NURS-1428 Critical Appraisal Assessment
Your amended assignment for NURS-1428 Critical Appraisal Skills for Professional Practice.
There are two components to the assignment.
1. Main Assignment
2. Matrix
New Proposed Assignment
You are now expected to produce an abridged literature review of 1000 words excluding tables/figures, reference list and matrix
This will consist of the following:
- Main body of the abridged literature review .
This will largely replace Chapter 1 in the handbook and be 1000 words. It should include an introduction to the background of the chosen topic, (e.g policy context, current research, NICE Guidelines etc) and a clear description of the search methodology employed and thereafter a presentation of the proposed themes that you wish to present as a table/matrix.
Following your search, you should be able to find 8-12 papers that can be divided into subject themes (2/3 themes is usual) that you are then expected to present as a matrix (not included in the word count). Please seek advice from your supervisor concerning the types of papers you can include in your final matrix. The papers must present new research findings and have been published in the past 5-10 years. Although it is preferable to use UK research, there are many topics where this is not possible and if this is the case do not restrict yourself to UK papers. You may find in your literature search some very useful papers that can help you understand your topic in greater depth but you cannot use them as part of your final matrix. These would include (the list is not exhaustive), systematic reviews or other review articles, research protocols (these are descriptions of a study where no data has yet been collected), journal editorials, other comment articles and summaries of existing research/practice. Please seek the guidance of your supervisors on this point.
Your moodle shell provides some excellent guidance from ILS concerning how to conduct a literature search. Please refer to this, the handbook and seek the support of your supervisor.
It is very useful to present some of the search methodology diagrammatically. Below is a simple flow chart that should help you with this.
The flow-chart of systematic search for my research articles
You may prefer to use the PRISMA methodology, details of this are shown on the moodle shell.
The aim is to divide your articles into themes. Please seek your supervisor’s guidance at this point. There are a number of ways to present these themes but you may find this table helpful.
The three themes and the corresponding primary research articles
| MHN attitudes and confidence regarding physical health care delivery | Skills development | Intervention tools to support MHNs |
| Robson D and Haddad M. (2012) Mental health nurses’ attitudes towards the physical health care of people with severe and enduring mental illness: The development of a measuring tool. | Howard L and Gamble C. (2011) Supporting mental health nurses to address the physical health needs of people with serious mental illness in acute inpatient care settings. | Smith S et al (2007) A well-being programme in severe mental illness. Reducing the risk for physical ill-health: A post-programme service evaluation at 2 years. |
| Robson D. et al (2013) Mental health nursing and physical health care: A cross-sectional study of nurses’ attitudes, practice, and perceived training needs for the physical health care of people with severe mental illness. | Hardy S, Hinks P and Gary R. (2013) Does training practice nurses to carry out physical health checks for people with severe mental illness increase the level of screening for cardiovascular risk? | Eldridge D, Dawber N and Gray R. (2011) A well-being support program for patients with severe mental illness: a service evaluation. |
| Brown, S. and Smith,E. (2009) ‘Can a brief health promotion intervention delivered by mental health key workers improve clients' physical health: a randomized controlled trial.’ | Nash M. (2009) Mental health nurses’ diabetes care skills – a training needs analysis. | Hardy S, Deane K and Gray R. (2012) The Northampton Physical Health and Wellbeing Project: the views of patients with severe mental illness about their physical health check. |
| Shuel F. et al (2010) Using the serious mental health improvement profile (HIP) to identify physical problems in a cohort of community patients: A pragmatic case series evaluation. |
- Matrix of the Selected Articles.
The original assignment asked you conduct a narrative critique of the selected articles. In this assignment instead of this you should produce a matrix (which is a large table) summarising your selected articles (you should aim for 8-12). This is a research exercise and you are expected to have some understanding of the research, in particular the strengths and limitations of the methods that have been used. There are a number of critical appraisal tools such as CASP. https://casp-uk.net/casp-tools-checklists/ that you may find useful. The web link shows a number of tools for different research methodologies. However please note that nowadays authors are expected to do this as part of the discussion section of their papers and you are recommended to read the papers thoroughly as well as using critical appraisal tools.
For this assignment we have now amended the structure of the matrix and the one we would like you to use is shown below.
Matrix For Research Articles.
| Authors (et al if more than 2 authors) | Title of Paper | Sample Size | Location of Study | Brief Description of Research Study (Approx 100 words) | Strengths of the Research | Limitations of the Research |
Finally, please remember to use the Harvard method of referencing as you will also be expected to produce a reference list of all the papers/reports/guidelines etc that you have included your assignment – not just the articles that are included in your matrix.
Good luck and stay safe.