How to Build and Assess the Quality of Healthcare-Related Research Questions.

The objective of this article is to describe a simplified process for building and assessing the quality of healthcare-related research questions. This process consisted of three stages. The first stage aimed to select and explore a field of science. This field would be the area for which to identify outputs, such as units of analysis, variables, and objectives. The second stage aimed to write structured research questions, taking into account the outputs of the first stage. In general, the structure of research questions starts with interrogative adverbs (e.g., what and when), auxiliary verbs (e.g., is there and are there), or other auxiliaries (e.g., do, does, and did); followed by nouns nominalized from verbs of research objectives, such as association, correlation, influence, causation, prediction, application; research variables (e.g., risk factors, efficiency, effectiveness, and safety); and units of analysis (e.g., patients with hypertension and general hospitals). The third stage aimed to assess the quality and feasibility of the research questions against a set of criteria such as relevance, originality, generalizability, measurability, communicability, availability of resources, and ethical issues. By following the proposed simplified process, novice researchers may learn how to write structured research questions of sound scientific value.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Toward Blood Pressure Measurement at Home Among Japanese Nurses.

The self-measurement of blood pressure (BP) at home is useful in predicting the level of target organ damage and in managing hypertension. Nurses are essential practitioners for managing hypertension; however, it is unclear whether they have adequate knowledge of home BP management. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of home BP measurement among Japanese nurses. A questionnaire regarding home BP measurement was distributed among nurses and collected by mail. A total of 6,002 (61.8%) responses were eligible for the study. The proportion of participants who correctly recognized the reference values for clinic BP and home BP was 9.9% and 2.8%. Midwives and those working for the government had the highest proportion of correct responses of reference values among all nursing subgroups. Participants who thought that home BP gave the most important BP information were 62.7%. About 60% of the participants who recommended home BP measurement to hypertensive patients preferred to recommend an upper-arm cuff device. Our findings suggested that more knowledge of home BP measurement among nurses is warranted.

Awareness of the Japanese Society of Hypertension Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension and their use in clinical practices: 2009 survey results.

The objective of this study was to investigate physicians' awareness and use of the Japanese Society of Hypertension (JSH) Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension (JSH2004 and JSH2009), and determine what changes need to be implemented in the future. A questionnaire was used to survey physicians' awareness and their use of JSH2004 and JSH2009. Physicians attending educational seminars on hypertension that were held during the months after the publication of JSH2009 (January-April 2009) were asked to participate in the survey. Of the 5795 respondents, 88% were aware of the JSH2009 publication. Furthermore, physicians were also aware of JSH2004, with about 90% using JSH2004 in their practice. A hypertension blood pressure (BP) reference value of 140/90 mm Hg was used by 55% in office BP, whereas 31% used 135/85 mm Hg for home BP. Target BP levels used by physicians were 130/80 mm Hg for patients with diabetes or kidney disease (52%) and for elderly patients with diabetes or kidney disease (45%), whereas 140/90 mm Hg was used for elderly patients with low cardiovascular disease risk (44%) and for patients with chronic-phase stroke (27%). Answers to the questionnaire varied among physicians according to sex, age, workplace and specialty. The majority of the participating Japanese physicians were familiar with both JSH2004 and JSH2009, with many following the guidelines in their practice. However, some physicians use different reference values for hypertension and target BP levels. Physicians' adherence to and use of the guidelines should be regularly examined and promoted.