Nursing Assignment Sample Introduction This essay will critically compare and evaluate two research articles I identified as relevant to my practice. The review will consider the research methods, design and relevance to my practice. I have chosen the topic of pain management as dealing with patient’s pain is a vital part of my role as a staff nurse. Pain is a complex and very varied issue dependent on a wide range of different factors that may present in multifarious ways.
The way in which patients cope with their treatment regime and their life in general can be seriously impacted by their experience of pain. Therefore, I chose this topic to help inform me more fully on the subject generally and current views and practices so that I can best assist my patients. The two articles I have selected are; “ Patient referred to a pain management clinic; beliefs, expectations and priorities “ by Allcock et al, (2007) and “ Chronic pain syndrome associated with heath anxiety: A thematic comparison between pain patient’s with high and low anxiety” by Tang et al, (2009). For ease of reference, I shall refer to the article by Allcock et al (2007) as Paper 1 and the article by Tang et al, (2009) as Paper 2.
As indicated this topic is very wide and for the purpose of this essay I have selected these articles as they are of a similar nature. The review of the articles will include analysis of the research topic, literature review, design of the studies, the method of data collection and analysis, findings and conclusions, critical summaries, appraisal of method and synthesis and findings and reflection on practice (Burns, 2007). In order to deal with these aspects effectively I will use the critiquing framework for a systematic approach devised by Burnard and Morrison (1994) as I feel this format is the most effective and simplest to use and dissolve.uk Nursing Assignment Sample Choosing the articles I utilised a variety of methods to research and identify appropriate articles. My first step was to consider which topic would be most beneficial and decided upon pain management.
I gathered literature from past and present in order to engage an in- depth discussion thus enabling me to analyse research undertaken into the validity and reliability of patients with chronic pain. To start off with I used different books and databases. To find Paper 1, firstly I went through EBSCO host, which gave me a gateway to the databases MEDLINE with full text. I used the Boolean operators search terms ‘AND’ and ‘NOT’ were used in order to combine the searches, and to refine the results.
In the field search I selected ‘ TX All TEXT’. Boolean operators are filters used to join (AND, OR) or exclude (NOT) search terms by instructing databases to combine the terms (Radbourn 2011); for example a search of journal article abstracts for the term ‘pain management’ And ‘Clinic’ And ‘Beliefs’ and this brought up 32 articles. I also refined my search by searching for publication dates from 2006 to 2011 and this brought the search down to 18 articles. To find Paper 2, I used British Journal of Clinical Psychology, which had the journal by British Psychological Society.
Hand searches were also carried out at The Royal College of nursing (RCN) library. I found that there was very limited research in chosen area, therefore existing literature reviews and systematic reviews were also sources of data, as they offered the bibliographic references for relevant key articles that are included in this review. Once I had chosen my articles, they had to be signed off by my university supervisor.uk Nursing Assignment Sample Critical summaries of papers 1 and 2 Overview of the purpose of research and literature review The purpose of critical reviews of literature is to provide an objective and comprehensive analysis of the writing. By using a number of different sources a researcher can access a range of current data that can be used for a variety of purposes (Aveyard 2010, Cronin et al 2008).
The data can, for instance, be used to advise on up to date practice or help formulate a further research question. One key feature is that the analysis must be unbiased and consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the writings in order to formulate a complete picture. Literature reviews should be clear and written in a flowing style to provide for easy reading. This is characterised by being unbiased and being free from jargon whilst using any relevant technical terminology correctly and appropriately (Colling, (2003) cited in Cronin et al 2008).
Research is ‘ the attempt to derive generalisable new knowledge by aggressing clearly-defined questions with a systematic and rigorous method’ (Department of Health, 2001, section 1. However, nursing research involves a systematic application of scientific methods to the study of phenomena interest within the nursing profession (Fain,1999). Evidence based research is increasingly becoming much more important within the medical fields. Research critique is a careful critical appraisal of the study’s strength and limitations focusing on whether the findings are accurate, believable and clinically meaningful (Polit and Beck, 2008).
Burns and Grove (2007) assert that if findings cannot be trusted, it makes little sense to incorporate them into nursing practice (Timmins F, 2005).uk Nursing Assignment Sample Critical summary paper 1 The aim of this paper is to establish the patients expectations of a pain clinic together with their beliefs and priorities. This was a very small, self-selected group of 18 participants at one venue all of whom suffered from chronic pain of non-specific cause as set out in table 1 of the paper. Invitations with information sheets were sent out to 42 new referrals to the pain clinic from which the 18 participants were respondents. The age range was from 27 to 76 although table 1 indicates one person was aged 85 this may be a typographical error or a demonstration that peer reviewed articles may not been totally accurate.
The method consisted of the participants being divided into three groups consisting of 7, 6 and 5 people respectively. These formed focus groups utilising an informal, and, therefore, non-repeatable, recorded discussion format to encourage debate and a relaxed situation that was felt to be a productive way of encouraging people to provide good details of their views, beliefs and feelings. By working in groups individuals could identify that they were not alone in their situation and may be more forthcoming in discussion. Participants were asked to rank a number of statements in order of priority.
Statements included such things as ‘to have more pain free periods’. As this was such a small sample formal statistical methods were inappropriate and the data was simply ranked in order of numbers of people who agreed with the statements to obtain the order in which the priorities lay. The participants were allocated fictional names to ensure anonymity was maintained and all ethics approvals were obtained.uk Nursing Assignment Sample The highlighted findings were that people sought a formal diagnosis of the reason for their pain, that they felt no-one believed them without a diagnosis and that pain- killers were a way to ‘fob them off’ because nothing else could be done. Their main priorities for improvement were to feel less pain, to have more pain free times and to be able to do more ‘everyday things’.
The researcher has the relevant academic qualification to undertake this research although there is insufficient evidence to show they also had relevant experience in the area of chronic pain which may adversely affect the standing of this piece of research. However, as it was a very small study it could perhaps be used as a pilot study preparatory to undertaking further more in depth research. Cormack (2000) recommends the need for researchers to have appropriate qualifications and experience in the areas they wish to study, nevertheless, Polit and Beck (2008) comments that being qualified does not guarantee that they are the best researchers. Nonetheless most journals that publish research reports have a blind review policy whereby independently and anonymously 2 or more peers who are experts in the field approve its publication (Polit and Beck (2008).
Burns and Grove (2007) refer to a current source as one published within the last 5 years. Paper 1, has 26 of the 33 references ciited are more than 5 years old this was out of necessity to the study. In some cases, particularly where there has been little or no other research in a particular area, there has to be reliance on less recent or immediately relevant references. The Harvard system of referencing is used.uk Nursing Assignment Sample Critical summary paper 2 The aim of this paper was to formulate a qualitative thematic comparison between patients suffering from chronic pain with high and low health anxiety.
Sixty participants were involved as part of a larger ethics approved study. Inclusion criteria were that participants were; aged 18-70, had non-malignant pain for at least 6 months and a good command of English. Exclusion criteria were an identified terminal illness/disease, the presence of severe psychopathology or a learning disability. All participated in semi-structured interviews with a package of questions include a short form McGill pain questionnaire.
In order to evidence the relevance of using a cognitive-behavioural response the five most and least health anxious participant’s results were used. This gave two clear groups to compare from either end of the spectrum providing the information upon which this paper was based. The short health anxiety inventory (SHAI) scale was used to determine the most and least health anxious but eliminate those who would be described as suffering from hypochondriasis. Broadly speaking both groups were similar in nature, gender and age and none had already received cognitive-behavioural treatment for their pain.
However, the most health anxious group comprised four women and one man which may be revealing in itself but would take further research to establish. The tape recorded interviews were conducted on a one to one basis taking approximately two hours. The interviewers were not aware of the health anxiety status of the interviewees. The data was analysed using established conventions of theoretical thematic analysis.
Five themes were established from the data; pain appraisal, pain preoccupation, coping strategies, self-identity, and suicidal ideation. The two participant groups also showed marked differences in each theme.uk Nursing Assignment Sample The researchers for this paper are all appropriately qualified to undertake this study and have relevant knowledge and experience in the specific topic area. The reference materials comprise 14 sources which are within the 5 years of publication, and the Harvard system of referencing is used. Appraisal of method Research into pain and pain management can prove to be problematic as the experience and tolerance to pain in an individual thing.
More recent perspectives suggest that the most appropriate way to treat pain is on a purely individual basis and not to place all pain sufferers into one category in line with the cognitive- behavioural approach. In order to facilitate this approach it is imperative that the reasons for non-specific pain are identified and that the needs, beliefs and understanding of patients are understood and dealt with appropriately. Paper 1 stated the use of qualitative research in this study. In general the whole methodology was cleared explained and detailed.
The method was using focus groups which are not generally accepted as good methodology, however, in this case there was little other literature so this was a valid method. Burns and Grove (2007) assert that convenient sampling provides a mean of acquiring information in unexplored areas, whilst Polit and Beck (2008) identify it as a weak form of sampling arguing that self-selection generally leads to bias. Therefore, it is likely that a view would have to be taken in individual circumstances as to which of these perspectives is relevant to the research in question.