Describe briefly your topic of interest/research question (15 possible points):
The research will seek to compare the comprehensiveness of treatments that older adults receive for mental health problems diagnosed in the assisted living setting with treatments for similar conditions received by those who were diagnosed prior to moving into assisted living. The comparison will show whether mental health care within assisted living facilities is better than care received in other settings.
#1 Database (or collection) (30 possible points):
Owner or publisher of Database: America Psychological Association
Describe (in your own words) the research database or collection of research including the purpose and the subject matter it covers:
The database provides access to more than 4 million professional and scholarly citations in psychology and the behavioral sciences. It also includes references to papers in medicine, nursing, psychiatry, sociology, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, and education that also relate to psychology. The coverage is work published since 1887. The target users are students, faculty members, employees, and consultants. The database can be accessed through paid individual subscription or institutional subscription.
Explain how the database relates to your topic of interest/question:
The APA PsycNET database is relevant to the topic because it permits access to peer-reviewed primary research articles on psychology. Mental health issues in older adults are addressed by a multidisciplinary team that often includes a psychologist. As such, psychological interventions such as counseling may be part of the treatment plan and are also investigated by researchers. An initial search of the site showed a systematic review and case study related to my research question.
#2 Database (or collection) (30 possible points):
Owner or publisher of Database: American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Describe (in your own words) the research database or collection of research including the purpose and the subject matter it covers:
The site gives access to primarily US-based clinical and learning resources for those in the field of psychiatry such as textbooks, practice guidelines, DSM handbook of differential diagnosis, and clinical cases. It also has the largest collection of professional and academic articles from psychiatry journals such as the American Journal of Psychiatry and Psychiatry Services. There are also resources for patients and families. Access is also via individual or institutional subscription, but patient information is open access.
Explain how the database relates to your topic of interest/question:
The web-based portal is relevant to my topic as it provides psychiatry-related information through peer-reviewed articles. The treatment of mental health problems in older adults is under the domain of this discipline. One of the topic headings on the site is geriatric psychiatry. A preliminary research yielded several primary and review articles that relate to my topic.
#3 Database (or collection) (30 possible points):
Owner or publisher of Database: EBSCO Information Services
Describe (in your own words) the research database or collection of research including the purpose and the subject matter it covers:
The database is a subscription-based service provided by a for-profit technology company which enters into contracts with publishers for the inclusion of journals and magazines in the collection. The psychology and behavioral sciences collection currently consists of 540 journals and magazines with 516 of them peer-reviewed and 533 available in full text. The collection’s list shows prominent publishers such as Wiley-Blackwell, Taylor and Francis, Elsevier, and John-Wiley but also smaller university-based publishers in the US, UK, Canada, and northern Europe.
Explain how the database relates to your topic of interest/question:
The collection is relevant to my research question because it provides access to peer-reviewed research, reviews, and other information on psychology which is one of the disciplines concerned with treating mental health problems in older adults. The subject list includes geriatric medicine and geriatric psychiatry with 16 related publications. A trial search yielded 2 articles pertinent to my topic.
#4 Database (or collection) (30 possible points):
Owner or publisher of Database: ProQuest
Describe (in your own words) the research database or collection of research including the purpose and the subject matter it covers:
This is a large database that is also managed by a for-profit company with electronic content as one of its services. It currently enables access to 90,000 academic publications and also has the largest collection of theses and dissertations. The topics are varied and include health, medicine, nursing, psychology, and allied health.
Explain how the database relates to your topic of interest/question:
ProQuest is relevant to my topic because of its collection of peer-reviewed psychology, medicine, and allied health journals. The care and treatment of older adults with mental health problems in residential, community, and other settings may be investigated, documented or reviewed by any of these disciplines. The database’s psychology collection alone is composed of 640 publications. Meanwhile, the nursing and allied health source includes evidence-based articles from by the Joanna Briggs Institute and Medline. A search led to several citations that may be relevant to my research question.
#5 Database (or collection) (30 possible points):
Owner or publisher of Database: Joana Briggs Institute
Describe (in your own words) the research database or collection of research including the purpose and the subject matter it covers:
The database is a digital storehouse of evidence-based practices in health care identified by the JBI in collaboration with 70 international organizations or institutions. Published articles can be literature reviews, practice recommendations, guidelines, systematic reviews, patient information. The database also promotes the dissemination and translation of EBP by providing tools which users can use to evaluate research articles and to transform information into pamphlets, manuals or tailored guidelines.
Explain how the database relates to your topic of interest/question:
The database contains articles on diverse topics in health care. Mental health care is a key element of the holistic health care of older adults. EBP in this area can serve as the standard with which to compare mental health care in assisted living facilities with that of other settings.
