Introduction
Transitional care is a process that seeks to establish the continuity of care by providing education to patients and their caregivers as well as by enhancing communication between providers (Czarnecki et al., 2019). The project will focus on the effectiveness of transitional care in improving patients’ long-term health outcomes. The evidence for the research project will be obtained from a selection of research studies on transitional care as well as by conducting interviews with nurses who participate in transitional care.
Step-by-Step Implementation
In order for the research project to be successful, it will be essential to follow the planned design, which involves two key stages. Firstly, a systematic review requires researchers to appraise a significant volume of information gathered by other scholars to identify common results and trends (Gray, Grove, & Sutherland, 2017). Secondly, qualitative research of nurses’ perceptions of transitional care involves conducting interviews and analyzing them to show whether or not nurses’ perceptions are in line with the outcomes of a systematic review.
Nurses working in emergency care settings were chosen as the target population because establishing a connection between emergency and primary care is believed to be critical for patients’ long-term wellbeing (Elliott, Klein, Basu, & Sabbatini, 2016). Based on the planned design and requirements of the project, it will consist of four steps: preparation, data collection, data analysis, and write-up generation.
Step 1: Preparation
During this step, the researcher will prepare a list of articles to be considered in the systematic review, obtain institutional approvals, select a sample of nurses, and create the interview structure to be used. Choosing items for a systematic review is an essential step because it may affect the reliability and validity of the final results. Hence, the researcher will ensure that all the studies included in the review are credible by selecting randomized controlled trials only (Gray et al., 2017).
Institutional approvals required for the project will include obtaining the hospital’s permission to interview nurses. A sample of nurses from the emergency department should be selected at random because random sampling improves the credibility of any results obtained in the study (Gray et al., 2017). The interview will be based on a semi-structured model, where there is a specific list of questions with opportunities for participants to add more information or explore related topics.
Step 2: Data Collection
During this step, the full list of publications will be appraised to note the results reported by the authors. In order to do this, the researcher will focus on three to five key dependent variables related to transitional care and note the correlation between transitional care and these variables as found in the studies. Interviews with nurses should be also be conducted at this stage as this will ensure that the researcher has enough data for the next step.
Step 3: Data Analysis
This step will involve the researcher creating a synthesis table to show the results of the systematic review, as well as interpreting interview results. The data analysis process for the interview should follow the methods of grounded theory because it allows identifying common concepts and ideas from the interviews and interpreting them (Gray et al., 2017). The transcript of each interview will be analyzed, and the results of the analysis will be synthesized in a clear and concise form, such as a table. Once the data from both sources is analyzed, the researcher will compare the outcomes to decide whether or not nurses’ perceptions and research evidence offer a similar view of transitional care.
Step 4: Write-up Generation
To report the findings, the researcher will write an article that summarizes the background, methodology, findings, and conclusions of the study. As the methodology is a systematic review, the process will follow the checklist provided by Gray et al. (2017). The results and interpretations achieved through interview analysis and comparing both sets of data will also be included. The tables synthesizing evidence will be provided as part of the article to ensure easy comprehension of the results and promote adequate reporting. Based on the results of the project, the researcher will provide recommendations for future practice and research in transitional care.
Timeframe and Resources Required
The methodology of the research does not require the use of particular statistical tools and instruments. However, the researcher will need a computer, a printer, and connection to scholarly databases (e.g., Pubmed) to collect, analyze, and report data. Budget needs to be taken into account may include paying nurses for overtime if the interview cannot be conducted during their regular working hours. The estimated length of one interview is up to 1 hour, so the total expenses should not be higher than $200. The expected timeframe of the project is four months, and this estimation takes into account all possible delays. Table 1 shows the time required to complete each step of the process
Table 1. Project timeframe.
Conclusion
All in all, the proposed research will provide essential data on transitional care and its application to practice in an emergency department. The project will include four steps, from preparation to write-up generation, and will span over the course of 4 months. The chosen methodology will allow producing meaningful data which could be applied to practice and taken into account during future research studies on the topic.
References
Czarnecki, A., Austin, P. C., Fremes, S. E., Tu, J. V., Wijeysundera, H. C., & Ko, D. T. (2019). Association between transitional care factors and hospital readmission after transcatheter aortic valve replacement: A retrospective observational cohort study. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 19(23), 1-12.
Elliott, K., Klein, J. W., Basu, A., & Sabbatini, A. K. (2016). Transitional care clinics for follow-up and primary care linkage for patients discharged from the ED. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 34(7), 1230-1235.
Gray, J. R., Grove, S. K., & Sutherland, S. (2017). Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.