NURS-6002 Week 3 Discussion

Using the Walden Library

Where can you find evidence to inform your thoughts and scholarly writing? Throughout your degree program, you will use research literature to explore ideas, guide your thinking, and gain new insights. As you search the research literature, it is important to use resources that are peer-reviewed and from scholarly journals. You may already have some favorite online resources and databases that you use or have found useful in the past. For this Discussion, you explore databases available through the Walden Library.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, initial postings to Discussions are due on or before Day 3, and response postings are due on or before Day 6. You are required to participate in the Discussion on at least three different days (a different day for main post and each response). It is important to adhere to the weekly time frame to allow others ample time to respond to your posting. In addition, you are expected to respond to questions directed toward your own initial posting in a timely manner.

Solution

WEEK 3 DISCUSSION: FOCUS ON ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH

I chose the topic of adolescent mental health because of a personal experience. My cousin was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager. Sadly, because of the strong stigma around mental health in many parts of Africa, including Kenya, his condition was not recognized or treated early. This experience deeply affected me and inspired me to pursue a PMHNP degree. I want to become a strong advocate for mental health education and treatment, especially in African communities, where mental illness is often misunderstood or ignored. 

DIFFICULTIES I EXPERIENCED WHILE SEARCHING:

At first, I had difficulty finding peer-reviewed articles that focused specifically on adolescent mental health. Many results were about adult mental health or general psychology topics that did not apply to teenagers.

To fix this, I changed my search terms. Instead of only using “adolescent mental health,” I tried phrases like “mental health in teenagers” and “youth psychiatric disorders.” I also used the filters in the Walden Library database to limit my search to peer-reviewed journals and to articles published in the last 10 years. This made it easier to find high-quality and relevant articles.

WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS DATABASE?

  • No, I would not recommend this database for people who are new to research and use only general search terms. It can be frustrating and time-consuming if you don’t know how to narrow down the results.
  • Yes, I would still recommend the database overall because it contains a wide variety of peer-reviewed articles on mental health and other medical topics. Once you know how to use the right search terms and filters, it becomes a very helpful and powerful tool for finding trusted academic resources.

 Conclusion:

Using the Walden Library has helped me get better at doing research and finding trusted, peer-reviewed articles. Even though I had some trouble at first, I was able to find good articles after I changed the way I searched. I believe this database will keep helping me in school and in my future work as I try to improve mental health care for teenagers, especially in communities that don’t get enough support.

References:

Bees do-Baum, K., & Knappe, S. (2012). Developmental epidemiology of anxiety disorders. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 21(3), 457–478.

Walden University Library. (n.d.). Databases A-Z: CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Retrieved April 18, 2025, from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library

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