The nurse is conducting a research study on the effects of back massage on older adults. Baseline pulse and blood pressure measurements are obtained for each subject. One-half of the subjects receive a back massage, and the other half does not. Three sets of blood pressure and pulse measurements are taken on all subjects following the back massage received by one-half of the subjects. Ten minutes are spent with each subject while taking these measurements.
What is the independent variable?

A nurse who works in a gerontology clinic is asked to examine the effectiveness of Vitamin D in improving bone mineral density among older clients. The nurse evaluates four recent studies on the topic.
Which study provides the best evidence to support the use of vitamin D?

The nurse plans to conduct an experimental study to investigate this research question: "What is the difference in blood pressure between a randomized sample of children who received mindfulness meditation instruction and a similar sample of children who did not receive the instruction?" Prior to conducting this study, which action is most important for the nurse to take?

A researcher is preparing a timeline for a new study.
At what point in the design process should the researcher seek approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB)?

A convenience sample was used to study nurses' experience with workplace violence.
Findings indicated that nurses and those who received peer support were more likely to report incidences of workplace violence than nurses who feared reprisal for reporting incidents of workplace violence. Based on this study, what action is best for a nurse manager to take who works at a different hospital?

The school nurse who is preparing an anti-smoking campaign for students at a junior high school discovers a research article, published in a peer-reviewed nursing journal, which examined the recent nursing literature to uncover associations between attitudinal factors and smoking among youth populations. These authors concluded that certain attitudinal factors can help determine effective interventions that reduce smoking among youth.
Which action is most important for the nurse to take using this research?

In this statement describing the methodology of a research study, how was the snowball sample obtained? "From 2000 to 2004, a sample of 30 nonhospitalized women, self-identified as having postpartum depression, was recruited by network and "snowball sampling" to discuss their beliefs about postpartum depression.".

The nurse leader on the risk management committee notices an alarming increase in medication errors on a quarterly report.
Which is the first step in initiating a quality improvement project?

A nurse is designing a study to evaluate the effectiveness of preoperative teaching to clients undergoing total knee replacement surgery.
To best identify previous research studies that investigated client teaching effectiveness, what should the nurse do first?

A nurse-manager describes this process for IV insertions on a surgical unit: "We began requiring RNs to cleanse all peripheral insertion sites with both alcohol and an iodine-based cleanser before starting an IV because several multi-institutional studies found a statistically significant decrease in IV-related septicemia rates for surgical clients when both alcohol and iodine were used as cleansers as compared with those who had alcohol only cleansing prior to IV insertions." What statement best describes this unit's client care requirements?

A nurse wants to know if the general population is aware of the nursing shortage.
Which approach provides the most reliable/accurate information?