Assignment #4: Synthesis and Recommendation

Purpose: Appraise the evidence that addresses your PICO/ EBP clinical question developed in Assignment #2 of this course.  Write a 1-2 page concise summary of your findings.

You will synthesize the findings of each of your articles to answer your selected PICO question. You must include all five of your research articles that you selected for assignment #2.  This includes 4 primary research articles plus your secondary research article. Your selected fivearticles should be published in the past 7 years. At the end of your table, include a reference list in APA style of your five articles.

Procedure

1.  First complete the table provided.  Do not change/edit the provided table—simply fill in.  There should be a total of five articles.

• Total number of Sources/Level: Record the number of sources of evidence for each level.
• Quality Rating of the study: Summarize the overall quality of evidence for each article. Use the “Evidence Level and Quality Guide” to rate the quality of the evidence A, B, or C.
• Synthesis of Findings: Evidence that answers the EBP Question
• Include only statements that directly answer the EBP question.
• Summarize findings within each level of evidence in your own words.
• Cite your statements appropriately using APA in-text citations.

2.  Then write a 1-2 page concise summary of your findings.  This should include:

• Introduction (clinical topic of interest; PICO question; description of search process)
• Concise summary of current evidence
  • Does the literature answer your PICO question?
• Conclusion
  • What are your recommendations/ proposed next steps?
  • Is there a need for an institution specific quality improvement/ safety project?
• References on an additional page according to APA style (include all five articles)
• You must also upload pdf copies of all five of your research articles.  Title the pdfs with the last name of the first author of the article. Note:  *It is necessary to submit an electronic copy of these articles so that I can verify the content. 

NAME_____________________________________________

PICO/ EBP CLINICAL QUESTION: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Category (Level Type)	Article Quality Rating with rationale  (include APA in-text citation)	Synthesis of Findings Evidence that Answers the EBP Question (include APA in-text citation)
Level I Experimental StudyRandomized Controlled Trial (RCT)Systematic Review of RCTs with or without meta-analysis
Level II Quasi experimental studiesSystematic review of a combination of RCTs and Quasi-experimental studies, or Quasi experimental studies only, with or without meta-analysis
Level III Non-experimental studySystematic review of a combination of RCTs and Non-experimental studies, or Non-experimental studies only, with or without meta-analysisQualitative study or Systematic Review of qualitative studies with or without meta-analysis
Level IV Opinion of respected authorities and/or reports of nationally recognized expert committee/consensus panels based on scientific evidence
Level V Evidence obtained from literature reviews, quality improvement, program evaluation, financial evaluation, or case reportsOpinion of nationally recognized expert(s) on experiential evidence

Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Appendix H: Synthesis and Recommendations Tool: reprinted with permission Copyright The Johns Hopkins Hospital/The Johns Hopkins University.

Write a 1-2 page concise summary of your findings.  This should include:

• Introduction (clinical topic of interest; PICO question; description of search process)
• Concise summary of current evidence
  • Does the literature answer your PICO question?)
• Conclusion
  • What are your recommendations?
  • Is there a need for an institution specific quality improvement/ safety project?
• References on an additional page according to APA style (include all five articles)