XAP Task 1
XAP Task 1
Introduction
Various studies are pertaining to the nursing discipline are available in journals and on the web. Understanding these pieces of information is essential when it comes to increasing one’s knowledge towards the nursing discipline. Normally, these studies encompassing the nursing practice are based on the evidence gathered either through quantitative or qualitative method of research. An exploratory type of research that aims to establish an understanding about the related motivations, opinions, and reasons is the main characteristics of a qualitative research. On the other hand, the quantitative approach aims to gain understanding of the topic by quantifying the issue using numerical data. Thus, the gathered information are normally converted into useful statistics. The objective of this study is to present two different researches, to which they encompass two different methods, one being a quantitative approach while the other holds a qualitative method. In addition, this study will also critique two primary research evidence sources using the evidence table. Part of the evaluation process will critique the journal articles’ background or introduction, its literature review section, the discussion of its research method, data analysis, and the researcher’s conclusion about the conducted study. They will also be evaluated as to whether the pieces of evidence support the researcher’s conclusion as well as the study’s cultural considerations. Lastly, the strengths and limitations of the studies will be presented, along with the description of how they inform the nursing practice. Although it is clear that these articles are separated by their methodologies, they provide pertinent information that can contribute to the nursing practice. They were also able to meet the five important areas of research, which support the overall conclusion of the researchers.
The primary research done in this article aims to understand how the pressure ulcers among patient occur. The study focuses on stages 2, 3, and 4 pressure ulcers. This guides the health care providers, specifically nurses as to how new approaches of interventions can be applied to improve the clinical practice. In addition, the understanding this health condition’s occurrence among patients who underwent elective surgery will help in treating the lesions caused by pressure ulcers. The researchers also addressed the five elements of the evidence table, which are discussed hereafter.
According to the article’s introduction section, pressure ulcer is one of the adverse events that affect the patients across different health care settings (Ursi & Galvao, 2012). In this section, the researchers addressed the introduction part by giving emphasis that such condition creates unwanted results that provide more sufferings to the patients, which can delay the treatment process. These include pain, additional surgery and treatment, mutilation, prolonged hospitalization, increased cost and morbidity. This is a good starting point that will lead the readers to how pressure ulcer adds burden and challenges to both the patients and health care providers. The research topic was discussed on the introduction section by giving emphasis on the reality that, this adverse condition does not only creates higher financial cost, but it also provides various negative impacts on the well-being of the patients and even their families.
Looking at the research’s reviewed literatures, the researchers themselves addressed this element by presenting various points as to how exactly pressure ulcers occur and what would be the best intervention approach needed to prevent it from happening in the future. Additionally, the researchers presented literatures in relation to various risk factors that contribute to the development of pressure ulcers among patient who undergo an elective surgery.
It is important that the discussion of methodology section of every research holds a clear steps or methods as to how the researchers come up with their conclusive ideas. As for this article the researchers used a quantitative research method of study. The study was done in a university hospital. Based on the discussed method, a criteria was included for participants who underwent an elective surgery and no pressure ulcers during the time of assessment. It was clear on this article that the researchers were able to address the methodology as one of the five elements of evidence table. Furthermore, the methodology section of the article facilitated the proposed objective through an instrument created to collect data. This is was also aimed to provide validation from five experts, such as the nurses, 3 teachers from surgical center, and one professor who piloted the research about pressure ulcer.
When it comes to the data analysis part, the researchers presented some pertinent information that can help in addressing the issue. The collected data was organized using a database that was developed by the researchers through a software called Epidata 3.1. There was also an evaluation of quantitative variables for measuring the mean and standard deviation. Within the quantitative evaluation, the variables include participants’ body mass index or BMI, age, and the duration of surgery and anesthesia. Moreover, the researchers were able to address the data analysis element of the evidence table by presenting different figures, such as the distribution of every variable along with its verification process. The researchers’ ability to analyze the gathered data through quantitative approach lead to the development of conclusive ideas, which were presented on the latter part of the article.
The conclusion was addressed in the article by summarizing all the essential information that gave way to the presentation of the researchers’ overall idea about the issue. On this part, it was stated that among the patients who underwent an elective surgery for more than two hours, 25% of them developed pressure ulcers on the different parts of the body. This conclusion was supported by the results section of the research. According to the results, there were total of 108 participants, from which 37 of them developed pressure ulcers. This is why the researchers presented the 25% rating in relation to pressure ulcer development after the surgery. The conclusion section of this article served as the final reiteration of the study’s significant discoveries, which highlighted the overall argument of the article. In every research, it is important that the researchers or authors understand how the study went through. The presentation of conclusions must always be based on the facts, figures, and evidence that were initially and subsequently presented in the body of the research. According to Assan (n.d.), the objective of the conclusion part is to integrate and tie various issues and ideas together, which were covered in the research’s body. The conclusion is also where the final comments of the researchers are located to provide further explanation and meaning of the study that was conducted. In the evaluation of the article’s conclusion, it is clear that is fully supported by the pieces of evidence provided in the research’s body. For instance, the researchers also concluded that this current study serves as reaffirmation of the significance of conducting new studies about pressure ulcers. The researchers’ basis for this reaffirmation is the shortage of national surveys about this issue, which also serves as the supporting idea of this conclusion’s part. Furthermore, the researchers concluded that this study supports the preoperative nurses’ need to implement and propose new intervention techniques to reduce the occurrence of pressure ulcer among patients. This inference is supported by the methodology section, to which a preoperative nurse is one of the five experts that conducted the validation of created instrument in collecting data.
Furthermore, the organization of research results were arranged based on the numerical figures’ arrangement on the method part. Therefore, the pieces of evidence that support the researchers’ conclusion served as patterns on how the conclusion itself has been written. This gave a clearer vision of how the study was conducted and how the researchers formed their conclusive idea about the issue. Although the article’s conclusion part was not as long as the other elements of the research, the authors were able to provide comments that will help the readers in understanding their views and how it can be used for future studies. For example, it was noted that there is a deficiency in national surveys in relation to investigating the occurrence of pressure ulcers among surgery patients. The researchers also reiterated the essence of new research to support perioperative nurses in proposing new interventions, which can reduce the occurrence this medical condition. Then again these, comments are all based on results of their study, which serve as supporting evidence of their conclusions.
The protection of human subjects in every research must be considered at all times. Researchers should ensure that the humans involve in the study will not be affected by any potential harm. This is especially to those who are unwilling to participate in the current study. In fact, there is an existing rules and regulations in relation to research conduct that involves humans as subjects (University of Alaska Fairbanks, n.d.). The journal article uses human subjects, but were not directly named or identified. Therefore, there is a protection of human subjects that were conducted in this research. The approach that was used in obtaining their data were represented by their age, but did not include some other factors that could provide any further harm against them, such as their exact location or socio-economic status. Although some of the data includes the human subjects; race, education, and socio-economic identities were not noted as they were not essential in relation to data analysis. Thus, the research encompassed a cultural consideration that did not subdivide the subjects according to their culture. There was a holistic approach that culture did not play essential roles in order to achieve the research’s main objective. Thus, the overall argument of the research was not in particular with any cultural characteristics of the human subjects.
One of the strengths of this article is its ability to present various data that identifies the need of further study about pressure ulcer. In that way, reduction of pressure ulcer will be achieved and increase the health care professionals’ awareness about this issue. It was also good that the research presented the relationship between the length of the surgery time and the potential occurrence of pressure ulcer. This will help in the presuming the ideal intervention approach to prevent such condition before it could happen.
However, the limitation of the study is in relation to the exclusion of participants due to the absence of the data about their height and weight. According to the research, there were 108 participants, from which the occurrence of pressure ulcer was based from. However, 3 of the participants died and were excluded from the tabulation of the final count between patients who developed pressure ulcer and patients who did not. Apart from this, there was no other limitation present in the research.
On the other hand, the evidence can provide more information to nursing practice in terms of how they can help in preventing pressure ulcers among their patients who just had a surgery. Consequently, this will also improve the level of care provided and reduce potential costs due to pressure ulcers. The study will also inform the nursing practice in terms of understanding how pressure ulcers can be prevented among patients. For instance, nurses will be able to develop new techniques that will prevent such condition before it could happen. It is important that nurses are equipped with knowledge on how to increase their capability to provide quality care in relation to reduction of pressure ulcers to avoid extended hospital stay, which will also help in the reduction of hospitalization cost.
Qualitative peer-reviewed journal
A qualitative approach research method aims to provide a deeper understanding of an issue or topic instead of discussing its surface. According to Hancock, Ockleford, and Windridge (2009), a qualitative research focuses on how individuals or the population can have various ways of viewing at the reality. This is also in relation to the behavioral aspect of the individuals, which are not usually presented in numerical expressions.
The journal article written by Taylor et al (2013) presents a study about the day-to-day behaviors of obese individuals. The researchers addressed the introduction element of the evidence table by highlighting the study’s objective. There were various factors that were included in the discussion of the article’s introduction. It includes the adolescents’ consideration and views about the essence of having a good health as well as the significant ways on how to achieve it. The introduction was also addressed by presenting an issue related to the challenges of individuals when it comes to obesity. Furthermore, the researchers stated an argument that a better understanding how the obese individuals cope with daily challenges would enable the health care professionals in tailoring the effectiveness of health intervention techniques.
Another element of the journal article, which was addressed by the researchers was the review of the literature. In this section, various literatures were discussed according to the sub-divided themes of the discussion. The topic of the research was supported by the literatures that further explained why these group of individuals are prone to obesity. For instance, Buscemi, Beech, and Relyea’s (2011) article was cited as one of the literatures, stating that food acculturation research shows that Mexican- Americans are the ones who normally consume high levels of calorie-dense products. This is to support the researchers’ claim that this minority group has a higher risk of obesity. Along with the other literatures, the researchers were able to present relative studies in connection with their own study’s results.
In the article’s methodology section, the researchers provided a clear discussion of how the study will be conducted. The participants were discussed in terms of the numbers and their age brackets. Since the persons involve in this study came from Mexican-American community, a support from bilingual research associate was used in order to discuss the processes to the Spanish-speaking families or individuals. The methodology section of this research explains that the process involves a series of interviews to the participants, including the setting and how the interviews were executed. The researchers also explained how the contents of the interview was developed, such as using clinical experience and empirical research.
The data analysis has been conducted right after all the essential information have been collaborated. Based on the gathered information, the researchers presented four themes that were established based on the behavior and other factors that affect the obesity rate of Mexican-Americans. The first theme that was developed is related to the participants’ life stage development. The data shows adolescent period as the stage where individuals affected by the issue through teasing of peers, which causes depression towards obesity. The researchers’ analysis of data also enabled the development of three other themes, such as different sources of excess calories, emotional and physical suffering due to obesity in adolescent stage, and the family’s struggle with weight management (Taylor et al., 2013). The authors’ manner in analyzing the gathered data was sufficient enough to create further idea that explains the prevalence of obesity among Mexican-American adolescents. This section was addressed in support of the thesis statement of the researchers that these individuals are suffering from different emotional and behavioral factors due to obesity.
Conversely, the conclusion of the journal article was addressed according to the appropriate collaboration of significant ideas of the research. It was reiterated in this section that the results of the study are essential when it comes to understanding the physical and emotional burdens of this issue. The researchers highlighted that the burden is not an individual issue as there is also a problem regarding how a family can struggle from coping with obesity. Similar to other studies, the conclusion element of this research was addressed by providing insights that could help in improving the current treatment’s effectiveness. Thus, the current approaches and interventions in obesity can be more successful if health care providers will be able to fully understand the significance of adolescence development, extend patience and empathy, and integrate a culturally sensitive health care.
Various pieces of evidence were presented in the research in relation to the topic of discussion. Each section of the research was supported by evidence in order to prove its reliability and credibility. For instance, the introductory statements of the article, which pertain to the obesity rating of the adolescent Mexican-Americans were supported by an evidence obtained from a credible journal source. Every section of this article was supported by evidence either from a reliable source or results coming from the study itself.
The protection of human subjects in this article is quite critical as obesity is one of the sensitive issues, especially for younger populations (Bradshaw, 2013). Relatively, the human subjects are individuals who are at their adolescent stage. Therefore, it is essential that different sensitive factors must be considered. Although the research mainly involves humans as subjects, there was a sensitivity to cultural considerations. That is because, the participants are all Hispanics and it was important to discuss the relationship of their culture with the research topic. For example, how their culture as Mexican-Americans affects and increases their risks of acquiring obesity as they age. Then again, the objective of the research is rather to help the health care professionals in understanding the correlation of culture and health promotion. Thus, it will help the minority groups, such as the Hispanics in preventing such medical condition.
The strengths and limitations of this study focuses on the results. It shows non-generalized in relation to the morbidly obese. Thus, the results may have been better if there were some data gathered about the influence of society towards development of adolescent obesity. However, one of the strengths of this research is the way how the study was designed. Since the participants were Hispanics, the design involves the inclusion of a bilingual researcher support who helped in the interview process.
Furthermore, this research presented evidence that informs the nursing practice, such as the essence of understanding the emotional factors in relation to obesity and that different cultural background may have different views about this issue. In this case, the nurse professionals will be able to increase their competency in terms of developing a future intervention approach to prevent obesity among adolescents.
Conclusion
Studies about the nursing discipline are essential foundations of learning. It is important that they encompass various elements that will support the research itself. The five important areas of research must be included in order to provide a clear presentation of ideas as well as the pieces of evidence that will support such notions. Whether the research uses quantitative or qualitative approach, the sections of the article must be well-organized so as to help the reader in gaining more knowledge based on what is written on the journal article.
References
Assan, J. (n.d.). Writing the Conclusion Chapter: the Good, the Bad and the Missing.Department of Geography, University of Liverpool.
Bradshaw, P. (2013). Child obesity: Who are you calling fat? - BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-21701446
Buscemi, J., Beech, B. M., & Relyea, G. (2009). Predictors of Obesity in Latino Children: Acculturation as a Moderator of the Relationship between Food Insecurity and Body Mass Index Percentile. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 13(1), 149-154.
Hancock, B., Ockleford, E., & Windridge, K. (2009). An Introduction to Qualitative Research.
Taylor, S. A., Garland, B. H., Sanchez-Fournier, B. E., Allen, K. A., Doak, J. S., & Wiermann, C. M. (2013). A Qualitative Study of the Day-to-Day Lives of Obese Mexican-American Adolescent Females. Pediatrics, 131(6), 1132-1138.
Ursi, E. S., & Galvao, C. M. (2012). Occurrence of pressure ulcers in patients undergoing elective surgeries. Acta Paul Eferm, 25(5), 653-659. Retrieved from http://www.scielo.br/pdf/ape/v25n5/en_aop2112.pdf
