IRB Submission
IRB Training (CITI) completion date:
Funding:
Research Information –Details:
The management of cancer and chronic illnesses in the early stage is regarded as a key element in enhancing the quality of life in the latter stages of the illness. However, the conventional or norm within the healthcare settings is that the palliative care has been designed for the serious cases and the late stages of cancer. In a majority setting, palliative care is provided within inpatient units meaning that patients in the early stages of their illness and those in preference of home care services with regular visits to the oncology cannot receive palliative care (Greer, Jackson, Meier & Temel, 2013). The association between PC and end of life care has brought in a notion that it is not designed for person in the early stages of their illness. However, this notion remains a null idea and it erodes all the importance and necessity for which PC care is intended. While patients and families may be willing to receive PC care from an outpatient perspective, these services are rarely afforded and it is even worse in that a majority of the insurance plans do not recognize outpatient PC care. This has means that patient with early stages of cancer and chronic illness can only access care when the illness has progressed to more serious cases. PC in itself seeks to increase the patient’s self-efficacy at an a.ler stage so that they can develop adaptability techniques by understanding the progression of their illness and thus planning gradually on how they will cope with each stage.
This study seeks to explore the role of PC within outpatient units purposely by integrating PC within oncology care settings. The researchers are of the view that a descriptive-correlational approach will help provide the quantitative and qualitative data that can be used to determine the impact of PC to the quality of life as well as efficacy of the patient in the later stages of their illness. The researchers will seek to utilize Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) or statistical analysis and NVivo Version 10 analyzer for structural analysis. The research will be discussed along the framework of Dorothy Orem’s Self-Care deficit theory to help identify and recognize the specifics that are applicable within the practical settings (Christensen, Johnson & Turner, 2011).
Study Population & Sample Procedures for Selecting and Recruiting Study Participants:
The study will include a convenience sample population of n=16. The small sample is based on the need to focus on each case and follow-up to completion with a view to collecting specific data. A large sample population would have meant a time-intensive process as well as increased financial needs and there is the limitation of a budget for the researchers so this would not have been possible (Tappen, 2011). A smaller sample means case management techniques would be employed which even works well with the purpose of palliative care where patient specific needs are addressed (Christensen, Johnson & Turner, 2011). The inclusion/exclusion criteria will be as follows for the participants;
That the participant is above the age of 18 years or is 18 years old
That the participant can communicate and write well in English
That the patient has been diagnosed with any type of cancer within the last 3 months and not more
That all the participants are within the selected community-based home care setting
That the participants are of sound mind and viable cognitive capability based on the Brief Cognitive Assessment Tool
That the participants have ach signed the informed consent form
Methods for protecting confidentiality Risk Analysis:
The study is based on human subjects and this implies that the researchers will have to keep in check all measures that protect the participants from physical harm, psychological harm or physiological harm at any time during the research process. Considering that the research is does not in any way involve any surgical or invasive procedures and that a significant part of the research will be based on demographic data and the patients’ perceptions there is little risk for physical and physiological harm (Truman, 2011). However, the level of data required from each participant is delicate enough if accessed by unauthorized parties. The researchers will thus utilize a coded mechanism for data protection so that if required for public interested it cannot be retraced to any participant. The raw data will be stored in an encrypted format for purposes of security and confidentiality and this will only be accessible to the researchers (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2015).
Approval process:
Having identified all the regulatory institutions that will be involved, the researchers will fill in the research application forms and present them to each of the bodies. In this case they include the Ethics Committee of the University and the administration of the community-based home care setting from where the participants will be picked. The two bodies will review the documents and provide feedback in case there are necessary changes. These changes will then be considered and resubmission will be done (Faden, Beauchamp & Kass, 2014).
Compensation
The researchers will not offer any incentives to the participants but will provide all details on funding of the research on request if the participants or any interested party.
Institutional Approval:
The researchers will first seek the approval of the Ethics Committee of the institution. The participants will be picked from a community-based home setting and thus the administration of the respective facility will be approached. The purpose of the research and the hypothesized participant population will be explained to the institutions administration and if approved, the researchers will then begin to select the study participants (Faden, Beauchamp & Kass, 2014).
Informed Consent for Participants:
The researchers, upon gaining the approval of the administration of the community-based home setting from where the study participants will be picked as well as the Ethics Committee of their supporting institution, they will select the study participants. Depending on the outcome of the sample population as guided by the exclusion and inclusion criteria, the final sample will be provided with informed consent forms. Each individual will be required to read, seek clarification where necessary and then sign a triplicate of forms one for the participant, a copy for the administration and the third copy for the researchers to keep (Truman, 2011).
Signed Researcher Agreement:
References
Christensen, L. B., Johnson, B., & Turner, L. A. (2011). Research methods, design, and analysis (pp. 1-539). Allyn & Bacon.
Faden, R. R., Beauchamp, T. L., & Kass, N. E. (2014). Informed consent, comparative effectiveness, and learning health care. N Engl J Med, 370(8), 766-768.
Greer, J. A., Jackson, V. A., Meier, D. E., & Temel, J. S. (2013). Early integration of palliative care services with standard oncology care for patients with advanced cancer. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians, 63(5), 349-363.
Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (Eds.). (2015). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Tappen, R. M. (2011). Advanced nursing research: From theory to practice. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Truman, C. A. (2011). Ethics and the ruling relations of research production.Sociological Research Online, 8(1).
