Staff ask whether a low-cost device reduces falls; there is limited evidence. The NPD practitioner designs a controlled study at the hospital to test effectiveness and plans to submit for peer review. Classification?

Staff ask whether a low-cost device reduces falls; there is limited evidence. The NPD practitioner designs a controlled study at the hospital to test effectiveness and plans to submit for peer review. Classification?

• A. Quality Improvement
• B. Evidence-Based Practice
• C. Research Pilot Requiring IRB
• D. Aggregate Data Report

Answer: (C)

Testing a device's effect in a controlled study with plans to publish results signals research involving people and aims to generate knowledge that can be shared beyond the local unit. Because the scenario describes not just implementing something but systematically testing its effectiveness and intending peer review, it falls under research requiring oversight to protect participants and ensure ethical conduct. Even though it may be a pilot study, the key elements are a formal design, human subjects, and the goal of contributing to generalizable knowledge, all of which trigger IRB review and approval. Quality improvement tends to focus on improving care within a single setting with rapid-cycle changes and without the explicit aim of broad dissemination or generalizable conclusions, often without IRB involvement. Evidence-based practice involves applying or integrating existing best evidence into practice, not usually conducting a new controlled study to test a device. An aggregate data report would involve compiling existing data without a new experimental intervention or planned prospective study. The scenario best fits a research pilot requiring IRB because it centers on a systematic investigation designed to determine effectiveness and intends to share the findings with the wider profession.

Testing a device's effect in a controlled study with plans to publish results signals research involving people and aims to generate knowledge that can be shared beyond the local unit. Because the scenario describes not just implementing something but systematically testing its effectiveness and intending peer review, it falls under research requiring oversight to protect participants and ensure ethical conduct. Even though it may be a pilot study, the key elements are a formal design, human subjects, and the goal of contributing to generalizable knowledge, all of which trigger IRB review and approval.

Quality improvement tends to focus on improving care within a single setting with rapid-cycle changes and without the explicit aim of broad dissemination or generalizable conclusions, often without IRB involvement. Evidence-based practice involves applying or integrating existing best evidence into practice, not usually conducting a new controlled study to test a device. An aggregate data report would involve compiling existing data without a new experimental intervention or planned prospective study. The scenario best fits a research pilot requiring IRB because it centers on a systematic investigation designed to determine effectiveness and intends to share the findings with the wider profession.