Analysis Plan and Educational Intervention
Design:
Research uses data obtained primarily by the researcher utilizing surveys, interviews, or participant-observation. There are several methods to choose from. For this study, a quantitative, pre-intervention, post-intervention method is relevant and captures the essence of studying perceived experiences. The purpose of this prospective, pre-intervention, post intervention study is to explore the relationship between stress and coping strategies among nursing graduate students and evaluate the impact of an intervention to impart healthy coping strategies to the students. Therefore, this project will assess any changes in stress levels and coping levels among graduate NP nursing students currently enrolled in their first semester of graduate education, identify which coping strategies the students have been utilizing, and evaluate the impact of a coping strategy intervention. Many investigations have been conducted to identify stressors, evaluate stressful experiences, and introduce coping measures among NP nursing students as the phenomena of stress experiences has been highly associated with the nursing profession. This study will evaluate the fact that stress is evident and emphasize the impact that an educational intervention has on perceived stressors. This study will consider conducting a pilot study due to a lack of literature regarding stress as experienced by graduate NP nursing students. A power analysis performed using the criteria from previous studies involving perceived stressors in graduate NP nursing students determined that a moderate to high sample size is required to obtain reliable results. In this section, the research method, the subjects, the data collection procedures, limitations, and ethical considerations are discussed.
Instrument /Measurement Tools::There will be three components that will be analyzed for this study: demographic tool (Appendix D), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) (Appendix A), and the WAYS (Appendix B) tools coping survey. To initiate the use of instruments and tools, the researcher will include a demographic tool. The demographic tool is based on current and previous literature that is relevant to statistical generalization. A self-made questionnaire will determine sociographical factors. Next, an instrument that will be utilized in this study is a self-reporting scale: the PSS (perceived stress scale) (Appendix A). The PSS was developed by Sheu et al., (1983) and was designed to identify stress levels and stressors in nursing students during their clinical training (Labrague et al., 2017). The PSS tool is a 29-item scale consisting of six factors:
1. Stress from taking care of patients.
2. Stress from teachers and nursing staff.
3. Stress from assignments and workload.
4. Stress from peers and daily life.
5. Stress from lack of professional knowledge and skills.
6. Stress from the clinical environment (Labrague et al., 2017). Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WAYS) is used to measure coping processes. This tool will be implemented to assess the thoughts and actions of the participants as the encounter stressful challenges. The WAYS can assist with developing coping skills, evaluating strengths and weaknesses and alternative coping mechanisms (Folkman et al., 1986). This tool is comprised of a 66-item questionnaire. Data Collection and Management Data will be collected with the assistance of the administrative assistant acting as a liaison. The liaison will provide the students’ school email addresses to send them the study details. This information will be kept private as the researcher’s computer access is password protected. Details of the study will be shared within the students’ school email via an electronic flyer. This will be their announcement to the study. This announcement will include the purpose of the study, instructions to the study, and the timeline of events. Once the students have been made aware of the study, the research process will be initiated via electronic delivery. The study will identify stressors experienced via the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) (Appendix A) and will also include the WAYS coping scale (Appendix B) to better manage those stressors. The students will then receive educational interventions. These interventions may be helpful and used throughout their educational journey. The research surveys will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. Once the initial survey is completed, the students will have access to the educational interventions. A follow-up survey will be available after about two-three weeks to determine if the intervention was beneficial. Student input is crucial to help guide future decisions and programs to provide continued value to nursing students globally. Data will be collected upon completion of the surveys via the electronic application the Survey Monkey. Once data has been collected, it will be held in the storage system in a password protected until analysis of the results have been completed. Once the study is over, the data will be destroyed and deleted.
Instructions:
1. In one page explanation, determine the statistical analysis plan/model for this study. Describe how the model would be effective and choose appropriate statistical test.
2. In one page explanation, apply an educational intervention that could be used in this study with evidence of being effective in previous studies.