Finding the Hidden Road

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      While working as a research assistant at the Advancing Chronic Care Outcomes through Research and Innovation Center (ACORN Center), I learned a lot about geriatricians' challenges. I focused on improving the quality of care for the senior population with Dr. Corbett and other team members. We talked continuously about the increasing desire for aging in place (older adults who live alone at their house). Therefore, the ACORN Center’s mission is to research how to improve older adults' quality of life and independence. One of the topics that we focus on is how to use the Alexa virtual home assistant (VHA). My responsibility with the research project was to collect data on Alexa's usage, follow up with participants if any problems occur, and visit them at their houses. Even though Alexa received much positive feedback from the participants, I always felt that Alexa could do more. I had the opportunity to interview one of my participants. I discovered that fall risk was one of her biggest concerns. While interviewing some of my older adult participants, under the mentorship of Dr. Corbett, I learned that fall risks are one of the major causes for older adults to move to nursing homes from independent living. My research is about reducing the fear of falling in older adults. Unfortunately, COVID-19 made everything more challenging than ever; however, I did not give up and continued looking for a way to complete my research. The biggest lesson in this story is that if I have a goal that I want to achieve, I can overcome all challenges. I learned never to give up because I can always find a way to overcome a challenging situation.

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      Through the Foundation of Nursing (NURS 312), I learned more about the different factors contributing to falls and interventions to reduce fall risk. Mobility decreases when visual impairment occurs in the geriatric population. However, based on the attached class note about patient safety, adequate light can improve patient safety by increasing environmental awareness. This knowledge encouraged me to explore more; I found out that light switches that can be reached from the bed, such as a lamp on a bedside table, can help to reduce falls (Swenor, Yonge, Goldhammer, Miller, Gitlin, Ramulu, 2016.) 

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           Therefore, I suggested expanding my mentor’s Alexa research using smart light bulbs to facilitate participants’ access to light sources through voice control. All my participants came from the primary research of Dr. Corbett about the uses of Alexa. Under mentoring from Dr. Corbett, I won a Magellan grant and a mini-grant in Spring 2020. My proposal focused on reducing the fear of falls in the geriatric population by using smart light bulbs. During the writing proposal process, I thought a lot about how to measure the effectiveness of smart light bulbs. I decided to measure smart light bulbs' effectiveness by using quantitative research to measure the number of smart light bulbs that were activated; for qualitative, I would interview my participants after eight weeks of collecting data. Everything seemed planned and ready to start; however, COVID-19 came unexpectedly. School policy about research changed to limit contact with participants. Based on ethical research guidelines, I protected my participants from COVID-19 because they are an at-risk population. I thought it was impossible to continue my research because all my participants were not technology savvy and could not independently install light bulbs to connect with the Alexa device. 

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           However, I did not give up. I decided to go the extra mile. I called my participants and asked if they had any family members who could support the smart light bulbs' setup. Then, I created a specific picture step-by-step guideline to set up the light bulbs because I understand the challenge for older adults regarding technology. For example, I called and asked participants how many light bulbs they needed and where they wanted to install them. Based on these needs, I created a distribution plan for each participant's light bulbs and explained how to use the light bulbs. I also made virtual calls to walk them through each step of the installation. It was time-consuming, but it was effective. 

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           The combination of my classroom and research experiences shows that all research starts from the current literature. There were many obstacles during the process; however, I learned that there is always a hidden road that can bring me to success if I do not give up. Sometimes, we give up too quickly based on the circumstances; however, if something is what we really want to do, we will find a way to make it happen even though that will take extra time and extra work. This research project was a rewarding experience for me. I felt more confident about myself, and I understand that nothing is impossible if my motivation is strong enough. There were many times I thought that it was too hard for me to do; someone else, who is better than me, will take care of it; but now, I know I can do it. Therefore, after finishing my nursing degree, I decided to pursue graduate school, which I thought I could not do before. Also, my participants gave me much positive feedback, especially installing light bulbs because COVID-19 happened out of their control. The installation process helped them gain some control over their lives during the pandemic. Overall, this experience helps me to develop my resilience to challenges and understand better about the geriatric population about how they feel. 

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           The knowledge from my class and the research experience gave me the ability to think outside of the box using technology to innovate new ways to improve lighting, even with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. I learned that if I want to succeed, I will have to overcome obstacles in my life. The importance is not based on how many obstacles there are, but how resilient I am. If that is what I really want to do, my resilience will be stronger and harder with the vision of helping the senior population. I will continue to find new ways to improve their quality of life, and nothing can stop my passion for helping them. This matters to me because I developed resilience, which is one of the qualities I must have to succeed as a researcher and a nurse.