PICOT Question
In patients aged 18 to 25 (P), who receive education regarding the importance of exercising 300 minutes per week (I) compared to a similar group who does not receive the education (C) will their present level of activity increase by 30% (O) by the end of a 6 month study (T)?
Search Strategy
During the search, such terms Physical Activity and Patient Education. Additionally, such MeSH qualifier as “importance of exercising.” Both types of terms were useful in finding the relevant research papers. The combination of the selected terms was enough to establish appropriate search barriers and find all relevant articles. However, to modify the search, the keyword “cognitive-behavioral intervention” was included as well. After this modification, the outcomes were more successful. During two phases of source searching, three appropriate recent papers were found. To locate them, mainly PubMed and NCBI databases were used.
Critical Appraisal of the Evidence Performed
Most of the articles and scholarly papers on the subject found in the mentioned database are qualitative studies and non-systematic literature reviews. It means most of them contain either Level IV or Level V evidence. Nevertheless, such research papers provide a comprehensive background information and practical recommendations, which may be considered when designing the intervention for the evidence-based practice. Moreover, the findings in such studies, e.g., a statement of the professional perspective by Bezner (2015), are consistent with those stated in the articles containing higher-quality evidence, e.g., the systematic literature review by Gay, Chabaud, Guilley, and Coudeyre (2016). It indicates the conformability or objectivity of the qualitative research. Additionally, along with practical recommendations, many of the located studies describe multiple aspects of patients’ pre- and post-education physical and psychological health status related to distinct conditions, pain, overall functioning, etc. However, taking into account the limitations inherent with qualitative studies, to minimize potential biases and increase the trustworthiness of the used evidence, it can be recommended to expand the search area and include other credible databases such as EBSCO, ProQuest, and others into the investigation portfolio.
References
Bezner, J. R. (2015). Promoting health and wellness: Implications for physical therapist practice. Physical Therapy, 95(10), 1433–1444.
Gay, C., Chabaud, A., Guilley, E., & Coudeyre, E. (2016). Educating patients about the benefits of physical activity and exercise for their hip and knee osteoarthritis. Systematic literature review. Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 59(3), 174-183.