Numerous studies show that patients want to have conversations about their end-of-life care; however, many physicians do not feel comfortable with the topic and are now asking hospice nurses to have these conversations. Which type of research method should be used to determine the impact of this change?

A case study provides an in-depth analysis of a specific situation or individual, which may not capture the broader trends or generalizable data needed to assess the impact of nurses leading conversations about end-of-life care. While useful for exploring complex issues, it lacks the capacity to measure the experiences of a larger patient population.

A physician focus group would focus on the perspectives and comfort levels of physicians regarding end-of-life conversations. While this can provide valuable insights into physicians' thoughts, it does not directly address the patients' experiences or the actual impact of the change on patient care, which is the primary concern in this scenario.

A nurse focus group would gather insights from nurses about their experiences and challenges in conducting end-of-life conversations. However, like the physician focus group, it fails to capture direct feedback from patients, who are the ultimate recipients of the care, thus limiting its usefulness in evaluating the overall impact of the change.