The qualitative research selected was a study titled: Pneumonia Care and the Nursing home: A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Resident and Family Member Perspectives (Carusone, Loeb and Lohfeld, 2006).
Problem Statement
The clinical problem that led to the study is the increasing need for long-term healthcare in healthcare establishments due to the increase in population and change in social values. Apparently, a significant part of the population within the age of 65 and above are increasingly requiring hospitalized care for various health related complications associated with old age. Patients requiring this kind of service have been found to prefer receiving the service in hospitals rather than in nursing homes. This has led to frequent transfers of pneumonia patients from nursing homes to hospitals which leads to incurring costs and endangering the lives of the patients due to the risks involved.
There has been little understanding on the capacity of nursing homes to provide long-term care and this has led to residents being of the view that nursing homes are not in a position to provide this service adequately. This is the perspective of many people and therefore this study is of great importance in determining the truth about whether the services offered by nursing homes for long-term care of pneumonia residents are adequate to serve the preferences of Long term care facilities residents as well as their families. The researchers has explicitly established the significance of this study by pointing out that previous studies have not been able to bear conclusive results as they have employed the use of hypothetical approaches rather than real situation analysis which this study employs.
Purpose and research questions
The purpose and research questions are related to the problem as they aim answer the questions as to why the problem exists and how to solve it. Qualitative methods were not adequate to answer the research questions because they concentrate on a small sample which is not representative of the whole population. A mixed research would be more adequate as it would incorporate statistical data to effectively answer the research questions (Turner, 2013).
Literature Review
Conceptual framework
Conceptual framework refers to the theories, expectations and assumptions that qualify the study (Maxwell, 2008). The author identifies a specific perspective from which the study was developed. The research is informed by the belief and expectation that if nursing home residents and their families are aware of the capability of nursing homes to provide adequate long-term care for pneumonia, then they might change their perceptions and opt for the services from long term care facilities hence minimizing the risks and costs associated with transfers to hospitals. the author is of the view that it is only when residents and family members begin to value the onsite services offered by nursing homes that it will be possible for such facilities to utilize technology in order to handle complex functions related to healthcare.
The grounded theory aims to discover a theory by using data that has been obtained systematically through social research. The author has developed a framework involving concurrent data collection. This has been done through concurrent analysis of previous data with the data being collected. Collecting and analyzing the data concurrently is a way of ensuring that the researcher is theoretically sensitive in as far as the data is concerned. Theoretical sensitivity implies that the researcher is able to determine what is relevant and important to the participants (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). By putting himself or herself in the shoes of the subjects, the researcher has been able to identify that the participants value healthcare service that is effective, less risky and economically reasonable.
References
Carusone, S. C., Loeb, M. and Lohfeld, L. (2006). Pneumonia Care and the Nursing home: A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Resident and Family Member Perspectives: BMC Geriatr. Retrieved from. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1379645/
Glaser, B. G. and Strauss, A. L. (1967). Grounded Theory Guidelines for Qualitative Inquiry: Academic Press. San Diego.
Maxwell, A. J. (2008). Designing a Qualitative Study: Bickman.
Turner, K. (2013). Advantages and Disadvantages of Quantitative and Qualitative Research: Retrieved from. http://voices.yahoo.com/advantages-disadvantages-quantitative- qualitative-12242245.html?cat=3
