Critique of the article
Discuss about the Critique Articles for Journal of Clinical Epidemiology.
Evidence based practice utilises the skills of decision making and critical thinking in the practice through the use of evidence from critically assessed research to determine the appropriateness of the practice that has been applied in the clinical situation (Hall & Roussel, 2016). The assignment aims to critique a journal article in order to determine whether the evidences are effective enough to use in the nursing practice. The chosen article for the assignment is No one said he was dying: Families’ experiences of end-of-life care in an acute setting by Odgers et al. (2018, p. 21). The following paper will utilise the systematic approach in order to analyse various components of the article such as author information, abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, result, discussion, limitation and conclusion to identify the relevance of the evidence in clinical practice.
The evaluation of the title and author information with the systematic critique framework would help to determine the qualification of the authors and identify whether the article is peer reviewed or not. An appropriate title is defined as the title that helps the reader to assume the content of the paper and informs about the variable of interest, study population and study design (Cals & Kotz, 2013, p. 585). The title of the article is not descriptive enough and does not inform about the study design, however, it does inform about the focus of the study that is experience of families during end-of-care in a acute setting and the population of the study that is families of patient depends on end-of-care facility (Odgers et al., 2018, p. 21).
The article is peer reviewed and has four authors. Study has indicated that the authors of the article should have adequate academic qualifications to relate their professional ground with the research. The qualification of the authors has been provided in the first page and all of them are well qualified in nursing (Odgers et al., 2018, p. 21). Thus, it can be said that the article is published by a reputable journal that is the Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing and quality is also good as all of the authors are qualified enough.
An appropriate abstract should provide the readers the summary of the overall research and introduce the key components of the study (Cals & Kotz, 2013, p. 585). The abstract of the selected article is well structured with clear aim and conclusion and informed that qualitative method has been used in the study. Thus, the abstract has helped to determine whether the study is relevant or not (Odgers et al., 2018, p. 21). Hence, it can be said that the article has provided a proper abstract.
Title and author information
An appropriate introduction should inform about the topic of the research briefly and mention the rational of the work as well. In addition introduction of a study should provide context about the purpose or objective of the study (Gastel & Day, 2016). In the selected article the introduction contains a brief discussion about end life care and trends of end-life-care in Australia. In-depth information about the research objective has been provided in the introduction and rational for the study such as less examination of the quality of life in end-of-life care, experience of the nurses and family and lack of research on end-of-life care is also mentioned. There is no specific part of literature review in the study, however, the background of the study such as importance of acute care during end-of-life situation, quality o end-of-life, experience of nurses, patients and their family in such situation, adequate data, focus of the policy and program developers and need for the research has been mentioned in the introduction (Odgers et al., 2018, p. 21). Such information has helped the readers to understand the significance of the study.
In order to conduct a research it is important to select appropriate method to address the research objectives. Qualitative method is one of the most effective method to conduct a research. Lewis (2015, pp. 473-475) has reported that qualitative research is allowed for in-depth interview, case study analysis, ethnographic research and content analysis as well. In this selected article the researchers have used qualitative method including semi-structured interview. As the study has focused to evaluate the experience of the nurses and families of the patients during end-of-life care it is important to observe and understand their view. In this regards semi-structured interview is appropriate as it could help to inquire the experience effectively. The study setting was mentioned properly that is regional health service in Victoria, Australia (Odgers et al., 2018, p. 21). In order to conduct interview for research it is important to inform the participants about the importance of the research and take their consent regarding the recruitment. Ethical consideration is another important aspect of research as it helps to avoid ethical, legal, political or social issues (Faden et al., 2013, pp. S16-S27). In this regards the study has invited the participants and selected them according to the inclusion criteria. In addition, ethical consideration has been taken from the Health Service Human Research ethics Committees (Odgers et al., 2018, p. 21). Thus, it can be said that, the study has used effective methodology to represent the result.
Abstract
In a research paper it is important to describe the in-depth data collection process, nature of the data such as primary or secondary. Limitation or barriers in the data collection process is also important to include in the paper (Weigold, Weigold & Russell, 2013, p. 53). The selected article has described the data collection process in brief and did not inform about the limitation or barrier. However, the data collection section has informed about the process of collecting data such as semi-structured interview between 3 and 12 months following the death of the relative of the participants. Thus, it can be said that, the data collection part of the article could be better.
Data analysis of a research should contain the instrument or process of analysing the data and checking for biasness as well. In addition the storage of the data to keep confidentiality of the data is important to include in the paper to help the readers to ensure that data has been analysed appropriately to represent the findings (Schabenberger & Gotway, 2017). In this study, the interview was recorded and transcribed verbatim. Two researchers have listened the audios and read the transcript to identify the themes and describe them with the support of the data from the transcripts. However, data storage or confidentiality is not mentioned in the paper that may lead to ethical issue (Connelly, 2014, pp. 1-444).
It is important to recruit proper sample size to derive the quality result that is applicable to general people (O’reilly & Parker, 2013). On the other hand the result should be precise and easy to understand so that readers could identify the findings and its relevancy in the clinical practice and should consider all the variables and outcomes of the research (Derntl, 2014). According to O’reilly & Parker (2013, pp. 190-199) large sample size helps to reduce the margin of error in an effective manner. In this selected study 12 participants including 10 female and 2 male have been found to participate in the interview and response rate was only 14.8%. Thus, it can be said that the sample is small for the research. Due to such small sample size there is a risk of lack of generalizability of the findings (Charan & Biswas, 2013, p-121). However, the study has informed about the themes identified from the interview and presented them with adequate explanation. Definition and categories of the themes have been represented in chart that has helped the readers to understand the central points of the theme and link them with clinical practice. Each theme identified from the interview has been supported with the transcript as well. Thus, it can be said that the study has represented precise result that is easy to understand.
Introduction and background
An ideal discussion of a research paper should explore the findings of the study its relevancy in the clinical practice (Derntl, 2014). The selected article has described the overall topic in the discussion section. It has started with explaining what will be described in the discussion and its importance such as understanding the way in which the family members communicated with the health professionals and play important role in the end-of-life care. Specific information such as lack of clear communication, factors related to the perception of the family members regarding the sudden death of their relatives, experience and feelings of the family members, lack of recognition of imminent death and lack of knowledge of the family members regarding the end-of-life care (Odgers et al., 2018, pp. 105-123). Such description has helped to understand the importance of effective communication and knowledge about the end-of-life care in the clinical practice.
The study has identify the limitation in an effective manner. It has explained that the sample size was small for the study and the research was performed in a rural setting in Australia. Thus, the findings may be limited to a particular area and may not be generalised with all population. However, the study has provided adequate information about the quality of care during end-of-life situation, helped to understand the family experience, factors affecting the quality of care and the contribution of the family member in decision making, which is supported by relevant data. Implications and key actions for the health professionals have been provided as well. Such contribution of the study has helped to understand the interventions that could be taken to improve the quality of care and it can be considered as the strength of the study (Odgers et al., 2018, p. 21).
Conclusion of the selected article:
A proper conclusion should summarise the key points of the study and should not contain new information (Smith & Wong, 2016, pp. 3-881). In this regards the selected study has concluded their findings and summarise the overall concept in an effective manner. Recommendations such as improved communication, advance care plan and guidance to the family and the patient have been explained. No new information has been included in the conclusion. Thus, it can be said that the authors have concluded the study appropriately.
Conclusion:
From the above discussion it can be said that, the title of the selected study is not descriptive, but it does inform about the focus and population of the study. The article is peer reviewed as all the authors have adequate qualification. The abstract of the article was structured well and has provided summary of the study effectively. Literature review was not described separately, however, in-depth objective and background of the study has been included in the introduction. Appropriate methodology has been used while considering the ethical factors. However, data storage and confidentiality of data has not been mentioned. Precise result has been described and the discussion has informed about the relevant information regarding end-of-life care with the support of data. The study is limited to 12 participants and rural setting, thus, lack of generalizability may occur. However, it has informed about the factors affecting end-of-life care and provided effective recommendations that are applicable to clinical practice. Thus, it can be said that the researchers have provided quality research which is relevant and acceptable in clinical practice.
References:
Cals, J. W., & Kotz, D. (2013). Effective writing and publishing scientific papers, part II: title and abstract. Journal of clinical epidemiology, 66(6), 585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2013.01.005
Charan, J., & Biswas, T. (2013). How to calculate sample size for different study designs in medical research?. Indian journal of psychological medicine, 35(2), 121. https://dx.doi.org/10.4103%2F0253-7176.116232
Connelly, L. M. (2014). Ethical considerations in research studies. Medsurg Nursing, 23(1), 54. https://search.proquest.com/openview/e2133580f4c400b81aee49468419127f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=30764
Derntl, M. (2014). Basics of research paper writing and publishing. Int. J. Technology Enhanced Learning, 6(2), 105-123. https://files.phd-fpm-chaha.webnode.in/200000033-a8558a94c6/BasicsofResearchPaperWritingandPublishing.pdf
Faden, R. R., Kass, N. E., Goodman, S. N., Pronovost, P., Tunis, S., & Beauchamp, T. L. (2013). An ethics framework for a learning health care system: a departure from traditional research ethics and clinical ethics. Hastings Center Report, 43(s1), S16-S27. https://www.thehastingscenter.org/uploadedFiles/About/Hastings_Center_Currents/HCCurrentsSummer13.pdf
Gastel, B., & Day, R. A. (2016). How to write and publish a scientific paper. ABC-CLIO. 8th edition, pp. 3-279. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=eyyyCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Gastel,+B.,+%26+Day,+R.+A.+(2016).+How+to+write+and+publish+a+scientific+paper.+ABC-CLIO.+&ots=tL5LdKOE2B&sig=OKQiHM6dBebSl-EGCvnWLa1tXZ4#v=onepage&q=Gastel%2C%20B.%2C%20%26%20Day%2C%20R.%20A.%20(2016).%20How%20to%20write%20and%20publish%20a%20scientific%20paper.%20ABC-CLIO.&f=false
Hall, H. R., & Roussel, L. A. (2016). Evidence-based practice. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. 2nd edition, pp. 25-406. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Pi_FDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Hall,+H.+R.,+%26+Roussel,+L.+A.+(2016).+Evidence-based+practice.+Jones+%26+Bartlett+Publishers.+&ots=-zMHyWOl2q&sig=AxGtPwmXSfuUcpubYjHj46Jg9Ec#v=onepage&q=Hall%2C%20H.%20R.%2C%20%26%20Roussel%2C%20L.%20A.%20(2016).%20Evidence-based%20practice.%20Jones%20%26%20Bartlett%20Publishers.&f=false
Lewis, S. (2015). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Health promotion practice, 16(4), 473-475. https://nategabriel.com/egblog/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/creswell2.pdf
O’reilly, M., & Parker, N. (2013). ‘Unsatisfactory Saturation’: a critical exploration of the notion of saturated sample sizes in qualitative research. Qualitative research, 13(2), 190-197. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1468794112446106
Odgers, J., Fitzpatrick, D., Penney, W., & Shee, A. W. (2018). No one said he was dying: Families’ experiences of end-of-life care in an acute setting. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, The, 35(3), 21. https://www.ajan.com.au/Vol35/Issue3/3Odgers.pdf
Schabenberger, O., & Gotway, C. A. (2017). Statistical methods for spatial data analysis. CRC press. P. 1-444. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=I20NDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=data+analysis+methods&ots=Ht8LzAfvoe&sig=geyYxv8Hv8pssgZma2jj9As017w#v=onepage&q=data%20analysis%20methods&f=false
Smith, L. C., & Wong, M. A. (Eds.). (2016). Reference and Information Services: An Introduction: An Introduction. ABC-CLIO. 5th edition, pp. 3-881. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=eE3ZDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=conclusion+future+work&ots=bVsfgNrK3J&sig=0nnlwRHrwEsL-1p6F_-PFm6Xc9Y#v=onepage&q=conclusion%20future%20work&f=false
Weigold, A., Weigold, I. K., & Russell, E. J. (2013). Examination of the equivalence of self-report survey-based paper-and-pencil and internet data collection methods. Psychological methods, 18(1), 53. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0031607
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