title: The role of a clinical outcome research evaluator. A graduate nursing student's experience.
abstract: Outcome evaluation research is a relatively new paradigm that allows those in nursing to explain the impact of an intervention. The term efficacy is used when an intervention is evaluated as part of a controlled research study, while effectiveness denotes outcome evaluation of uncontrolled interventions in diverse settings. This article describes a graduate nursing student's supervised research experience that contributed to evaluating the efficacy of an intervention consisting of counseling caregivers of elders with dementia via telecommunications. The student's preparation for the role of research evaluator included acquisition of conceptual knowledge about evaluation research, interviewing techniques, and analytical skills to interpret evaluation data. Conceptual knowledge focused on the application of the Donabedian Structure. Process, Outcome Model and issues such as stakeholder, vested interest, and confidentiality. Data collection interviews involved the use of open-ended questions (qualitative) and administration of a structured questionnaire (quantitative). Analysis of qualitative data required identification of positive and negative themes; item responses on the structured questionnaire were compiled as percentages. Findings from the evaluation were used to improve the design of an ongoing intervention study.
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Georgia Hospital, Augusta, USA.
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Daley
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Wright
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research / Q000379:methods*; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008611:Mentors; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D013338:Students, Nursing