Nursing: PICO Study

                                                         PICO Study

                                                    Clinical Question

          In patients with cancer, how does physical exercise, compared with pharmacological methods, help relieve fatigue and distress?

                                                    PICO Concepts

            P (Patient population): Cancer Survivors. These are individuals who developed any cancer and are still living today. The group includes people who have just been diagnosed with cancer, are undergoing treatment, and are considered to be actively dying from the disease. All these types of cancer survivors will be considered in this EBP study.

            P (Problem):  Fatigue. According to research, fatigue is a significant cause of distress among cancer survivors. As the most common disruptive symptom of cancer, Cancer-related Fatigue involves distressing and subjective emotional and physical tiredness mainly related to the treatment of cancer. Abbreviated CrF, cancer fatigue affected at least 75% of cancer survivors and is regarded as a negative health consequence of cancer treatment.

             I (Intervention: Exercise. The National Comprehensive Cancer Centre has proposed physical activity as a measure for relieving fatigue in cancer patients. Also, the National Cancer Society calls for avoidance of physical inactivity and recommends regular physical activity. Most organizations recommend Physical activity for 150 minutes per week. Physical activity is defined by bodily movements that result in an increased skeletal muscle movement.

            C (Comparison): A lack of physical activity in the patient. A sedentary lifestyle is a primary name given to people who do not engage in physical activity. This type of condition involves prolonged periods of sitting, sleeping, and generally not doing anything. Sedentary behavior is characterized by energy expenditure less than or equal to 1.5 metabolic equivalents in a lying, reclining, or sitting posture. Sedentary behavior is related to negative health outcomes, including an increase in weight,

            O (Outcome) A reduction in fatigue and distress related to fatigue among patients. Self-reported fatigue is the general term used to define and measure fatigue in the individual. This measures the level of tiredness and distress related to the problem in the cancer patient.

                                                       Clinical Category

            Intervention: The EBP is based on intervention where there is a response to a problem facing patients in the nursing unit. The project involves an action to confront or improve the conditions of patients. In this case, the intervention is physical exercise.

                                                                 Search Strategy

            The search for the articles to support the EBP will be guided by the keywords and terms identified. Through the use of combined terms and logical operators, the information will be customized to ensure the relevance of the results. The search will primarily involve the Internet rather than manual methods involving physical books from the Library. The articles for use in this EBP will be retrieved from research journals identified through accredited databases, including CINAHL Plus, Medline, PubMed, AND Google Scholar.

            The inclusion criteria will include peer-reviewed articles published in recognized and reputable nursing health sciences Journals. The articles will also have to have been published within five years after undergoing a rigorous peer-review process. Articles will be excluded if they are not peer-reviewed, published more than five years ago, not related to nursing and health, and not based on a sound scientific method. The review will take on a variety of studies, including at least each of the six types, including systematic review, critically appraised evidence synthesis, randomized control trials, cohort studies, and case-control studies.

                                        Evaluation of Results

            Based on the articles identified through this framework, I think there is a need for improvement. Most importantly, the search process should be reviewed to include papers as old as eight years.