| CODE | HSC5002 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Developing the Evidence Base for Diabetes Care | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Faculty of Health Sciences | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Diabetes is a complex, chronic illness requiring continuous medical care with multifactorial risk-reduction strategies beyond glycemic control. Ongoing patient self-management education and support are critical to preventing acute complications and reducing the risk of long-term complications. Significant evidence exists that supports a range of interventions to improve diabetes outcomes. This study-unit is designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge to appraise the evidence supporting different clinical and educational interventions and includes aspects such as how to search for relevant evidence, how to critically appraise the evidence and how to identify suitable research methods to address specific gaps in the available knowledge on diabetes care. The overall purpose of this study-unit is to further consolidate the students鈥� understanding and application of the concept of evidence-based practice in diabetes care following their undergraduate studies and clinical health care practices. One of the main aims of this study-unit is to critically discuss the advantages and disadvantages of adopting an evidence-based approach to diabetes care. It will introduce the student to the concept and principles of becoming a professional evidence-based practitioner in diabetes care, to understand what it means, and to developing new evidence for diabetes care. This study-unit will consist of a series of interactive sessions and discussions which will highlight the importance of basing diabetes care on findings from research studies, identifying gaps in the current literature, devise, conduct and triangulate qualitative and quantitative research to fill in those gaps by creating new empirical evidence. It provides students with knowledge about quality literature reviewing and incites the student to start thinking seriously on what it means, for what purpose this is performed, and what it involves. Quality means appropriate breadth and depth, rigour and consistency, clarity and brevity and effective analysis and synthesise evidence on a specific topic or issue. Furthermore, this study-unit extends to assist students to further develop and consolidate skills in academic reading, critical appraisal of research-based articles, conducting research, and academic writing / reporting. Various quantitative and qualitative research designs and methods used in diabetes care will be outlined and discussed, giving importance to rigour in diabetes care research. Barriers to application of research findings to clinical practice and strategies to facilitate such an application will also be identified and discussed. The study-unit also introduces students to various national and international independent organizations responsible for providing guidance on the promotion of professional and evidence based diabetes care. These include the European Commission鈥檚 Directorate 鈥� General for Health and Consumers, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) (UK), the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHCRQ) (US), the American Diabetes Association, the International Diabetes Federation, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, and World Health Organisation Protocols. Study-unit Aims: The study-unit aims to: a. Introduce and further consolidate students鈥� learning and understanding of the conceptual framework and principles related to evidence-based practice in diabetes care; b. Equip students with the practical skills necessary to formulate a research question related to diabetes care using the PICO/PEO frameworks; c. Endow students with practical skills related to searching, locating and accessing scientific articles and literature relevant to diabetes care; d. Introduce students to national and international evidence-based practice guidelines, policies, and resources in diabetes care and management; e. Introduce students to information technologies and a range of methods, systems and procedures by which scientific knowledge and information is organized for storage and retrieval; f. Equip students with a range of techniques and practical methods that can be used to analyze, appraise and synthesize scientific literature in an integrated and thematic approach; synthesise the evidence; answer the question; identify gaps in current evidence; plan and conduct research; identify implications pertinent to the local setting; plan the dissemination of findings; and critically review the process; g. Introduce students to quantitative and qualitative designs employed in diabetes care research, and triangulation of such research designs; h. Equip students with research tools development skills and how to use established tools; i. Train students in statistical analysis using SPSS and interpret statistical findings; j. Endow students with an understanding of the principles/criteria to support the application of a qualitative approach to a research study; k. Train students in various types of qualitative data analysis; l. Consolidate students鈥� knowledge related to rigor in diabetes care research; m. Consolidate students鈥� knowledge related to research ethics; n. Equip students with the skills necessary to apply evidence from research findings into clinical practice; and o. Further consolidate students鈥� academic reading, research reporting, and academic writing skills. Learning Outcomes: Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: a. Synthesize the concepts and principles related to evidence based practice in diabetes care; b. Appraise key national and international evidence-based practice guidelines, policies, and resources in diabetes care and management; c. Contrast epidemiologies related to scientific evidence and research in diabetes care; d. Distinguish the principles and criteria to support the application of quantitative and qualitative research; e. Discuss the principles of triangulation and research pluralism; f. Explain the principles of rigor in diabetes care research; g. Appraise the importance of ethical conduct in diabetes research; h. Report all the stages of the research process on the basis of established guidelines for the report of research; and i. Discuss the value of disseminating evidence in diabetes care. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: a. Formulate a research question using the PICO/PEO frameworks on the basis of a provided topic in diabetes practice/care/education; b. Search, locate and retrieve scientific articles and literature related to diabetes care relevant to an identified research question; c. Apply a range of methods, systems and procedures by which scientific knowledge and information can be organized for storage and retrieval; d. Conduct a systematic review in relation to diabetes care: analyze, appraise and synthesize scientific evidence in an integrated and thematic approach; e. Identify gaps in current evidence related to diabetes care; f. Plan, conduct and triangulate qualitative and quantitative research designs and methods to provide new scientific evidence related to diabetes care; g. Design qualitative and quantitative research tools and data retrieval methods; h. Use the SPSS to analyze statistical data, and interpret statistical findings; i. Collect, analyze, interpret and report qualitative research data; j. Apply evidence from research findings into clinical practice; and k. Read and write a scientific report using appropriate academic standards, writing skills and publication ethics. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts - Bryman A, Bell E, Reck J, Fields J. (2021) Social Research Methods Oxford University Press, Oxford. - Creswell, J.W. (2022 ). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 4th Edition. Sage Publications: United States. - Field A. (2024 ) Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Sage Publications 6th Edition. - Richards, L. (2021 ). Handling qualitative data: a practical guide. 4th Edition London: Sage Publications. - Straus, S.E., Glasziou, P, Richardson, W.S.,., & Haynes, R.B. (2018). Evidence-based medicine: How to practice and teach EBM (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone. Supplementary Readings - Creswell, J. W., Poth C.N. (2024). Qualitative inquiry and research design. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. - Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S., Giardiana M.D., Cannella G.S. (2023). The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. 4th Edition. Sage Publications Inc., United States. - Greenhalgh, T. (2019). How to read a paper: the basics of evidence-based medicine and healthcare (6th ed.) Wiley Blackman, London. - Hart, C. (2025) Doing a Literature Review: releasing the research imagination. 3rd Edition Sage Publications: Great Britain. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Ind Study & Ind Online Learning | ||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Liberato Camilleri Roberta Sammut (Co-ord.) Josianne Scerri Agata Maria Scicluna Derkowska Josef Trapani |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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