Nursing Research and Evidence Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Nursing Research and Creating Evidence. Answer: Introduction Research innursing is imperative to demonstrate evidence-based practice that enhances the quality of care provided. Nurses are required to search for and study scholarly research literature (Parahoo, 2014). The present paper would describe the research elements of a quantitative research article Curcuminoid treatment for knee osteoarthritis: A randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial whose author is Panahi et al. (2014). Quantitative research According to Houser (2016) quantitative research defined as the systematic pragmatic study of observable phenomena through mathematical, statistical or computational methods. The aim of such research is development and employment of mathematical theories, models and hypothesis related to the phenomena being studied. The key aspect of this research is the method of measurement as it develops the association between observation of the researchers and the mathematical expression of quantitative relationships. Methodology The research aimed at understanding the clinical efficacy of curcuminoids for treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) in patients suffering from this condition. The study was a pilot randomised double-blind placebo-controlled parallel-group trial. The participants of the study suffered from OA in their knee and were refered to the Baqiyatallah University Clinic (Tehran, Iran) during the years 20112012. The participants had to be less than 80 years old, had to have degenerative primary knee OA whose severity was mild-to-moderate and had to have bilateral OA. Those having an allergy to herbal medicines or curcuminoids were excluded from the study. In addition, those who were to undergo surgical joint replacement or surgical treatment were not considered. Further, individuals with OA secondary to rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory disorders, trauma and haemophilia were not considered for participation. Mal-absorption disorder, psychological disorders, intra-articular injections during the prec eding three months and presence of liver, renal and kidney failure also became exclusion criteria. Random allocation of patients to either curcuminoid (n=27) or placebo (n=26) was done that continued for six weeks. Administration of the medication was done through capsules of 500mg that were similar to the capsules of placebo.randomisation was done alternately with a 1:1 ratio. Patients were allowed to have analgesic at the time of intolerable pain. Regular adherence to medication consumption was looked into. The primary measurement was done with Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). The severity of pain was assessed through VAS rating scale. Lequesnes pain functional index (LPFI) was also used. Statistical analysis was done with SPSS software v.16. Comparison of baseline versus end-trial values for each parameter was done with the help paired samples t-test. Independent t-test was done to carry out the comparison of the changes between the study groups for the intervention. A two-sided p-value of 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant. Ethics Since the study included human participants, ethical concerns remained regarding this aspect. The clinical trial was undertaken by following the ethical considerations of the Declaration of Helsinki and successive modifications (Nuremburg protocol). Ethics committee at the Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences (Tehran, Iran) was responsible for approving the protocol. The protocol and the random placebo prescription was explained in details to the participants. The paticipants had to give written informed consent before they were engaged in the study. Findings A total of 40 participants completed the study, of which 19 were in intervention group and rest in placebo group. WOMAC scores indicated a statistically significant reduction in the global (p 0.001) and subscale scores (p 0.001) in the intervention group. However, there were no changes in the scales for the placebo group (p.05). Coming to the LPFI and VAS scores, significant reductions were observed in the curcuminoids group (p 0.001 for both measures). There was an abscene of statistically significant change occurred in the control group (p 0.05). there were no adverse effects reported from the study. The results achieved from the study indicated the efficiency of curcuminoids in reducing the symptoms of OA. The possible mechanism of effects of curcuminoids as a protection agent is the anti-inflammatory effects of the phytopharmaceutical. The present study is an extension of the previous studies that explored the effectiveness of dietary supplementation with curcuminoids as a noteworthy agent for relieving the symptoms of OA and improving the process of patient care. Nevertheless, care is to be taken in the generalizing the available results. There is a need for further research for unveiling if curcuminoids hold potential to bring modifications in OA with the help of analgesic-independent mechanisms. If the safety of the application of curcuminoids is established and there is a ready availability of different bioavailability-enhanced preparations of the same, larger-scale phase III trials can be undertaken in the future for exploring whether curcuminoids can be considered as an e ffective element of a therapeutic regimen of patients with knee OA. References Houser, J. (2016). Nursing research: Reading, using and creating evidence. Jones Bartlett Learning. Panahi, Y., Rahimnia, A. R., Sharafi, M., Alishiri, G., Saburi, A., Sahebkar, A. (2014). Curcuminoid treatment for knee osteoarthritis: a randomized double?blind placebo?controlled trial.Phytotherapy research,28(11), 1625-1631. Parahoo, K. (2014).Nursing research: principles, process and issues. Palgrave Macmillan.