Both parts of the assignment should be submitted together as one
assignment. You will receive one overall mark for the assignment.
All assignments will be submitted via Turnitin through the LMS site for the unit.
Part one: Critical appraisal (2500 words) – please refer to the marking rubric on the LMS
The first part of this assignment requires you to conduct a critical appraisal of the research literature
for your selected health care issue. The assignment should include the following:
 Title – you need to provide a clear and succinct title for your assignment
 Introduction – your introduction should clearly identify the aim and focus of your
assignment.
 Statement of the research and summary of the health issue
o Statement of the research question and brief summary of the health issue selected
with reference to the literature and your PICO framework (assignment one);
 Search strategy – based on your PICO framework, you should identify the search strategy
you used to identify the evidence to answer your question – this may have been adapted
following your initial search and refined to help you identify the relevant evidence. Your
search strategy should include the following:
o Statement of key terms used
o Databases and other sources searched to find the evidence
o Exclusion and inclusion criteria
o A PRISMA diagram should be included in an appendix.
 Review and synthesis of the evidence-base – this is the main focus of the assignment
o Your critical appraisal should review and synthesise the findings from at least four
studies selected for comparison. Your review should include a detailed critical
appraisal of the evidence produced from these studies (you may include a table as
an appendix to present your results.
o Your review should include an appraisal of the relative strengths and limitations of
the evidence on this health issue.
 Concluding statement or conclusion – you should write a concluding statement that clearly
and succinctly summarises the key findings from your review of the evidence.
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Part two: Impact statement (1000 words) – please to the ‘Developing an Impact Statement’
guidance on the LMS (see week 11 tutorial)
Your impact statement should clearly indicate how you would implement findings from your review
of the research literature into health care practice. Your impact statement must include the
following components:
 Setting objectives – what are your main impact objectives? For example, to inform
particular patient groups, to change or influence an aspect of nursing or allied health
practice? To influence policy?
 Audience and dissemination techniques– who is your main audience and how will you
communicate the evidence-base to them? Consider what strategies or techniques you
might use to disseminate research findings into practice – what might be some of the
strengths and limitations of your chosen approach?
 How will you evaluate impact? How will you know if your impact strategies have been
effective? What methods might you use to measure the effectiveness of your impact
statement and the degree to which the evidence is taken up in practice?
References – your assignment should include one final comprehensive reference list for both parts
of the assignment. References should be used to substantiate points made and all references should
be cited according to the APA referencing 6th guidelines.
Marks are allocated to ‘scholarship and written communication’ and ‘referencing and sources’ (refer
to marking rubric). Please ensure your assignment is clearly and accurately written.
For the purposes of this assignment, sub-headings may be used.