Introduction
The local community has a large number of elderly home owners. As a nursing professional and a part of a volunteer community assistance program, I am tasked with recognizing and remedying the problems faced by this demographic. The primary issue identified through discussion is a high number of falls and fall-related injuries, combined with the lack of intervention or change post-factum. Taking in all of the available options, it was proposed that active exercise might be effective in reducing the number of falls. However, the need for research is still high, because the suitable approach to solving the issue is yet to be identified. In this paper, a PICOT question to address the identified opportunity will be created and discussed.
PICOT
PICOT type
An etiology PICOT question must be utilized. The central concern of the case study is identifying whether regular exercise is capable of decreasing the number of falls. Therefore, a question focused on understanding the cause-and-effect relationship better the two is most effective (“Formulating a PICOT question,” 2020). Furthermore, this question structure enables a comparison between an intervention and a lack of intervention.
Formulating PICOT
Are community residents over the age of 65 (P), who have engaged in exercise programs (I) compared with those without regular exercise (C) at lower risk for/of falling (O) over a year period (T)?
Justifying Components
First, the population was chosen as “residents over the age of 65”. This choice was made because the primary recipients of the intervention are people within the local area, who fall in the scope of work for the volunteer organization. The age range was chosen because older adults over 65 represent a major demographic of the neighborhood and are most severely impacted by fall injury. The intervention was chosen according to the case study, which mentioned exercise as a primary method of introducing change. Exercise programs were chosen over the generic word exercise, because there is a need for regularity, structure and a formalized environment that can record the effects of an intervention. The comparison group was chosen as people without regular exercise. The regularity was empathised, as it is a necessary component of reinforcing muscle growth and continuously seeing the effects of physical treatment. Risk of falling was picked as the outcome because it is the primary metric that needs to be decreased in order for the organization’s efforts to be effective. With less falls, less people will be injured and require treatment. Alternatives included fall injury, but were rejected. Considering fall injury as the outcome does not adequately allow the PICOT to address the need to eliminate frequent falls entirely, instead focusing on the outcome of the fall incident. A year period was chosen because of its ability to showcase an influence of change programs.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a relevant and compelling PICOT question was created. It was possible to consider the needs of the population, combined with the wishes of the organization and a primary identified intervention method in order to create the best possible starting point in the process of searching for evidence. This PICOT question can be later utilized in order to build a credible and sizeable body of evidence, upon which a new change strategy can be constructed. The resulting intervention will go on to benefit the community and fulfill the mission of the volunteer organization.
Reference
Formulating a PICOT question. (2020). Duquesne University School of Nursing. Web.