Understanding the differences between health service assessments, audits, and research can be tricky, especially for novice researchers.
In short, the Nursing study included finding answers to questions about "what nurses should do to help patients", and the audit checked "whether nurses are doing this or not, if not, why not, 1 and the service assessment asks "the impact of care on patient experience and outcomes.
"In this paper we aim to provide some tips to help you with your decision-making --
Develop processes when you start planning your assessment, audit, or research projects.
As a starting point, box 1 provides key definitions for each type of project.
What is the definition of service assessment, Audit and Research?
The service assessment is designed to assess the extent to which a service achieves its intended goals.
It is intended to benefit those who use a particular health care service, and the sole purpose of its design and implementation is to define or judge the current service.
2 The results of the service evaluation are mainly used to generate information that can be used to inform local decisions-making. ▸u2002What is (clinical)audit?
Health UK notes: clinical audits include systematic research on procedures for diagnosis, care and treatment, examination of how resources are used, and investigation of the impact of care on patient outcomes and quality of life.
An audit typically involves a quality improvement cycle that targets a predetermined standard (benchmarking)
Take concrete actions to improve care based on agreed standards or benchmarks and monitor continuous quality improvement.
What is research?
Research includes attempts to expand existing knowledge through a systematic defensible investigation process.
How can I decide whether my project is a service assessment, an audit or a research?
Although there are significant differences between service assessments, audits and studies.
All questions start with important questions that require data to answer questions, and each question requires a systematic approach and a reasonable design.
1 Research methods are often used to evaluate practices or measure results, so this can be confusing.
The main differences in methods are mainly related to the scope and intention of the project.
Table 1 outlines key criteria to help guide your decision-
Develop the right approach for different types of clinical projects. oas_tag.
LoadAView this table: key criteria to consider when deciding whether your project is a service assessment, audit or Study 2, 7 so we will explore the management of postoperative pain in children, we can: conduct a service assessment and ask parents and children to fill out a questionnaire on how they thought about post-operative pain management during their experience in the pediatric ward.
Complete the audit by using standardized data collection tools to compare postoperative pain management practices in pediatric wards with current best practice guidelines.
Undertake a research project to identify the most effective practices for post-operative pain management in children.
Online resources UK Health Research Institute has a useful online decisionmaking tool—
See: applying ethical principles to service assessment, auditing, and research ethical standards, and patient privacy protection laws apply to all types of health research, service assessment, and audit processes.
Research projects carried out in the field of health care usually require the approval of the research ethics committee or the review committee of the subsidiary body (IRB)
And information from health care service websites such as hospital R & D departments.
If you are conducting an audit, you should register your project with the audit department of the hospital or the quality and safety department --
This is mandatory in some organizations.
If you are doing a service evaluation, you should make sure that you get the necessary permissions at the local level or even regional level, depending on the service.
A service assessment or audit may not require specific approval from a research ethics committee or IRB, but ethical principles must still be observed in order to protect patients.
Ethical principles and patient protection laws to be followed: consent-
It is important not to force potential participants to participate in the project.
They have the right to refuse to participate and withdraw at any time. Anonymity—
Participants need to know if their anonymity will be protected and, if so, how to proceed.
Data protection and privacy
You need to consider how you can secure your data storage and protect the privacy of your participants.
In the UK, you will comply with the Data Protection Act (1998)
In the United States, you will comply with the health insurance privacy, portability and Liability Act (HIPPA; 1996)Privacy Rule.
Partnership for Quality Improvement in Health Care (HQIP)
There is a useful guide in applying ethical principles to service evaluation and auditing.
This can be downloaded from: www. hqip. org. uk/assets/. . . /Audit-Research-Service-Evaluation. pdfThe U. S.
The research integrity office of the Department of Health and Community Services has some useful resources on the principles of ethical research practice for the various roles in the research summary, while researchers try to provide evidence to guide practice, it usually takes time for the evidence to go from "bench to bed ".
When an organization needs an answer quickly, it is possible to use a service assessment and/or audit to get "real"
Time data and quickly move discovery to create practical changes.
Auditing is like the "pulse" of an organization "--
It can produce results quickly.
When we check the pulse of the tissue against the expected normal range, we need to make sure that we use the best method to get an accurate reading so that our response is based on good data.
This means that no matter the scope or purpose of the project, your project design should produce high
High quality information about patient care and compliance with ethical standards for protecting patients.
Referee Wade D.
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There is no competitive interest.