Creating a Purpose Statement, Defining Variables and Formulating a Hypothesis

Creating a Purpose Statement, Defining Variables and Formulating a Hypothesis

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Creating a Purpose Statement, Defining Variables and Formulating a Hypothesis

The aim of this project is the creation and implementation of a risk management plan in a healthcare setting. The plan should be effective and in line with the healthcare’s vision and mission. In order for the objective to be met, the paper will discuss various risk situations that can be experienced at the workplace by patients, employees and other parties. It establishes the factors bringing about these risks and their management. The paper will use both the qualitative and quantitative methodologies in data collection and analysis in order to make accurate deductions, ensuring that the plan created is effective enough to achieve its intended purpose of risk management.

In a hypothesis, various factors interact for the assumption to be true. Some are influenced by changes in other participating factors while others remain constant with a change in the other participating factors. An independent variable in a hypothesis is one the does not change when exposed to different situations thus, it cannot be manipulated by an alteration in the other factors. Regardless of a change in other factors, the independent variable remains constant. Thus, the independent variable is used as the factor against which other variables are measured. In this case, it is referred to as the active independent variable where it is varied in order to measure the extent of response of the other variables in relation to the change in the independent variable (Roger, 2004).

A dependent variable, on the other hand, alters depending on the factors affecting it. The dependent variable changes in response to the independent variable. Hence, the purpose of the dependent variable is to help the researcher identify if the alteration of an independent variable has an effect thus helping in the measurement of the magnitude of the change in response to change in the independent variable (Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, 2013). The dependent variable is crucial as it identifies the significance of the effects resulting from alteration of an independent variable. This creates an accurate solution and one that is effective to the situation at hand.

In this paper, the hypothesis involves identifying the potential risk factor that poses a hazard to patients and employees in the healthcare facilities. By identifying the factors, it is possible to deduce the effects of each and the magnitude of the effect that the factor poses. A possible hypothesis that I could use in this research paper would be as follows. Miscommunication among healthcare personnel is a factor that results in risky situations for patients in health facilities, in the form of occurrence of medical errors. In this case, miscommunications are the independent variables while the risk situations in the form of medical errors arising from the miscommunications are the dependent variables.

Here, a qualitative risk analysis approach will be used to collect data on the various occurrences of miscommunications and the number of medical errors that have resulted from that. The amount of medical errors that have occurred in healthcare facilities where the level of miscommunications is high leading to hazards to patients’ health will be compared to the amount of medical errors that have occurred in places where few and no miscommunications have occurred. This will bring out the relation between miscommunication and the medical errors arising from the miscommunications, indicating the magnitude of risks that miscommunication poses to the healthcare industry.

References

Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania. (2013). Independent and dependent variables. Retrieved from: http://www.lhup.edu/sboland/independent_and_dependent_variab.htm

Roger, M. Ph.D. (2004). The Whole Art of Deduction: Research Skills for New Scientists. Retrieved from: http://www.sahs.utmb.edu/pellinore/intro_to_research/wad/wad_home.htm#contents