PICOT Question and Justification

Stephanie Ciarkowski

Seton Hill University

SNU 315-01: Research and Evidence-Based Practice

Dr. Kondas

November 1, 2021
 Topic Importance and Background

Nursing is one of the most common careers in which the public is largely

involved. Some patients are part of different minority groups of which include different

ethnicities, religions, and other personal practices/beliefs. These patients often are

treated differently depending on the attitudes and beliefs of their caregivers. Minorities

are often brushed aside or treated poorly due to personal feelings and decisions and

therefore need to be advocated for most. This is one major defect of the healthcare field

and to prevent it, patient advocacy is very important. This raises the question; In

minority groups, does nursing advocacy improve patient experiences and effectiveness

of care compared to no advocacy? Healthcare professionals are to follow a specific

code of ethics and values in which strictly go against patient discrimination for any

reason. They are to respect the dignity, unique attributes, and human rights of all

patients. It is part of the nurse’s job to listen to the patient, respect their lifestyle, respect

their rights, and stand up for them when necessary. In doing this, they create an

all-inclusive, safe environment for people to seek care. Many studies have been done in

regards to patient advocacy already. One study done titled Nursing Advocacy and Long

Acting Injectables to Reduce High Readmission Rates: Quality Initiative was based

upon schizophrenic patients. Very often, schizophrenic patients are readmitted to the

hospital/psychiatry floor due to non adherence of medications. This motivated the

specific goals of this study; “identify frequent admissions to psychiatry and improve

nursing advocacy for patients appropriate for LAI through in-service” (Vonderhaar and

Snyder 2019). To resolve this issue, audits were done over a 90-day period to search

for readmissions and reasons. These patients have psychiatric illnesses and are
sometimes seen as crazy or cannot advocate for themselves. This study is a form of

advocation for schizophrenic patients because in screening the readmissions, the end

result was that patients were able to receive a long acting injectable so they can remain

on their medication regimen and treat their illness. In doing this, the study proves how

important it is to advocate for those who cannot do so for themselves. Likewise, a

different article titled LGBTQ Patients with Cancer: Nursing Considerations to Reduce

Barriers to Care discusses the issues behind how affordability and bias can have a

negative impact on the outcomes for patients with cancer, with focus on minority groups.

One doctor states within the article that “nurses have a responsibility to ask every

patient, every time, about sexual orientation and gender identity. We must ensure a

safe-care environment for all patients and understand how they would like to be

addressed, what pronouns they prefer, and what gender-specific information would

make them most comfortable” (Pirschel 2020). They discuss how programs may say

they are inclusive, but subtle bias is seen often. For example, they state that the gowns

for a transgender man getting a mamogram are pink and that may make them feel

discriminated. They want people of all sexes and genders to feel comfortable and safe

in the healthcare environment. The final article that was referenced is titled ANA

Position Statement: The Nurse’s Role in Addressing Discrimination: Protecting and

Promoting Inclusive Strategies in Practice Settings, Policy, and Advocacy. This article

discusses different ways that discrimination can be seen as. For example, one line

within states “Hastert (2016) reported that the discrimination and resulting inequities in

health outcomes were not related to income but to demographics, specifically race and

ethnicity” (ANA Center for Ethics and Human Rights 2018). They go on further to state
that they have zero tolerence for discrimination in nursing practice, research, and/or

education.
 References

Snyder, M., & Vonderhaar, B.(2019). Nursing Advocacy and Long Acting Injectables to

Reduce High Readmission Rates: Quality Initiative. Journal of the American

Psychiatric Nurses Association, 26 (4).

https://journals-sagepub-com.setonhill.idm.oclc.org/doi/pdf/10.1177/1078390319

865333

Pirschel, C. (2020). LGBTQ Patients with Cancer: Nursing Considerations to Reduce

Barriers to Care. ONS Voice.

https://web-s-ebscohost-com.setonhill.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vi

d=4&sid=177aa99b-2a5b-4f1c-bc8d-36e30105355b%40redis

ANA Center for Ethics and Human Rights 2018. ANA Position Statement: The Nurse's

Role in Addressing Discrimination: Protecting and Promoting Inclusive Strategies

in Practice Settings, Policy, and Advocacy. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing,

24 (3).

https://web-s-ebscohost-com.setonhill.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=16&sid

=177aa99b-2a5b-4f1c-bc8d-36e30105355b%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3

QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=c8h&AN=138922022