Critical Analysis of Published Literature
Introduction
Today, research in health sciences is important most especially that different diseases have already been discovered and occurring in the general population. In this regard, research in health sciences provides additional knowledge to the existing body of knowledge regarding health sciences. In addition, research in health sciences helps individuals concerned to prepare and respond to different health risks due to diseases, environmental hazards, and other threats, along with the improvement and development of new safe and effective drugs. Moreover, such researches will help guide and develop policy guidelines for the development of the field.
In relation to doing research in the health science field, critical analysis and thinking skills must be needed. Critical analysis skills involve effectively sorting out ideas, concepts, facts, and opinions gathered from other sources. This is needed in order to either agree with or negate the existing bodies of knowledge, in order to enhance the field. In addition, having critical analysis skills involve gathering additional knowledge and information to support new evidences found.
Research in health sciences can be further improved through critical analysis skills, and may also be used in evidence based practice. This approach enables healthcare practitioners to provide the highest quality of care in meeting the different needs of their clients and families. Thus, in this sense, when healthcare practitioners, particularly nurses know how to find, critically evaluate, and use the best evidence, and when clients are confident that their healthcare providers are using evidence-based care, optimal outcomes can be achieved for all (Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt, 2005).
Health related research and reviewing the literature
The field of advanced nursing practice is essential in healthcare, as it helps provide care, protection, and attention to individuals, particularly to patients. It includes the functions and duties carried out by persons who have had formal education and training in the art and science of the nursing field (Gubrium and de Gruyter, 1993). Being essential in the healthcare field, certain functions and practices are being observed by advanced practical nurses in order to provide effective and efficient services to those who need them.
Advanced nursing practitioners have a number of roles to assert in their profession, namely, as clinicians who help diagnose, treat diseases, prescribe medications, and develop treatment plans; as educators; as policy makers who come up with policy guidelines in order to provide order in the healthcare field; as consultants, and as researchers. In line with such roles, the importance of researches in the health sciences can be recognized. One of such importance is for preparing and responding to different health risks associated with threats from the environment, which can pose danger to the health of people. Another importance of research in the health sciences is having the knowledge and updated information on the latest trends and discoveries in relation to treatment, which serves as a primary concern of advanced nursing practitioners. Third importance is the improvement and development of policies in relation to the use, manufacture, and administration of food, drugs, and other consumer products. The last importance of research in the health sciences is the promotion and protection of health of people (“Importance of Science and Research”, 2007).
In relation to the importance of research to health sciences is the article done by Cheevakasemsook et al (2006), which discusses the complexities in nursing documentation. According to the study, complexities in documentation include three factors, namely, disruption, incompleteness, and inappropriate charting, with additional factors, such as limited competence of the nurses, motivation and confidence, ineffective nursing procedures, and inadequate audit, supervision, and staff development (Cheevakasemsook et al., 2006). This was further supported, as different activities that serve as barriers to such activities have been cited, namely, the shortage of nursing staffs, greater emphasis on other activities, such as drug therapeutic treatment and research, and education, and few individuals or staffs (Smesny, 2007). In this case, the findings of Smesny (2007) is consistent with the findings of Cheevakasemsook et al (2006), as the shortage of staffs and emphasis on other activities serve as barriers to nursing documentation. As one of the solutions, von Krogh and Naden (2008) came up with the Norweigan documentation KPO model (quality assurance, problem solving, and caring) as a tool for nursing documentation and meeting statutory, organizational, and professional requirements. In this regard, it can be perceived that nursing documentation is an important aspect of research in health sciences because it can provide additional knowledge and information that would benefit the advancement of the nursing field. As such, the different barriers and complexities of nursing documentation must be overcome through relevant policies, models, and strategies.
Ethical concepts in health related research
The field of health care research in relation to the nursing practice involves ethical criteria. This is because the safety, protection, and the assurance of obtaining useful and relevant findings or results of the research must be ensured. One of the main ethical considerations identified is the exposure of the subjects of the health related research to environmental hazards by economic or political oppression (Lavery et al., 2003). This may be attributed to the fact that most of the subjects asked to participate in such researches suffer from incurable diseases, thus, having the belief that participation in such researches may provide them the cure they need. However, this increases their risk to become exposed to deleterious substances without clear biological responses and without clear measurement and characterization of its harmful effects (Lavery et al., 2003). Another ethical criterion for health related research includes the emotional factors, nested and mediated in the organic hierarchy of the ecologically-defined community, comprising psychological, social, cultural, and political elements (Samuels, 1997). This is because only a few people would be willing to risk their lives to become “guinea pigs” or “lab rats” for research. In this sense, moral, religious, and social matters must still be discussed. Third ethical consideration is the provision of laws, policies and practices, including required requests (Childress, 1989) in relation to research, such as the use of animal or human subjects. This also involves the rights to patenting in the event that the research has been successful and the sales or marketing of the developed cure. As such, such ethical criteria may be deemed important for the provision of medication, treatment, and drug administration of healthcare practitioners. However, extensive research must be done to come up with the right dosage and amount of medicine or drug to prescribe patients.
In relation to this is the article done by Schelbred and Nord (2007), which discusses the serious medication errors committed by nursing practitioners. Schneider et al. (2006) reported that the rapid proliferation of new drug devices and products, increasing both the complexity in medication regimens, and nursing workload contribute to committing serious medication errors, and are thus, being blamed for 38% of all adverse drug events. This is being supported by the fact that administration errors involving continuous IV or intravenous infusions occur frequently (Han et al., 2005). Because of this, it has been found out that serious medication errors have a great impact on the nursing practitioners, both personally and professionally (Schelbred and Nord, 2007). As such, different interventions have been identified as means of providing solutions for committing serious medication errors. Interventions include educational interventions, such as the use of an interactive CD-ROM (Schneider et al., 2006), constant and relevant communication, and the use of new technology directed at reducing medication administration errors (Schneider et al., 2006). Because serious medication administration errors pose disastrous consequences for patients and for healthcare practitioners as well, it can be suggested that it would be necessary to allow and support researches in health sciences.
Qualitative research design and method
It has been reported that qualitative research is more subjective in nature compared to quantitative research. It involves examining and reflecting on the less tangible aspects of a research subject, such as values, attitudes, and perceptions (Neville, 2005). In addition, in using a qualitative research method, it intends to find and build theories that would explain the relationship of one variable with another variable through qualitative elements. These qualitative elements do not have standard measures; rather they are behavior, attitudes, opinions, and beliefs. Moreover, as we define the qualitative research, it is a multi-method in focus, involving an interpretative, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. Accordingly, qualitative researchers deploy a wide range of interconnected methods, hoping always to get a better fix on the subject matter at hand. Through qualitative research methods, verbal data that is obtained through observations, surveys, interviews, and questionnaires are being obtained, rather than scaled, calibrated measurements (Thomson, 2007). From such information, it can be understood that the values, opinions or perceptions, attitudes, behaviors, theories, and verbal data, such as direct observations, interviews, surveys, and actual questionnaires are the key elements of the qualitative research method and design.
The study done by Holmes et al (2005) discusses the injection-related practices in two rural north Indian health settings, which contribute to the increase of risk of acquiring blood-borne viral diseases (BBV). The study indicated that it used qualitative data collection methods, including participant observation and in-depth interviews. Such method led the authors to conclude that strategies for promoting injection safety are needed in order to lessen the risk of acquiring BBV diseases (Holmes et al., 2005). From this, it can be perceived that the key elements were essential for arriving at such results and conclusions. Through direct observations and interviews, the authors have come up with sound conclusions regarding what to do in order to provide solutions to the problem presented.
In addition, through the qualitative research method that used direct observations and interviews, it can be stated that the authors engaged in an action research, which is a style of research that is particularly suited to identify problems in clinical practice and help develop potential solutions in order to improve practice (Meyer, 2000). Through this type of research method, the understanding of the study’s objectives (Poggenpoel and Myburgh, 2005) has been achieved. Although other forms of strategies have been devised in line with using a qualitative research method, such as intuiting, bracketing, and inferencing (Poggenpoel and Myburgh, 2005), the used methods in this particular study have been satisfactory and sufficient to produce relevant and useful strategies, opinions, and conclusions in relation to the problem specified. In addition, the opinions, attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of the participants mattered in the study, as their perceptions regarding the issue and the study have made it more useful in relation to the health science research.
Conclusion
A number of importances of research in the field of health sciences include preparing for known risks and dangers to the health of many individuals, adding up or correcting the existing body of knowledge regarding the field, improving the manufacture and administration of food, drugs, and substances in the market, and overall promotion and protection of health of people. These different aspects augment the roles of nursing and other healthcare practitioners in relation to healthcare provision. In addition, a number of barriers or complexities to proper nursing documentation have been identified, which somehow affect the type of information being indicated in health sciences researches. As such, barriers must be overcome in order to provide more effective and efficient healthcare to patients or clients.
Moreover, in order to make a good health science research, ethical considerations must be emphasized. In order to make a relevant, useful, and substantial health science research, ethical criteria must be given consideration so that the study would be supported, financed, and given attention by all the individuals, particularly of the participants involved. As such, the ethical criteria to be considered must serve as guide for the individuals undergoing the research, as much as they would be placing high regard for policies and guidelines involved in research. They must make sure that their research will not be pressing harm on the individuals involved, particularly to them and to the chosen participants or subjects.
Furthermore, the qualitative research method is one method that would effectively help express the relevant opinions, ideas, and perceptions of the individuals involved in a health science research. Through the qualitative research method, the solutions for different problems can be easily communicated.
References
Cheevakasemsook, A., Chapman, Y., Francis, K., and Davies, C. (2006). The Study of Nursing Documentation Complexities. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 12(6): 366-374.
Childress, J.F. (1989). Ethical Criteria for Procuring and Distributing Organs for Transplantation. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 14(1): 87-113.
Gubrium, J. and de Gruyter, A. (1993). Speaking of Life: Horizons and Meaning for Nursing Home Residents. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.
Han, P.Y., Coombes, I.D., and Green, B. (2005). Factors Predictive of Intravenous Fluid Administration Errors in Australian Surgical Care Wards. Qual Saf Health Care, 14: 179-184.
Holmes, K.M., Thomas, L.B., and Gifford, S. (2005). Safe Injections, Fewer Infections: Injection Safety in Rural North India. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 10(5): 423-432.
“Importance of Science and Research”. (2007). Science & Research. Retrieved March 27, 2008, from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/sr-sr/about-apropos/importance/index_e.html.
Lavery, J.V., Upshur, R.E.G., Sharp, R.R. and Hofman, K.J. (2003). Ethical Issues in International Environmental Health Research. Division of Advanced Studies and Policy Analysis.
Melnyk, B.M. and Fineout-Overholt, E. (2005). Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice, Philadelphia, USA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Meyer, J. (2000). Using Qualitative Methods in Health Related Action Research. British Medical Journal, 320: 178-181.
Neville, C. (2005). Introduction to Research & Research Methods. Effective Learning Service, Bradford University School of Management, 1-45.
Poggenpoel, M. and Myburgh, C. (2005). Obstacles in Qualitative Research: Possible Solutions. Education, 126(2): 304+.
Samuels, S.W. (1997). Ethical and Metaethical Criteria for an Emerging Technology: Risk Assessment. Occupational Medicine, 47: 241-246.
Schelbred, A. and Nord, R. (2007). Nurses’ Experiences of Drug Administration Errors. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 60(3): 317-324.
Schneider, P.J., Pedersen, C.A., Montanya, K.R., Curran, C.R., Harpe, S.E., Bohenek, W., Perratto, B., Swaim, T.J., and Wellman, K.E. (2006). Improving the Safety of Medication Administration Using an Interactive CD-ROM Program. American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 63(1): 59-64.
Smensy, A.L. (2007). Barriers to Scholarship in Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy Practice Faculty. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.
Thomson, R. (2007). Qualitative Research Study Design. Training in Research in Reproductive Health/Sexual Health Geneva 2007, 1-11.
Von Krogh, G. and Naden, D. (2008). A Nursing-Specific Model of EPR Documentation: Organizational and Professional Requirements. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 40(1): 68-75.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment