University Library: Physician Assistant Resource Guide: Creating a Research Question

PPAARE: What is it?

P	P	A	A	R	E
Problem	Patient	Action	Alternative	Patients Results	Level of Evidence
What is the problem? Identify a problem affecting a population group, a department within a medical facility, or procedural method analysis	Who is your patient? Identify a disease, health status, age, race, geographic region, sex, or a specific characteristic important to your question.	What do you plan to do for the patient? Identify a specific test, therapy, medication or management strategy.	What is the alternative to your plan? Examples may include: no treatment or a different type of treatment.	What outcome do you seek? Identify possible outcomes/results of the intervention such as less symptoms, no symptoms, or better quality of life.	Review the Pyramid of Evidence on the “Resource Types & Values” page. Systematic Reviews are preferred, but controlled studies and case studies are acceptable.

Examples:

Increase in falls.
Was the closure method used the best method for closure of femoral artery following angioplasty?
Pain indicators in pediatric oncology.
Austism linked to immunizations.
Nurses lack education regarding which batheter is most efficacious and sage to use in patient who experience difficulty voiding related to epidural use during or after labor and delivery.

Examples:

Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Parents' reposrts, children's reports, Wong-Baker face scale, and the FLACC Scale.
Not applicable.
Nurses insert a straight in-and-out catheter into a patient who has received an epidural during labor and delivery.

Examples:

Ambulatory residents in a skilled nursing facility who are cognitively impaired.
50 year old, African American women recovering from a double angioplasty following a myocardial infarction.
Birth to 18 years of age.
Young children.
The patient: Females between the age of twenty and thirty who have received an epidural during natural labor and delivery and have been subject to the use of a catheter (either indwelling or straight) because of difficulty voiding.

Examples:

Decrease the number of falls in the facility.
That the closure method was the best to reduce risk factors, maintain patient comfort, encourage ambulation.
To use the correct indicator to determine level of pain.
Education of Mothers and Fathers on the link between vaccines and autism so that the family can make an informed decision about immunizing and decreasing any fear and anxiety.
Reduce the incidence of UTIs in patients who receive catherization during or after labor and delivery by using the safest type.

Examples:

Falls prevention program.
Watching and observing patient response to procedureand recovery time.
Physiological measures for pain
Gaining knowledge to determin whether or not vacines are actually linked to autism.
Nurses insert an indwelling catheter into a patient who has received an epidural during labor and delivery.

Examples:

Highest level
Peer-reviewed articles, controlled studies, and trustworthy organizational publication
Mid-Level
Evidence to analyzed at the conclusion of the research
Highest possible