Essays on Randomization

The hierarchy of evidence presents an important means of working towards the explicit, conscientious, and judicious appraisal and utility of current evidence when making important decisions when delivering care. Nurses must understand the best way of appraising information and learn to utilize what is best to assure them of essential demands of the community (Atkins, et al., 2004). Patients require such attention, and nurses need to understand the levels used which are case report, empirical, randomized control trials, systematic literature review, and meta-analysis. Describing each will offer an understanding of the intended evidence demands. Empirical studies are characterized by ...

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between social networking and face-to-face communication with respect to their influence on the social interaction skills. The first aim of the research has to determine whether there is a causal relationship between use of social networking tools and face-to-face communication behaviors. The research aims to investigate the hypothesis. There will be a statistically significant difference in change/gain scores for communication behaviors between the experimental group and the control group; Face-to-face communication is associated with the students’ social media networking habits (i.e. time spent on social media networking). There will ...

1.0 Without putting the figures you cited into a spreadsheet, it is quick to appreciate the fact that the medical costs of obesity is clearly higher than the cost of implementing the research project. The net obesity cost (NOC)-to-project implementation cost (PIC) ratio of 10.2 [$1,429 / $140] is convincingly high. A patient’s annual savings from obesity cost can virtually finance this project implementation estimate. However, it is unclear to us if the cost of implementing the proposed exercise prescription protocol (EPP) or the actual implementation of EPP by the patient, using the necessary equipment and ...

Introduction

Hypertension is among the most progressive and widespread health problems that contributes to significant negative outcomes including increased mortality as well as morbidity rates especially among the African-Americans. Typically, African-Americans usually develop the disease in their early stages of life, have higher blood pressure levels on average and experience various severe hypertension-related illnesses as compared to the other racial groups (Ferdinand, 2013). Although hypertension is untreatable, the illness can be effectively managed through the use of medications and establishing the relevant lifestyle changes. Nonetheless, management of hypertension is suboptimal among the African-Americans due to various factors such as poor ...

Abstract

The paper describes a test and an activity conducted to check convincingly whether there is gender discrimination amongst bank employees and to demonstrate how randomization techniques can help determine whether there difference between proportions is statistically significant in a given case. The test yields a position wherein 35 out of 48 bank supervisors recommend an application for promotion, wherein the applications are varied just by gender and yields 21 male and 14 female recommendations. The test result is put to test using a randomization technique. The original sample is resampled 100 times and with every resampling a different composition ...

Compliance data measured by electronic monitoring, permits distinct aspects of patients’ behavior to be quantified over time. Several compliance parameters have been delineated from those data according to aspects of patient behaviors (Lee & Byun, 2008). Preliminary analysis suggests that many clinicians hold strong negative attitude about the validity and utility of standardized outcome data protocol. In addition to qualitative data on the acceptance of standardized outcome protocols, data on collection compliance ensures patients are taken care of while outcome data involve goals archived as well as patient’s ability to get better in their health conditions. An example, in ...

A 1,000 – 1,500 word limit exists

i) What is the research question? In the treatment of patients with Kawasaki disease (KD), is the addition of corticosteroid therapy to standard therapy recommended over standard therapy alone? KD, an acute autoimmune disease that most commonly affects children and infants, results in the inflammation of the medium-sized blood vessels throughout the body. In rare and extreme cases, KD can affect the heart by causing coronary artery aneurysms and other abnormalities. Conventional primary treatment of KD involves the administration of intravenous immune globulin (2 g/kg) and aspirin (80-100 mg/kg) each day until fever subsides. Newburger et al. (2007) have ...

Quasi-experiments are research designs that attempt to mimic an experimental design. However, the researcher cannot control the assignment of study participants to groups: a key feature for true experiments (Wadsworth, n.d.). This paper explores quasi-experiments as a research design.

Part 1

Advantages of Quasi-experiments Firstly, quasi-experiments, as the name suggests, are not true experiments. They contain elements of both a true experimental and correlational research (Jackson, 2012). Therefore, they allow the researcher to obtain stronger conclusion compared to when they conduct a pure correlational research. Secondly, quasi-experiments are useful in circumstances when conducting a true experiment is either infeasible or very ...

Abstract

Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT) is a modern approach to solving psychiatric problems. The techniques used in this form of therapy have proved to be effective in many situations. In recent years, cases of depression in women have risen considerable. This study proposes the application of the cognitive behavioral therapy in treating cases of depression in women. A brief introduction is provided to highlight the significance of the study. Through the literature review, the applications and perceived success of CBT is substantiated. A randomized study design will be used to select the study participants. Qualified individuals will be subjected to ...

Introduction

In this paper, the article titled “Effect of 2-yn− 3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementations on cognitive function in older people: a randomized, double-blind, controlled” by Dangour et al., 2010 will be critically appraised. The article describes a study that sought to establish whether 2-yn− 3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation has an effect on cognitive function in older people. In the study, a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial was used. Reduced cognitive function and dementia in older people continues to increase and pose a significant challenge to the elderly. Several studies have reported an association between the intakes of ...

Identification of key search words and bibliography

(Author, Department, University,

Abstract Identification of key search words is an important step in any research or study. This process can be done by selecting a draft title, and further exploring the words or phrases in that draft title in the form of synonyms or related terms. This search word can then further be explored in different online databases. After searching the key words in the databases, a researcher is able to find bibliographies that can be used in the paper. That bibliographic information helps in further exploring the information. In this study, key search words for the use ...

Summary

In designing engineering experiments, there are several guidelines to be considered in the process of achieving the final results. These practical guidelines are needed since they dictate the scope of the experiment. The most important stage is the recognition of the problem statement. This involves coming up with a question that will act as a trigger to guiding the direction of the experiment. It involves defining a problem to help in a better understanding about a phenomenon. The determination of the problem statement presents platform for the next stage of choosing factors and levels. This stage involves coming up ...

INSTRUCTION

Choose an online news article that examines the benefit of some food, food components, or diet plan. You can go go Google News and do a search on a specific topic you’re interested in. Or you can just browse the health section of any news site and find an article. (Has to be within last week or current) News Article from the news in the United States. DO NOT USE GARCINIA CAMBOGIA

QUESTIONS Link to article: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-02-tackles-obesity-nutrition-literacy-soccer.htmlLi

What is the hypothesis of the study described in the news article?

Researchers hypothesized that a change of health among school children can be caused by rise in physical activity through playing soccer ...

Drug consult on “citalopram, methylphenidate, or their combination in geriatric depression” in a “randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial” (Lavrestsky et al. 2015, 561). Elderly patients with symptoms of depression do not show responses as strong as younger patients to anti-depressants. Lavretsky et al. (2015) note that antidepressant therapies are commonly used to alleviate geriatric depression but many geriatric patients “chronic course or relapse frequently after periods of improvement” (561). The quality of life of elderly patients with depression is often greatly reduced because of cognitive impairment (561). The sufferers may exhibit a low response to treatment, difficulty functioning with essential ...

Disease management constitutes an important area in the clinical research where drugs possess a significant position. The effect of drugs on various organ systems has been the area of much research interest which gradually made feasible the development of several classes of drugs. Drugs may have dual role of promoting and inhibiting the vital biochemical and molecular pathways that play influential role in the disease outcome.

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are considered as anticongestive heart failure and antihypertensive agents. They have gained wide spread physician and patient satisfaction. The ACE inhibitors prevent the ...

The potential data that can describe the joint venture advantage are through the researcher-made questionnaire. The items or descriptions embedded in the researcher-made questionnaires are well-crafted as these questions were reviewed its relevance of the study. Considering the target customers, this research utilized the responses from the employees, authorities, and customers because they received a direct contact from MHM Company and because they are the recipient of the firefighting products and services. The employees, customers, and authorities were the best participating subjects from the total universe because they are particular with the business like Unisafe and MHM and because they ...

Q1: For the chi-square test, independent t-test, ANOVA, repeated measures ANOVA, and correlation, describe the inferential statistics and what levels of measurement are needed.

Chi-square test: This inferential statistic can be used both as a baseline measure in determining the success of the randomization procedure in the sample assignment and in analyzing the sample attrition level during the study implementation between the baseline point and the study endpoint, which, in the Jemmott, Jemmott, and Fong (1998) study, experienced a small (below 10%) attrition over the period of 3 to 12 months. The level of measurement for the independent and dependent ...

DISCUSSION

Antidepressant and anxiolytic effects of smoking are known to the smoking population, despite the popular belief that smoking has a positive mood affects. The evidence established in Boden, Fergusson, & Horwood (2010) and other literature that have linked smoking to depression assert that the smoking population may actually be vindicated. Regardless of the direction of the causal relationship; it is still a statistically significant relationship with important practical implications. It is possible that the relationship could even be bidierectional, which effectively marries the research findings from both extremes, with infrequenet or acute smoking leading to a reduction in the negative mood affect, while ...

Wounds, whether due to lacerations or incisions, disrupt the integrity of the skin as the body’s first line of defense against infections. Blood vessels are similarly injured resulting in bleeding and significant bleeding if large blood vessels are involved. Hence, wounds must be managed promptly to promote hemostasis, prevent infection, maintain normal body function, and achieve the best cosmetic results (Pfenninger & Fowler, 2010). The method of wound closure is an important consideration as certain methods are better suited for specific types of wounds. There are various procedures employed in closing wounds, namely suturing, skin stapling, taping, ...

“An intervention program to promote health‐related physical fitness in nurses” by Yuan et al. (2009) is a quasi-experimental study that aimed to assess the impact of an exercise intervention on the nurses’ health-related physical fitness. Although quasi-experimental designs can be used to test causal hypotheses and share certain assumptions with experimental designs, quasi-experimental studies do not assume random assignment and control over extraneous variables, so they tend to have low internal validity (Trochim, 2006). Despite potential threats to internal validity, quasi-experimental studies are effective designs for investigating causal effects outside of controlled settings, so they often have good ...

Part A: Strengths and Weaknesses

Purpose of the Study

The researchers have identified the purpose of the study as evaluating the efficacy of FCMPN in reducing fatigue among practice nurses. This is strength in the paper since a clear purpose and objective makes it easy for the reader to understand the study and relate it to nursing practice. FCMPN reduces fatigue, daytime sleepiness and patient care errors by improving sleep quality and quantity. Fatigue is a significant problem associated with working long hours and getting little rest. Nurses suffering from fatigue are a health risk since they are prone to making patient care errors which reduce the quality of care offered ...

Introduction

The current article “Criminal Justice Involvement, Behavioural Health Service Use, and Costs of Forensic Assertive Community Treatment: A Randomized Trial” by Cusack et al. (2010) offers critical insights on the topic of mental illness amongst the jailed populations. Worth noting is the fact that jail detention tends to enhance the occurrence of mental illness. As such, a significant proportion of the jailed populations experience a wider array of mental illnesses. This poses an immense challenge in that reinstating people with mental illness to society life after jail detention is apprehensive. Notably, the challenges are a reflection of challenges faced by an individual ...

Sampling is the process of selecting a group of subjects to act as a representation of the entire target group. The selected representative portion of the population is called a sample, and it upon which generalizations of the research findings is done to apply to the whole target population. There is one principal way through which a sample might not be a representation of the entire population. This occurs when randomization is not done during the process of compiling the sample. It should be noted that randomization is the key to building an effective representative sample for the study. Randomization involves the selection of ...

Among individuals aged 13 to 17 years, previously non-vaccinated with BCG, and who are in direct contact with TB, is the combination therapy of INH 900mg + Rifapentine 900mg once a week for 3 months as effective when compared to individuals aged 13 to 17 years who are also previously non-vaccinated with BCG and have completed the gold prophylactic standard of INH 300mg daily for 6 months in preventing active tuberculosis?

ARTICLE CITATION:

Sterling TR, Villarino ME, Borisov AS, et al. Three months of rifapentine and isoniazid for latent tuberculosis infection. N Engl J Med. 2011;365(23):2155–2166.

CATEGORY: Infectious Diseases

APPRAISAL TYPE: Therapy ...

Introduction

Thesis statement: Portuguese government decriminalized the use and possession of illicit street drugs. Research Question: How to address the ‘drug problem” is an area of contentious debate? Proposed Hypothesis: Decriminalizing the use and possession of illicit street drugs would decrease the number of drug-related deaths and HIV infections. There would be a decrease in the number of new drug users and a decrease in the stigma leveled at all drug users.

Methodology

There are two basic methods of conducting research, qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative research would depend on statistical interpretations. The method would include the collection of data and using ...

Introduction

Genetically modified organisms also termed as GMOs have their genes altered by genetic engineering techniques. Over the past 10 years, many organisms have been genetically modified/altered for numerous purposes. Some of the micro-organisms that have been altered are yeast, bacteria, plants, fish, insects and mammals. GMOs form the base of genetically modified food and crops. GMOs have been utilized in scientific research for the betterment of human life. GMOs are known for their potential benefit to mankind in the fields of biotechnology, agriculture, healthcare and scientific research. (Phillips T. 2008) GMOs are organisms whose genes are modified or ...

Psychology: Early research into prefrontal lobotomy

Introduction Lobotomy is a psychosurgical procedure where the connections of the prefrontal cortex and underlying structures are severed, or where the frontal cortical tissues id destroyed. Lobotomy is a Greek word where lobos mean brain and tomos stands for cut. According to Raz, psychosurgery is where surgical methods are used on an anatomically normal brain with the aim of treating mental illness. The success of lobotomy during its first years after inception has been attributed to a number of factors by historians. During the early years when lobotomy became popular, there were few effective treatments for mental illnesses. This was ...

Extraneous variables may have an influence on the dependent variable. In what ways do researchers attempt to control extraneous variables?

Extraneous variables are variables which have not been controlled while dependent variables are the probability of achieving success. Extraneous variables have influence to the outcome and researchers use some methodology to control them.One of the ways researchers use is making the extraneous variable constant where they try to ensure that there are no changes in the values taken by the extraneous variables during experiments through randomization. For example, when one is testing the effect of temperature on plant growth soil type and amount of water to be constant. These are extraneous variables that affect the experiment. This method of ...

Q1. What is their hypothesis?

Q2. What are the objectives and endpoints and are they clear? Q3. What ethical permissions were obtained and are they suitable? Ethical permissions for research involving human participants were approved by Ethics Committee of Human Experimentation of Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

Q4.Is it double blind/placebo controlled and is the protocol appropriate in this area?

It is not double blind/placebo controlled and the protocol was not appropriate, since only females from a single university were allotted. This could be a biased study.

Q5. How suitable is the randomization?

The randomization was not suitable for the sample, since it chosen via advertisement but there were a suitable randomization for choosing both groups (Gregory et al., 1993). .

Q6. Has it recruited a suitable cohort of patients?

Suitable cohorts of ...

who have had an ischemic stroke

BACKGROUND

Prolonged lowering of a patient’s blood pressure after a stroke occurs has been observed to reduce the risk of recurrent stroke. Additionally, the inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system in with regard to high-risk patients has also managed to reduce the rate of subsequent cardio vascular events, which includes stroke related complications. However, the effect of lowering a patient’s blood pressure using a renin-angiotestin system inhibitor such as Telmisartan, soon after an ischemic stroke has occurred has not yet been clearly established. According to previous research studies and statistics retrieved from WHO, stroke has been ...

National Geographic Xpeditions define human migration as the movement of people from one place to another having the very purpose of finding a permanent residency or a semipermanent residency across a political boundary. These people are either given (i.e. voluntary migration) or not given a chance to relocate (i.e. forced migration). Historical accounts of migration have been well-documented. Adam and Eve moved away from the Garden of Eden in the book of Genesis, and the first human groups originating in East Africa to their current place in the world are among the many examples to cite. Migration may be classified in terms of ...

Industrial Revolution and development of capitalism focused around the key rational drivers to raise productivity, as a result society approached to issue of "complex relations among cultural products and processes, consciousness, and the economic and social organization of society" (1991, Halley, p.228). How successful was a solution of these complex relations in the capitalist world through attempts of delegitimation and reenchantment of rationality? Cultural Processes: New processes need the new cultural drivers. Gradually separated from their generic and institutional origins the cultural activities followed the historic processes. This movement was not easy often followed by the cultural resistance, taking the ...

Yoga is a system based on Hindu philosophy that was developed in ancient India. While the spiritual background in which it was created defined it as a method for attaining a peace of mind and union with the divine, yoga also incorporates several physical and mental practices that are associated with improved physical health and emotional well-being. A posture in yoga is called an asana while a breathing exercise is referred to as pranayama. Both types of practices have been introduced to the Western civilization and popularized during the late 20th century. Since then, yoga has been adopted as a lifestyle by several groups. ...

Introduction

Migraine is characterized by recurrent moderate to severe headaches and autonomic nervous system symptoms such as aura. The headache pulsates on one side of the head only. Additional symptoms of migraine include sensitivity to light and sound, nausea and vomiting. According to Robbins and Lipton, migraines are caused by both genetic and environmental factors and affect up to 15% of the global population at some point in life.1 Typically, the severe headache persist for over two hours but may last up to three days.

Pathophysiology of Migraines

Migraines are chronic neurovascular disorder. Goadsby asserts that the condition starts in the brain and ...

Introduction

The current escalation of computer attacks on the Internet has given engineers and computer network a run for their money and skills. There has been a lot of research that has been done to make sure that networks are safe from the hackers at all times. Network administrators have to make sure that their technologies are always ahead of the hackers and should do the network monitoring keenly. In order to design a secure network, there are a number of factors which must be put into consideration. There are various attacks that affect the network. The following sections of this paper will ...

Many of medical advancement nowadays are for better health care and accurate treatment. One of these medical developments is the clinical research. Based on the reported study, there are over “14,000 clinical trials” are on the move to the country every year, so most likely nurses will encounter different kinds of a patient that involves in, or considering the clinical trial as an option for cure. But there are also patients that refuse to undergo for clinical trials and nurses consider this a big challenge to their profession (The CI & SOCP, 2013). Therefore, what information we should use to let ...

There are three basic aspects that cannot be ignored when addressing digital security. These include computer security principles, encryption and programming techniques used to achieve security. Digital security is all about information and systems security it’s majorly focused on protecting systems and the information they create, process, transmit and store. This clearly brings out the mostly ignored fact that information in motion is prone to attacks and therefore should be protected. Sniffing and snooping of network systems is a bitter reality that cannot be ignored. These are the main attacks that information in motion could be subjected to. In ...

Introduction

The double-blind randomized controlled trial is an experimental procedure where neither the experiments subject nor the person conducting it has any information about the unique aspects of the experiment. A double blind randomized controlled trial aims at measuring and comparing the outcomes that presents themselves from two or more clinical interventions. A single intervention will serve as a standard to compare or as the control in the experiment. The involved participants in the experiment will receive interventions in an organized random manner so that they all have the characteristics which are similar at every start of comparing them. Randomization ...

Introduction

Caffeine is an ingredient in a variety of beverages including coffee, tea, chocolate drinks, cola drinks. Caffeine is also included in some prescription medications (McKinley Health 2004). Caffeine has long been regarded as an ergogenic aid as it has been shown to increase muscle contractibility, aerobic endurance and enhancement of fat metabolism. (McKinley Health 2004). Caffeine acts as a mild stimulant to the central nervous system and the effects of caffeine can be modulated by the subject’s age and body mass (McKinley Health 2004). Caffeine has been shown to improve performance, including endurance, when taken prior to exercise (Ryu et ...

Brief Strategic Family Therapy and Multidimensional Family Therapy

Peter is 15 year-old teenager who lives with his parents. His father is a mechanic whilst his mother does casual jobs. His father is a chronic alcoholic. Peter started drinking when he was 12. Most of his associates also drink. Peter has been arrested twice for stealing cash from groceries shops. Both times he had been taken to the court and ordered to do community service. He has never been sent to jail although he is under supervision by the juvenile system. He has been suspended from school severally and his grades are below average. He is being treated at the ...

“Nurses' Willingness To Take Care Of People Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS)- Does A Teaching Intervention Make A Difference?” Did the study ask a clearly-focused question? The researches have clearly posited a focused question in the study: “Does a teaching intervention make a difference?” (Mockiene et al. 617). As well, from the research question, it is evident that the proposed intervention is an education intervention. The chief goal of the study is to determine whether the education intervention can have a material effect on the willingness of nurses to care for people living with human immunodeficiency virus/ acquire ...

Introduction and background

Depression is a global health problem but which can be contained using non-pharmacological and pharmacological approaches (Dhingra and Parle, 2011). It is the leading cause of mental disability in the whole world and it remains one of the most undertreated health issues in old age (Barry, et al, 2012). In United States, a tenth of the adult population is affected by depression each year and it is estimated that by the end of this decade depression will be the second leading cause of health disability (Dhingra and Parle, 2011). According to Dhingra, in 2011, depression was the fourth most costly disease ...

BPSD in dementia patients

Introduction The management of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia has proven to be a daunting task for healthcare professionals. A mixture of approaches based on behavioral theories and pharmacological interventions have been used to control these neuropsychiatric symptoms with mixed results (de Ven et al., 2012). Dementia-Care mapping (DCM) is a multi-component intervention based on the social-psychological theory of dementia by Kitwood. It was developed in 1992 by the Dementia research group at Bradford University. DCM is posited to provide a holistic person-centered approach to the care of patients with dementia. Kitwood’s theory postulates that neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients ...

Teenage Alcoholism

Article 1: Strandberg, A. K. & Bodin, M. C. (2011). “Alcohol-Specific Parenting within a Cluster Randomized Effectiveness Trial of a Swedish Primary Prevention Program.” Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 111 (2), 92-102. With regards to the problems that affect people later in life as a result of alcoholism, underage drinking is a matter that should be addressed perspicaciously. As Strandberg & Bodin report in their article, research has shown that parents can influence the time when their children start drinking, which justifies the need for an alcohol-specific mode of parenting. As used in the article, alcohol specific parenting is a style of parenting in which the ...