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Qualitative Study Proposal

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Nature of the Study
This study will be quantitative in nature. It will be an observational retrospective cohort study using an existing National VA database to examine differences in health service utilization by gender for U.S. veterans diagnosed with AKI while hospitalized at Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs). Differences in short-term outcomes, such as length of inpatient stay and inpatient mortality, by gender, will also be examined. This study will also thoroughly describe study population of hospitalized VA patients diagnosed with AKI.
Sample
The population for this study design will be veterans diagnosed with AKI at a VAMC in the U.S. during a five-year period, January 2009 and December 2014. The sample will come from secondary …show more content…

The VA IRB is a three-step process, requiring approval from the IRB, the Research & Development (R&D) Committee, and the Associate Chief of Staff of Research. VA IRB approval is needed to get data use agreements executed and approved for data release for collection and analysis purposes. The proposed study poses a minimal risk because it uses existing data from an existing cohort with no identifiers. This study poses minimal risk, so I will request an exemption from the full IRB review and request an expedited review instead. I must also obtain IRB approval with Walden University as well as part of my student research requirement.
Using an existing National VA AKI-CKD study cohort extracted from the VA CDW containing electronic medical records, I will identify those in the cohort diagnosed with AKI using KDIGO along with associated International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) diagnostic codes for AKI or acute renal failure as inclusion criteria in my study population (Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO), 2012). I will exclude those who do not fit the set cohort criteria.
Gender will be the independent variable while socio-demographic and military service variables (e.g., age, race, marital status, service branch) will serve as covariates. The health services used while hospitalized with AKI will be the dependent variables. I will identify these services using inpatient hospital data codes or Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes.
Data

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