Research Article Critique – Nursing

Research Article Critique – Nursing

 

Research Article Critique

A research critique demonstrates your ability to critically evaluate an investigative study. For this assignment, choose an original or primary research study related to nursing or medicine. The purpose of this assignment is to review a research study in-depth and to decide whether or not it is a valid research study that can be used in practice. It is your written evaluation of the study, not just a summary of the study.

The body of your paper should follow APA Style guidelines, and it should 4–6 pages double-spaced plus a cover page and reference list. The full article must be attached to the critique for credit.

Note: Because submission of the article is part of the assignment requirements and is necessary for grading, any assignment submitted without the accompanying article will be considered incomplete. An incomplete assignment will be initially assigned a zero. The student has the opportunity to submit the article to complete the assignment. However, if it is submitted after the due date and time, the late penalty will apply. After five days, submissions will not be accepted, as per University policy, and the grade will remain a zero.

• Articles used for one assignment cannot be used for the other assignments. (Students should find new research articles for each assignment.)
• The selected articles should be original research studies. Review articles, concept analysis, meta-analysis, meta-synthesis, integrative review, and systemic review should notbe used.
• Mixed-methods studies should not be used.

Your critique should include the following:

Research Problem/Purpose

• Describe the problem as it is presented in the study.
• State the purpose of the research.
• Have the investigators placed the study problem within the context of existing nursing or healthcare knowledge?
• Will the study solve a problem relevant to nursing?

Review of the Literature (may be part of the author’s introduction or conclusion)

• Identify the concepts explored in the literature review.
• Are the references current in relation to the publication date of the study? If not, what are the possible reasons for using older sources?

Theoretical Framework

• Do the authors identify their overall assumptions or a theoretical framework for the study? Are these assumptions appropriate for the study?
• Does the research draw only on nursing theory, or does it draw on theory from other disciplines?
• If a formal theory is not identified, suggest one (preferably a nursing theory) that might be suitable for the study. Various nursing theories can be found at http://www.nursing-theory.org/theories-and-models/(Links to an external site.)

Variables/Hypotheses/Questions/Assumptions

• What is the research question or the hypothesis? Is it clearly stated or implied?
• What are the independent and dependent variables in the hypothesis or research question?
• Are the variables clearly defined so that the reader understands the researchers’ interpretation of the variables?
• Is the dependent variable concrete and measurable?

Methodology

• What type of design (quantitative, qualitative) was used in this study?
• Was inductive or deductive reasoning used in this study?
• State the sample size and study population, sampling method, and study setting.
• Did the investigator choose a probability or non-probability sample?
• Describe how the independent variable was tested or surveyed in the study.
• Describe how the dependent variable was measured.
• Discuss the reliability and the validity (quantitative) or the credibility (qualitative) of the measurement tools.
• How were ethical considerations addressed? What ethical considerations were necessary for this type of study?

Data Analysis

• What data analysis method was used?
• How were the results in the study presented to the reader?
• Discuss at least one (1) finding from the authors’ results and relate it to the dependent variable of the study.

Summary/Conclusions, Implications, and Recommendations

• What are strengths and limitations of the study other than those stated by the authors?
• Can the researcher generalize the findings to other populations? Explain.
• What is the significance of the findings and conclusions for you in your personal nursing practice? For nursing as a profession?

The body of your paper should be 4–6 pages double-spaced plus a cover page and a reference page. The critique must be attached to the article and follow APA Style guidelines.

 

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Solution

Research Problem/Purpose

Abir et al. (2019) focus on the challenge of crowding, which is a significant challenge among emergency departments and will be associated with poor outcomes. The purpose of Abir et al., (2019) study is to evaluate the effects of high occupancy in the emergency department on the different disposition decisions, hospitalizations, and return emergency department visits among patients. Abir et al. (2019) has therefore placed the study problem in the context of existing nursing knowledge by highlighting that only a few scholarly studies have tried to investigate the effects of crowding in the emergency department on patient disposition decisions. Past studies have therefore been conducted on small healthcare facilities and have provided no association between the likelihood of patient admission versus discharge and crowding. The findings of previous studies need to be confirmed in a larger setting. Abir et al. (2019) seek to solve a problem relevant to nursing in that the study seeks to fill the knowledge gap related to the effect of crowding in the emergency department on disposition patterns of patients and the subsequent outcomes among the discharged patients.

Review of the Literature 

Abir et al., (2019) study explore various concepts in the literature review, including the increase in the number of patients in the emergency department visits in the US by more than twice in the past two decades. According to the literature I explored in Abir et al. (2019) study, the increase in the number of people visiting the emergency department in various healthcare facilities across the US has therefore contributed significantly to the challenge of crowding patients and has also experienced numerous challenges related to the timely access of emergency care. According to the literature reviewed by (Abir et al. (2019), the challenge of emergency department crowding is of great concern because such crowding will be associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Studies across the US have therefore shown that crowding correlates significantly to increased mortality and morbidity among patients’ non-compliance to treatment guidelines, delays in treatment, low length of stay, and high provider errors. Emergency department crowding also contributes significantly to high costs, high return visits, and readmissions elopement, and decreased patient satisfaction. According to the literature reviewed in Abir et al.’s (2019) study, emergency department crowding will also be a significant concern because it will significantly affect the disposition decisions among healthcare practitioners to either admit or discharge patients.

Abir et al. (2019) rely on current studies published within ten years of the studies conducted, with only two exemptions of studies being older than ten years. The two exemptions of the studies that are older than ten years include a practice guideline that had not been revised.

Theoretical Framework

Abir et al. (2019) do not identify a theoretical framework for their study but highlight the main assumptions of their study, which include providing a null hypothesis that high emergency department occupancy will have a significant impact on this position decision, hospitalizations, and return emergency department visits in a healthcare facility.

Abir et al., (2019)) study does not clearly identify a nursing theory that it relies on. One of the formal theories that can be applied to Abir et al., (2019) study includes Nightingale’s environmental theory. Nightingale’s theory focuses significantly on the environment in which nursing care is provided among patients. According to Nightingale, altering the patient’s environment can therefore go a long way in providing a lasting change in the health care of such patients. Different environmental factors can therefore affect the health of patients, which include pure water, fresh air, sufficient food supply, cleanliness, efficient drainage, and light. The lack of a clean environment in healthcare settings can therefore play a significant role in diminishing the health of patients (Gilbert, 2020). The role of nurses in patient recovery is to modify the environment so as to create the optimal conditions that might be necessary to allow the patient’s body to heal itself. In some cases, this would mean a better diet, minimal noise, or delivery of timely health care services. Nightingale’s theory can therefore be applied in Abir et al., (2019)) study because the study focuses on environmental factors that can affect the quality of healthcare services in the emergency department. Abir et al.’s (2019)) study highlights that crowding is a significant challenge in the emergency department that can be associated with poor outcomes among patients. The application of Nightingale’s environmental theory can therefore help the researchers to understand the impact of crowding, which is an environmental factor on patient outcomes in an emergency department.

Variables/Hypotheses/Questions/Assumptions

The research question in Abir et al., (2019) study is what is the effect of high occupancy in the emergency department on disposition decisions of healthcare practitioners, hospitalization, and return emergency department visits? The research question in Abir et al., (2019)) study is clearly stated and not implied. The independent variables in the research question include high occupancy rates in the emergency department, while the dependent variables include hospitalizations, disposition decisions among health care practitioners, and return of emergency department visits.

The variables in Abir et al., (2019)) study are clearly defined in a way that allows the readers of the study to clearly understand the researcher’s interpretation of the variables. In Abir et al. (2019), the variables are concrete and measurable, which include disposition decisions among Healthcare practitioners’ return of emergency department visits and hospitalizations among patients who visit the emergency department.

Methodology

Abir et al., (2019)) study relied on the quantitative research design approach. The study also utilized inductive reasoning, which included making inferences based on observations of the study Abir et al., (2019) quantitative study relied on the retrospective approach to analysis. The study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital in an urban setting, with the facility having 86 beds in the emergency department.  Approximately 85,000 study participants were reviewed during the study period. The study relied on the convenience sampling method, which included evaluating the emergency department of a tertiary care Teaching Hospital. The study relied on a probability sampling approach.

Abir et al., (2019) study relied on a logistic regression model to test the independent variable, which included the level of occupancy in an emergency department, on the other hand, the dependent variables in the study, which included hospitalizations, disposition decisions among health care practitioners, and return of emergency department visits were measured using the electronic health records in a healthcare facility.

The logistic regression models utilized in the study were valid and reliable. The Charlson-Deyo index is also reliable and has been effectively tested in past studies.

The ethical considerations that were necessary for Abir et al., (2019) study included confidentiality, privacy, and informed consent among research participants. The research participants were patients in the emergency department.  The researchers needed to ensure that they protected personal information related to the study participants in that they did not reveal any personal information related to patients from third parties.

Data Analysis

The statistical analysis method and ANOVA tests were used to analyze data with different variables either being classified as having statistically significant observations or not. The results of Abir et al., (2019) study were presented to the readers through A descriptive analysis that highlighted the statistical significance of the different variables. One of the central findings of Abir et al., (2019) study was that there was a statistically significant decrease in the odds of admission after disposition decisions were conducted during high-occupancy hours in the emergency department.

Summary/Conclusions, Implications, and Recommendations

The main strength of Abir et al., (2019) study is relying on a large sample size of more than 85,000 patients observed over a period of more than four years. The high number of research participants increases the reliability and validity of the study results and allows for the generalizability of study results in larger populations. On the other hand, the most significant limitation of the study is relying on only a single setting or Teaching Hospital, which can significantly affect the generalizability of study in wider populations.

Abir et al.’s (2019) study conclusions are that crowding in the emergency department can play a significant role in reducing the likelihood of hospitalization while also not increasing the probability of patients returning to the emergency department within a two-week period. Therefore overcrowding in the emergency department might be associated with outcomes among patients. Such effects may not be quite significant, with the most significant effect being on patient satisfaction. Healthcare facilities should therefore adopt approaches to reduce crowding in the emergency department so as to increase patient satisfaction rates.

References

Abir, M., Goldstick, J. E., Malsberger, R., Williams, A., Bauhoff, S., Parekh, V. I., Kronick, S., & Desmond, J. S. (2019). Evaluating the impact of emergency department crowding on disposition patterns and outcomes of discharged patients. International Journal of Emergency Medicine, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12245-019-0223-1

Gilbert, H. A. (2020). Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory and its influence on contemporary infection control. Collegian, 27(6), 626–633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2020.09.006