Pivoting My Research Topic

May 5, 2022

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Plan A: Older Adults in Nursing Homes

Back in October of 2021, I blogged about certain tips for finding a research topic. I had decided on my topic focusing on "Virtual Daily Physical Activity Intervention among Older Adults living in Nursing Homes in the Chippewa Valley". The purpose of this intervention was to monitor and intervene with the support of helping participants increase their physical activity with the technology of an activPAL tracker and iPad device. With electronic devices, I would've been able to further examine external factors relating to their lifestyles and help improve by implementing possible virtual interventions. Using the active trackers, the goal was to examine the number of steps, sitting, and standing completed each day to relate how this is a part of the participant's sedentary lifestyle. In the end, a survey response questionnaire was planned to be sent to participants and evaluated if this study could potentially be effective in a sustainable way to increase activity.

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In April of 2022, I began reaching out and communicating with nursing homes in the area about the possibility of recruiting participants in their facilities. The main response I received was an unsure yes because Covid-19 still being a present problem. While my goal for this research project was to be virtual for them, face-to-face interaction, in the beginning, was required. The little face-to-face interaction at the beginning of my planned project could potentially put participants at risk given their status of being in a higher risk category. While Covid-19 has altered many plans, pivoting my target audience was the only option left as finding participants that fit into my category would be difficult. On 4/23/22, the day I realized my situation and the complications of being able to find participants, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) approved my summer grant proposal for my original topic the next day. I had to call the director and communicate with them how the proposal they had just approved would no longer be valid until I could figure out how to pivot my research. Fortunately, I was able to communicate with the director of ORSP and explain my situation where I am allowed to edit my original grant proposal for funding this Summer.

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Plan B: Finding A New Audience

Since I was allowed to edit my grant proposal to still receive approved funding, I had to pivot my research plan to still compose similar aspects of the intervention I originally planned. The title of my new research topic is "Secondary Analysis of the Mayo Clinic Family Medicine Resident Wellness Study". The purpose of this study is similar, but we will examine the impact of altered sleep patterns on mental fatigue and perceived burnout level among family medicine residents. I will be analyzing data from the pilot test conducted over the academic year 2021-2022 consisting of 13 participants, each participant having two 14 consecutive days of activity and sleep pattern data during overnight and non-overnight shifts. The accelerometry dataset requires a data mining process to calculate various variables prior to running statistical analyses. The results I will be viewing will be configured by using computer software connected to the worn device and translated into data visualization. The primary task is calculating variables such as sitting and sleep patterns relating to baseline and intervention. This will be done by analyzing 1,440 total cells with each cell representing one minute for every hour for 14 days. Therefore, the aim of the summer project is to compute variables related to sleep patterns and physical activity behaviors at baseline and during the three-week intervention for each of the days of activity monitoring. By understanding the relationship between sleep patterns and mental fatigue, residents can assimilate their personal needs to do their job as medical professionals safely and effectively.