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Nursing QUESTION #9201
Question 1
A Head Nurse is planning a study to determine whether a new wound care protocol reduces infection rates compared to the standard protocol. What is the NULL HYPOTHESIS \((H_0)\)?
  • The new protocol reduces wound infection rates significantly
  • There is no difference in wound infection rates between the new and standard protocols✔️
  • The standard protocol is superior to the new protocol
  • Wound infection rates are affected by multiple confounding variables
Correct Answer Explanation
Correct Answer: B

The null hypothesis \((H_0)\) always states that there is no effect, no difference, or no relationship between variables.

Hypothesis structure:
  • \(H_0\): \(\mu_{\text{new}} = \mu_{\text{standard}}\) (no difference in infection rates)
  • \(H_1\) (Alternative): \(\mu_{\text{new}} \neq \mu_{\text{standard}}\) or \(\mu_{\text{new}} < \mu_{\text{standard}}\)
The purpose of research is to test whether the data provides enough evidence to reject \(H_0\). If rejected, we accept the alternative hypothesis. If not rejected, we cannot claim the new protocol is better — this does not prove they are equal, only that evidence was insufficient to show a difference.