• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SPS Newsletter

An official publication of the Society for Pediatric Sedation

An official publication of the
Society for Pediatric Sedation®

    • President’s Message
      • Our Spring Issue Focus is Research
    • Literative Reviews
      • Reviews of Articles About Anesthetics and Their Impact on Neurodevelopment In Children
      • Efficacy Outcome Measures for Pediatric Procedural Sedation Clinical Trials
    • Committee Updates
      • PSRC Update
    • General Articles
      • Survey Science in Pediatric Sedation Research and Practice
        By Daniel J. Sedillo, MD, MBA
        Baylor College of Medicine & The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio
      • Incorporating Research into Your Pediatric Sedation Practice
      • Tips on Successful Grant Writing
      • How to Write a Good Survey
      • Interview with a Sedation Research Expert – Kevin Couloures DO, MPH

Survey Science in Pediatric Sedation Research and Practice
By Daniel J. Sedillo, MD, MBA
Baylor College of Medicine & The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio

All of us have the experience of opening our email and coming across a survey request about some aspect of clinical practice or our preferences towards a genre of art, music, or even our restaurant preferences.  Recently, many pediatrician practitioners received a survey about the MOC process from the American Board of Pediatrics.  For many people, the next response upon seeing a survey request is to simply hit the delete or trash button.  Some may explore a few questions, and then hit the delete button.  Many people may complete the entire survey and even hit the submit button.  Do you ever wonder what happened to your responses?  Did the results ever get published or presented at any forum?  Did the results effect a change in practice or approach to a clinical problem?

The SPS frequently receives these requests, either via the Pediatric Sedation Listserve or directed to the Research Committee of the SPS.  There is no doubt that the SPS membership has a wealth of talent, experience, and opinions about many aspects of pediatric sedation practice and beyond.  How can one harness that expertise to answer serious research or clinical questions?  To that point, the Research Committee has an ongoing effort to examine this issue more closely, and has begun to develop survey submission guidelines that would serve both the researcher and the surveyed individuals.

Surveys and questionnaires are important tools to gather data in many types of research.  They allow the researcher to gather information by asking questions of a limited sample of people, analyzing the data, and then generalizing the conclusions to a larger population.  Many clinical practice guidelines issued by professional organizations and institutions are the results of this type of research methodology.  However, the methodology used in a survey can affect the reliability, the validity, or the ability to generalize the results.  The reader of a survey may then lack confidence in the study findings if he or she is not able to assess aspects of the study, such as the survey methodology or the sample population characteristics.

A cursory review of the existing medical literature provides little guidance for the researcher who is attempting to answer a specific clinical question in the best and most expeditious manner.  The owners of various name and email databases, such as the SPS Listserve, face an almost continuous deluge of survey requests while trying to be good stewards of the database, all the while concerned with protecting the privacy, interests, and time of its clients.

To that end, the current tasks of the Survey Science Subcommittee of the SPS Research Committee are:

  1. To develop submission criteria for the survey researcher,
  2. To develop an assessment tool for the Research Committee to judge the merits of the proposal,
  3. To potentially modify the SPS membership database to make survey research more robust,
  4. To protect the interests of the SPS membership, and
  5. To showcase the wealth of talent and expertise of the SPS membership.

To date, the committee has drafted a preliminary checklist of items that are important to include and to report in survey research.  Hopefully, we can rapidly finalize the submission plan, the approval process, and the implementation protocol.  We welcome everyone’s input into making this process workable and fruitful for our current and future survey research colleagues.

References

  1. Beauchamp GA, Perrone J.  Making Surveys Count:  Enhancing the Rigor of Survey-Based Research in Medical Toxicilogy.  J. Med Toxicol.  2016:12:329.
  2. Bennett C, Khangura S, Behaut JC, Graham ID, Moher D, Potter BK, Grimshaw JM.  Reporting Guidelines for Survey Research:  An Analysis of Published Guidance and Reporting Practices.  PLos Med. 2010 Aug;8(8):e10011069.
  3. Visser PS, Krosnick JA, Lavrakas PJ.  Survey Research.  Stanford University.  2013.  http://web/stanford.edu/dept/communication/faculty/krosnick/Survey_Research.pdf.  Accessed 9 March 2019.

Primary Sidebar

NEXT MEETING

View the program and register through the Mobile Meeting Guide.

CME MODULES

Check out the Society’s online educational modules for physicians and nurses.

 

Footer

About SPS News

SPS News is an official publication of the Society for Pediatric Sedation®

SPS News Editor
Carmen D. Sulton, MD

Contributing Authors
Nancy Crego, PhD, RN, CCRN
Benjamin F. Jackson, MD
Sue Kost, MD
Ali Ozcan, MD
Amber Rogers, MD
Anne Stormorken, MD

Share Your News!

Have an interesting story about your sedation team to share? Has your institution recently been recognized for something? We are looking for content for the next issue of SPS News, due out this summer.

Being a contributor is a great way to get involved in the Society. Contact Joye Stewart at the SPS headquarters office.

Get your SPS member app!

Take full advantage of your membership and download the SPS Member App for quick access to:

  • Renew your dues
  • Conference information
  • SPS News
  • Member section
  • And more!
It's available at your app store!

Copyright © 2022 Society for Pediatric Sedation