Manuel Cabrera  Discussion 7: Manuel M Cabrera COLLAPSE Top of Form Discussion 7             Szeto et al. (2010) conducted a pilot study focused on the investigation of the effectiveness of multifaceted ergonomic interventions aimed at community nurses (p. 1022). The results of the pilot study indicate that such interventions improved symptoms and functional outcomes. Pilot studies are typically conducted to evaluate the possibility of a large study and identify complications that may occur. One of the issues that could be considered problematic is that the authors emphasize the importance of statistical significance while overlooking the importance of feasibility. Nevertheless, one may argue that the discussed study is aligned with the definition of a pilot study because it focused on a specific population, and the authors relied on a small sample. Differently put, it would be inappropriate to generalize the results of the study, but it has helped the researchers to assess whether research in this area is feasible. Therefore, a larger study focused on this issue was conducted at a later rate. Szeto et al. (2013) attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of multifaceted ergonomic interventions in four local hospitals aimed at community nurses (p. 414). One of the unique aspects of the study is that the participants involved in the pilot study agreed to continue to participate in research in this area. Therefore, researchers were able to keep track of their progress and evaluated the impact of interventions in the long-term. Moreover, they expanded the explanatory power of the study by increasing the sample size and introducing a self-control group. The results of the study indicate that multifaceted ergonomic interventions designed based on the needs of community nurses decrease symptoms and improve functional outcomes. One has to acknowledge the fact that this study has a set of limitations because researchers focused on local hospitals, and it may be inappropriate to generalize the results. Therefore, it would be appropriate to conduct large-scale studies in this area to establish the overall effectiveness of multifaceted ergonomic interventions. References Szeto, G. P., Law, K. Y., Lee, E., Lau, T., Chan, S. Y., & Law, S. (2010). Multifaceted ergonomic intervention programme for community nurses: Pilot study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66(5), 1022–1034. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05255.x Szeto, G. P., Wong, T. K., Law, R. K., Lee, E. W., Lau, T., So, B. C., & Law, S. W. (2013). The impact of a multifaceted ergonomic intervention program on promoting occupational health in community nurses. Applied Ergonomics, 44(3), 414–422. doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2012.10.004 Bottom of Form Euclides Munoz Perez Discussion # 7 A pilot study is a preliminary study that is done as a pretest for research tools and instruments that will be used in the main study project. It assesses the resources which include the time and costs and forese.

1. Manuel Cabrera
Discussion 7: Manuel M Cabrera
COLLAPSE
Top of Form
Discussion 7
Szeto et al. (2010) conducted a pilot study focused on
the investigation of the effectiveness of multifaceted ergonomic
interventions aimed at community nurses (p. 1022). The results
of the pilot study indicate that such interventions improved
symptoms and functional outcomes. Pilot studies are typically
conducted to evaluate the possibility of a large study and
identify complications that may occur. One of the issues that
could be considered problematic is that the authors emphasize
the importance of statistical significance while overlooking the
importance of feasibility. Nevertheless, one may argue that the
discussed study is aligned with the definition of a pilot study
because it focused on a specific population, and the authors
relied on a small sample. Differently put, it would be
inappropriate to generalize the results of the study, but it has
helped the researchers to assess whether research in this area is
feasible. Therefore, a larger study focused on this issue was
conducted at a later rate. Szeto et al. (2013) attempted to
evaluate the effectiveness of multifaceted ergonomic
interventions in four local hospitals aimed at community nurses
(p. 414). One of the unique aspects of the study is that the
participants involved in the pilot study agreed to continue to
participate in research in this area. Therefore, researchers were
able to keep track of their progress and evaluated the impact of
interventions in the long-term. Moreover, they expanded the
explanatory power of the study by increasing the sample size
and introducing a self-control group. The results of the study
indicate that multifaceted ergonomic interventions designed
based on the needs of community nurses decrease symptoms and
improve functional outcomes. One has to acknowledge the fact

2. that this study has a set of limitations because researchers
focused on local hospitals, and it may be inappropriate to
generalize the results. Therefore, it would be appropriate to
conduct large-scale studies in this area to establish the overall
effectiveness of multifaceted ergonomic interventions.
References
Szeto, G. P., Law, K. Y., Lee, E., Lau, T., Chan, S. Y., & Law,
S. (2010). Multifaceted ergonomic intervention programme for
community nurses: Pilot study. Journal of Advanced Nursing,
66(5), 1022–1034. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05255.x
Szeto, G. P., Wong, T. K., Law, R. K., Lee, E. W., Lau, T., So,
B. C., & Law, S. W. (2013). The impact of a multifaceted
ergonomic intervention program on promoting occupational
health in community nurses. Applied Ergonomics, 44(3), 414–
422. doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2012.10.004
Bottom of Form

3. Euclides Munoz Perez
Discussion # 7
A pilot study is a preliminary study that is done as a pretest for
research tools and instruments that will be used in the main
study project. It assesses the resources which include the time
and costs and foresees budget problems that may occur. It
determines the rate of participant recruitment and participant
recruitment (Lowe, 2019). I selected an article on virtual
patients for assessment of clinical reasoning in nursing.
This study investigated the opinions students had about how
feasible the use of virtual patients (VPs) was during the
assessment of their skills in critical reasoning (CR). This was
because there was a limited number of available methods for
assessing skills in CR especially for courses that were distance
based. The researchers introduced VPs to a total of seventy-
seven students who were studying three different courses in
nursing in two universities as a tool for assessment. They used
sample questionnaires to investigate how applicable and the
potential of VPs in their assessment. The directors of the course
used the system of Web-SP in assessing how the students
interacted with the VPs and to monitor and evaluate the answers
they provided in the questionnaires (Forsberg, Georg, Ziegert,
& Fors, 2010).
This study really was a pilot study for the following reasons: it
was introduced to a small population before being introduced to
a larger population, it tested the recruitment rates in those
universities, it determined how feasible this study was, and it
tested the tools, instruments, procedures, and techniques they
would use in the main study namely questionnaires and the
Web-SP system (Lowe, 2019). All these factors qualify it as a
valid pilot study whose concepts were used in a larger research
on developing virtual patients for medical microbiology
education in 2013 (McCarthy, O’Gorman, & Gormley, 2013).
References

4. Forsberg, E., Georg, C., Ziegert, K., & Fors, U. (2010). Virtual
patients for assessment of clinical reasoning in nursing — A
pilot study. Nurse Education Today, 31(8), 757-762.
doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2010.11.015
Lowe, N. K. (2019). What Is a Pilot Study? Journal of
Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 48(2), 117-118.
doi:10.1016/j.jogn.2019.01.005
McCarthy, D., O’Gorman, C., & Gormley, G. J. (2013).
Developing virtual patients for medical microbiology
education. Trends in Microbiology, 21(12), 613-615.
doi:10.1016/j.tim.2013.10.002
Evelyn Dominguez

5. Discussion 7: Evelyn Dominquez
COLLAPSE
Top of Form
DISCUSSION 7
The purpose of a pilot study is to perform a small-scale test of
the procedures and methods that will be used on a scale that is
larger for a study. It establishes how valid the research will be
based upon, preventing, managing and planning for the
challenges that may be experienced in the actual
study ("Importance of Pilot Studies," 2018). For this article, I
will examine an appropriate pilot study on reflexivity and
clinical reasoning on action strategies in simulated practice
teaching for BSc nursing student finalist, to see whether or not
it is an actual pilot study.
This study explored clinical judgement as a result of the process
of reasoning and mobilization of a network of knowledge, which
are the center on reflexivity and critical thinking. For assessing
this they used twenty-five students for a period of over five
months. These students were exposed to four different
simulations in thirteen skillslab courses which took three hours.
They also participated in six activities that are educational. The
number of students fit the small-scale required for pilot studies.
Different protocols were also tested, the “thinking-out-loud”
approach was tested, hypothesis were formulated, and the
reflexive grid designed was also tested(Granges Zimmermann &
VanGele, 2009).
A larger research that studied the clinical reasoning in
occupational therapists, a theoretical and purposeful sampling
of such therapists was performed through the application of
interviews that were semi-structured. There was the recording,
transcribing, and analysis of the information and data gathered
using comparative analyses that were constant and the grounded
theory approach of Strauss and Corbin (James, Jones,
Kempenaar, Preston, & Kerr, 2017). The results developed a
conceptual method that is used till date.
References

6. Granges Zimmermann, J. D., & VanGele, P. (2009). Pilot study
on reflexivity and clinical reasoning: action strategies in
simulated practice teaching for BSc nursing student
finalist. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 5(3), e155.
doi:10.1016/j.ecns.2009.04.090
The Importance of Pilot Studies. (2018).
doi:10.4135/9781526450180
James, K., Jones, D., Kempenaar, L., Preston, J., & Kerr, S.
(2017). Occupational therapists in emergency departments: A
qualitative study. British Journal of Occupational
Therapy, 81(3), 154-161. doi:10.1177/0308022617744510
Bottom of Form
Alvarez Lizandra week 13

7. COLLAPSE
Top of Form
While researching for a nursing journal earlier than 2010, I
found a pilot study on the effects of creatine supplements in
cystic fibrosis. This study was conducted in 2003. Since
creatine use in athletes is shown to promote muscle growth and
strength, this study’s goal was to test if the use of this
supplement could improve the strength of muscles and
determine the creatine kinase in respiratory epithelial cells. 18
CF patients received a daily dose of creatine for 12 weeks.
Patients were monitored for 24 to 36 weeks and their enzymatic
activity of creatine kinase was measured in epithelial cell
cultures. The results of the study showed that after the use of
creatine on cystic fibrosis patients, there was no change in lung
function and sweat electrolyte concentration. They imply that
this is because of the low creatine kinase activities in the
respiratory epithelia. The results did show that patients had an
increase in muscle strength and a general well-being from
taking creatine. The conclusion of this pilot study suggested
that the use of this product should be further evaluated as a
possible beneficial addition to the therapies for patients with
cystic fibrosis. This could result in increased muscular strength
and well-being.
I believe that this study is a pilot study. This is because there is
no previous research on this topic from earlier years. In
addition, I looked for a larger subsequent study to evaluate my
response but there is still no follow up to this topic. I was not
able to find any recent studies on this topic.
References:
Braegger, C. P., Schlattner, U., Wallimann, T., Utiger, A.,
Frank, F., Schaefer, B., . . . Sennhauser, F. H. (2003). Effects of
creatine supplementation in cystic fibrosis: Results of a pilot
study. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis,2(4), 177-182.
doi:10.1016/s1569-1993(03)00089-4
Pilot Studies: Common Uses and Misuses. (2017, September
24). Retrieved from

8. https://nccih.nih.gov/grants/whatnccihfunds/pilot_studies
ReplyQuoteEmail Author
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Daylamis Gonzalez
Discussion # 7
A pilot study published on August 2009, Vitamin D
and depressive symptoms in women during the winter. Research
indicates that vitamin D supplementation may decrease
depressive symptoms during the winter months. In this study,
nine women with serum vitamin D levels <40 ng/ml were
administered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)-II. After
vitamin D3 supplementation, six of these women completed the
BDI-II and had their serum vitamin D levels reassessed. This
study suggests that supplemental vitamin D3 reduces depressive
symptoms.
I consider that this study is a pilot, a pilot study is
defined as "A small-scale test of the methods and procedures to
be used on a larger scale" (Porta, Dictionary of Epidemiology,
5th edition, 2008). The goal of pilot work is not to test
hypotheses about the effects of an intervention, but rather, to
assess the feasibility/acceptability of an approach to be used in
a larger scale study. Thus, in a pilot study you are not
answering the question "Does this intervention work?" Instead
you are gathering information to help you answer, "Can I do
this?"
Vitamin D and depression study, Available 11 October
2016, this is the consequence study. To examine whether
vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency is associated with
depression and whether vitamin D supplementation is an
effective treatment for depression. There remains a need for
empirical studies to move beyond cross-sectional designs to

9. undertake more randomized controlled longitudinal trials so as
to clarify the role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of
depression and its management, as well as to establish whether
currently suggested associations are clinically significant and
distinctive.
References
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2007.08.001
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.08.082
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032
716308928To
maritza Leon
A pilot study of cognitive therapy in bipolar disorders
This Pilot study was Published online by Cambridge
University Press: 12 April 2001.The efficacy and effectiveness
of cognitive therapy (CT) is well established for unipolar
disorders, but little is known about its utility in bipolar
disorders. This study aimed to explore the feasibility and
efficacy of using CT as an adjunct to usual psychiatric
treatment in this patient population. Subjects referred by
general adult psychiatrists were assessed by and independent
rater and then randomly allocated to immediate CT (N=21) or 6-
month waiting-list control, which was then followed by CT
(N=21). Observer and self-ratings of symptoms and functioning
were undertaken immediately prior to CT, after a 6-month
course of CT and a further 6-months later. Only 29 patients who
eventually received CT, relapse rates in the 18 months after
commencing CT showed a 60% reduction in comparison with
the 18 months prior to commencing CT. Seventy per cent of
subjects who commenced therapy viewed CT as highly
acceptable. Although the results of this study are encouraging,

10. the use of Cognitive therapy in subjects with bipolar disorders
further studies was recommended.
In my interpretation study was labeled appropriately as they
mentioned little was known about the utility of cognitive
therapy in bipolar disorder. Also sampling size was small and
study was not long enough to generalized results. Therefore,
further studies were suggested.
Subsequence study Cognitive–behavioral therapy for severe
and recurrent bipolar disorders: Randomized controlled trial
published by the same University later on January
2018.Efficacy trials suggest that structured psychological
therapies may significantly reduce recurrence rates of major
mood episodes in individuals with bipolar disorders. The
purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of
treatment as usual with an additional 22 sessions of cognitive–
behavioral therapy (CBT). More than half of the patients had a
recurrence by 18 months, with no significant differences
between groups in conclusion people with bipolar disorder and
comparatively fewer previous mood episodes may benefit from
CBT. However, such cases form the minority of those receiving
mental healthcare.
References
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-
medicine/article/pilot-study-of-cognitive-therapy-in-bipolar-
disorders/B6868ADC2B2405136920E2E36B55959A
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-
psychiatry/article/cognitivebehavioural-therapy-for-severe-and-
recurrent-bipolar-
disorders/7EF5E755EF67CD078B67500F2AB622AA