into text appropriate use of scholarly sources, evidence, and citation style.