Assignment: Theoretical Foundation for Research Paper: Partial Draft

Adults                                                                                                                                          Concepts, Conceptual Relationships, Frameworks/Theories, and Graphic Models

            The frameworks/theories of individualized patient medication education are critical elements of research. According to Jason, Stevens, Ram, Miller, Beasley, and Gleason (2016), these frameworks/theories give guidance for developing research questions and testable hypotheses on how the effectiveness of providing individualized patient medication education for older adults to reduce incidences of medication non-compliance among older patients. In general, frameworks will give a broad description of individualized patient medication education for older adults and inform a researcher of the types of elements classified as critical avenues of studying (McEwin & Wills, 2019). Also, the frameworks or theories play a crucial role in informing research methods and designs. Furthermore, the theories give overall guidance on what components of patient education to research. If theories get founded within frameworks, then frameworks are nested within interest phenomena, patient medication education for older adults (Jason et al., 2016). However, the theories fail to provide specific predictions regarding the relationship between medication compliance and medication patient education among older adults.

            The main concepts in research will be individualized medication education and medication compliance. Sticking to these two concepts will result in attaining valid findings that answer the research question. On the other hand, conceptual relationships will involve semantic connections or links between two or more specialized concepts, medication education, and rates, or medication compliance incidences. For instance, if the healthcare facilities (hospitals) fail to educate discharged older patients on how to take drugs, such patients are likely to abandon the dose before they can finish their dose. This abandonment threatens medication compliance and may bring other complicated health issues leading to 30-day readmission. Under conceptual relationships, a researcher will develop a conceptual framework that illustrates the relationships between independent and dependent variables being studied. For instance, in the study, the independent variable will include medication education lessons, and the dependent variable becomes the rates of compliance.

            The relationship between the independent and dependent variables is that when a nurse educator does not teach or educate patients on how to use medicine while under a home-based care program, such a patient will take wrong doses. So, the independent variable influences the dependent variable's variation in the conceptual relationships (Hennink, Hutter, & Bailey, 2020). In the representation of the relationship, for instance, variables on the left side and outcome (dependent variables are put on the right side (outcomes) while independent on the left side and their facilitating elements or factors.

            The best graphic model for use in studying individualized patient medication education is the Gaussian Graphical Model. This model will help a researcher visualize the relationship between variables. Since the model is probabilistic-based, the relationship is that when individualized patient education for older patients is provided, the positive outcome is medication compliance (Gray, 2017). In contrast, if education is not given, the negative outcome that is non-compliance will probably occur. According to McEwin & Wills (2019), the development of the theoretical elements is vital because it will make a researcher aware of the assumptions that inform the research design, showing the rationale behind them.

References

Gray, J. R. (2017). Frameworks. J. R. Gray, S. K. Grove, & Sutherland, S. (Eds.). Burns and Grove's the practice of nursing research (pp. 138-156). Elsevier.

Greenhalgh, T. M., Bidewell, J., Warland, J., Lambros, A., & Crisp, E. (2020). Understanding research methods for evidence-based practice in health. John Wiley & Sons.

Hennink, M., Hutter, I., & Bailey, A. (2020). Qualitative research methods. SAGE Publications Limited.

Jason, L.A., Stevens, E., Ram, D., Miller, S.A., Beasley, C.R., & Gleason, K. (2016). Theories in the field of community psychology. Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice, 2(3), 23-35

McEwin, M., & Wills, E. M. (2019). Theoretical basis for nursing (5th ed.) Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health.