Data information knowledge wisdom continuum in healthcare journal literature

¶ … Clinical Question Using Nursing Informatics

The main objective of nursing informatics is to manage and communicate data information, knowledge, and wisdom. This various aspects are part of a continuum in the nursing field that reflects the overarching structure of nursing informatics. The use of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom continuum is increasingly vital in conducting a study on a particular issue that relates to a specific area in the nursing field. Once a research question is developed relating to a practice area in nursing, the researcher works through the progression in this continuum to help address the question. This is an important process in research because a search for a journal article on a particular topic usually generates a huge number of journals that are available in the health care field.

Summary of Clinical Question

As a nurse in an acute care setting, one of the most important aspects of patient care services or processes is enhancing hospital discharge procedures to help avoid unnecessary re-hospitalizations. Readmission of patients into acute care hospitals has become a crucial issue that has attracted considerable attention and concerns at the national level. In my current practice area, patients are increasingly hospitalized for suffering from acute myocardial infarction that is coupled with a history of cigarette smoking. Therefore, the clinical question for the study is, "Are nurses in acute care settings effectively providing patient education regarding smoking cessation strategies and outpatient resources before discharge for patients admitted with acute myocardial infarction and smoking history?"

Using the Data/Information/Knowledge/Wisdom Continuum

The clinical question has been developed on the premise that these patients in acute care settings receive some form of education on smoking cessation strategies while hospitalized but very few obtain adequate outpatient resources and education upon discharge (Katz et al., 2009). This tendency contributes to increased re-hospitalizations of these patients since it generates poor health outcomes among patients. Therefore, there is an increased need to examine the effectiveness of the current processes through examining the existing strategies towards patient education, especially after discharge from the acute care settings.

This evaluation will entail the use of the data-information-knowledge-wisdom continuum, which helps in managing and communicating data. With regards to data, the researcher will obtain raw facts regarding the patients' conditions, current patient education strategies within and outside the health care setting, and effectiveness of these strategies. This will be followed giving meaning to the obtained data as part of information aspect in the continuum. The researcher will organize data into information through differentiating gaps and trends in relation to current practices and strategies. The third step in the process will be knowledge aspect, which will involve examining relationships between these strategies and increased re-hospitalizations of these patients. This process will be carried out as part of analyzing and integrating information obtained regarding gaps and trends in patient care practices (Topaz, 2013). The final step in the continuum would be to use the knowledge from analysis and integration to develop and predict characteristics of issues identified in the materials. In this case, the researcher will seek to propose why current patient education practices for these patients should be improved, especially after discharge to improve patient outcomes and lessen readmissions.

Databases and Search Words Utilized

The research process for this clinical question will involve the use of databases and search words that relate to the various aspects of the issue. These databases and search words will be utilized as part of using the data-information-knowledge-wisdom continuum to gain wisdom regarding the issue. Some of the major databases that will be used to help identify relevant journal articles include EBSCOhost, ProQuest, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and Medline/PubMed. These databases have been selected for the study because they contain a huge number of journal articles, which will help in providing significant insights regarding the topic. Moreover, the selection of the databases is influenced by their credibility as important sources for information for research or studies. The search words to be utilized in the process include acute myocardial infarction patients, history of smoking, patient education on smoking cessation strategies, outpatient resources, and effectiveness patient education measures on outcomes.

Turning Obtained Information into Useable Knowledge

Similar to every other research process, examining this clinical question requires turning obtained information into useable knowledge, which is in turn translated into the wisdom to make decisions. The process of turning obtained information into useable knowledge will entail analysis and synthesis of data from the journal articles extracted from these databases. Once journal articles have been obtained from the databases, the researcher will combine various data points into a meaningful picture based on the context of the study. Generally, turning information into useable knowledge is a continuum of gradual analysis and synthesis of clustered data (Topaz, 2013).

In this case, the researcher will progressively synthesize clustered data on what, when, why, and who. This will help in defining and formalizing relations and interactions in order to create meaningful information or usable knowledge from the varying data points. This implies that the process of turning obtained information into useable knowledge involves identifying relationship patterns between the various clusters of data from the databases. These patterns of relationships are then defined and formalized in a manner that they make sense and are useful to draw conclusions regarding the issue under evaluation.

Using Informatics to Gain Wisdom

As evident in the discussion regarding this clinical question or issue, it is quite evident that nursing informatics can be utilized to gain wisdom. This is primarily because wisdom is one of the vital aspects of the structure of nursing informatics and seemingly the ultimate goal of the progressive steps in the process. Actually, turning obtained knowledge into useable knowledge is not an end by itself but a step that should be translated into wisdom, which guides decisions regarding information obtained from the database search. The ultimate goal of using the continuum is to transform data into wisdom, which helps in influencing decisions in the clinical setting towards better patient outcomes.