Frameworks for Nursing Research

A group of nurses working in a hospital observed that some patients with chronic renal insufficiency were less cooperative due to being anxious and unable to think clearly. They also noted that these patients were less likely to ambulate and actively participate in their care, unless there was a family member present. Through reviewing the literature, the nurses identified a lack of knowledge about the effects of renal insufficiency on ambulation. The nurses collaborated with an educator with a doctoral degree and developed a proposal for a descriptive, longitudinal study of ambulation and family presence of patients with chronic insufficiency. The framework of the study was synthesized from physiological principles and a theory of family presence and presented as a model.

The study was designed to answer the following questions:

a. How do renal insufficiency, ambulation, and family presence change over the course of hospitalization?

· b. What are the relationships among renal insufficiency, ambulation, and family presence?

Question 1

In your own words, describe the physiological theory that supports the relationship between renal insufficiency and ambulation.

Question 2

The second research question elicits information about relationships, what type of statistical analysis will be done if the data meets the assumptions for a parametric test?