Theory Improvement
This essay needs to be very specific to the instructions and stay on point. Here is the theory.
Theory: More in-depth fall risk assessments for hemodialysis patients with referral to specialists (Physical Therapist) and fall prevention education as needed could help prevent or reduce falls, injuries, and loss of independence.
Instructions:
Improve it by using the Conceptual – Theoretical – Empirical Model (CTE) to link the operational definitions with the empirical indicators with the theoretical concepts and the conceptual model components. Explain how the concepts and proposition would be measured in a research study.
Good resources to review:
Marrs, J. & Lowry, L. W. (2006). Nursing Theory and Practice: Connecting the Dots. Nurs Sci Q 19(44) DOI: 10.1177/0894318405283547
Empirical Indicators are variables that very precisely measure concepts. For example, if your theory states “knowledge as a component of sociocultural orientation basic conditioning factor enhances prevention of hazards”, how will you measure research on this theory? Empirical indicators specifically relate theory to research questions. In this case, your research may be comparing scores on a child passenger safety questionnaire with the number of errors in the installation of a vehicle child safety restraint. The score on the questionnaire and the number of errors are very clearly measurable indicators. The proposition is that higher scores on the questionnaire will correlate with fewer errors in restraint installation. If this is found to be true, then there is support for the theory “knowledge as a component of sociocultural orientation basic conditioning factor enhances prevention of hazards”.
A theory consists of two concepts and the proposition between them. For example, if my theory is “If I hold an apple off the ground and let go, the apple will fall.” That statement is not as clear as a straightforward “If concept A exists then concept B has a greater possibility of existing.” but it illustrates concepts and propositions. One concept is “hold an apple off the ground”, the second concept is “let the apple go”. The proposition is “it will fall”. The proposition is usually an action that occurs or could occur when the two concepts exist.
