Qualitative Studies Critique Paper 

Qualitative Studies Critique Paper 

Qualitative Studies Critique Paper

Almost 6.2 million adults in the United States have heart failure (HF) (Tsao et al., 2022). Statistics show that approximately 960,000 new cases of heart failure are diagnosed each year. Management of heart failure cases has been challenging and strenuous for the healthcare system. The challenges emerge from administrative issues as well as the clinical approach to the disease (Chew et al., 2021). The clinical approach in use saves lives but a majority of patients do not attain the desired quality of life. Most healthcare professionals are reverting to self-management strategies to enhance the quality of life of the patients. The strategies are not only reducing the cost of treatment but also reducing hospital stays and readmission rates. Empowering nurses and other providers to educate patients on medication adherence and dietary restriction would be essential in reducing heart failure cases and improving the patient quality of life. The purpose of this paper is to examine two qualitative studies by outlining their study background, their support for HF reduction, study methods, study results, and ethical considerations.  The paper will be guided by the picot question; For patients diagnosed with heart failure (P), does education on medication adherence and dietary restrictions (I) as compared to no education (C) reduce the incidences of rehospitalization (O) with exacerbation of their heart failure over a 6-month (T) period?

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Background of The Studies

Li et al. (2018) assert that self-care for chronic heart failure is a decision-making process influenced by individual, contextual and situational factors. The author asserts that most studies look at the experience and the challenges of living with heart failure yet coping processes that patients use to overcome self-care challenges are less understood. Lie et al. (2018) set the current study to understand the self-care coping process among chronic heart failure patients. The study outlines the CHF self-care coping process and can help nurses to guide patients to perform adequate self-care.  Nordfonn et al. (2019) offer a study whose aim is to explore the way patients with heart failure perceive their capacity to manage treatment and self-care. The authors assert that capacity, which means patients’ abilities, resources, and limitations that affect their ability to handle demands from health care and life with a chronic illness, have not been described in line with heart failure. Research further shows that burdens related to treatment and self-care in HF are characterized as overwhelming, difficult work, and treatment adherence low. The study is significant to nursing because it outlines how HF patients experience their capacity to manage treatment and what provides them relief from burden.

How Study Support The PICOT

The two studies target heart failure patients and revolve around self-care. They align with the picot since they look at aspects of self-care like dietary restrictions and medication adherence. Although they do not directly provide education to the patients, they assess coping mechanisms and capacity to handle heart failure. They, therefore, offer key information that can be inculcated in education programs that target patients suffering from heart failure.

Method of Studies

Li et al (2018) adopted a qualitative design and used a qualitative content-analysis approach of interviews with people with chronic heart failure. A semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions addressed the coping process among patients with CHF. Nordfonn et al. (2019) on the other hand used a descriptive, explorative qualitative design to learn about HF patients’ experiences and their capacity to manage treatment and self-care. The authors also used individual semi-structured qualitative interviews. The two studies use semi-structured interviews whose advantages are generating voluminous details and being fairly reliable and easy to analyze (Roulston & Choi, 2018). On the flip side, the interviews require extensive resources and they are time-consuming since one has to sit down with respondents and conduct an open-ended interview. 

Results

Li et al. (2018) categorized their results into three themes explaining the coping process of patients with CHF. First, patients responded to CHF self-care by dealing with negative emotions, accepting reality, and struggling between a self-care regime and self-preference. Second, the patient coping mechanism was finding ways to live with CHF. Most of the patients either enhanced understanding and knowledge about CHF engaged positively/negatively with others or relied on religious thoughts and sought consolation. Third, patients reinterpreted CHF and performed meaning-oriented coping by evaluating the meaning of life, assigning a new perspective to CHF, and discovering a deeper meaning behind it. Nordfonn et al. (2019) also reported three themes namely; personal characteristics, coping strategies, and emotional and informative support. Under personal characteristics, patients projected inherent strength and maintained a positive attitude. On coping strategies, patients either used selective denial, adapted by setting new goals, or carefully selected information. On emotional and informative support, patients either reported support from health professionals enhancing patient capacity, support from next of kin in patients’ self-care, and practical support and hope from peers.

Impact on Nursing Practice

The studies have a profound impact on nursing practice. Li et al. (2018) assert the need for nurses to handle self-appearance concerns among patients and to capitalize on meaning-oriented coping since it helps in coping with challenges of CHF. Nordfonn et al. (2019) on the other hand state that nurses should invest in improving HF patients’ capacity and help in managing their workloads from treatment to promote better experiences of illness, more effective healthcare consumption, and better healthcare outcomes.

Ethical Considerations

An ethical requirement when conducting research among patients is ethical approval. The study has to be submitted to an institutional review board (IRB) to certify that the research aims and design are ethically acceptable and follows the institution’s code of conduct (Arifin, 2018). Other ethical considerations are voluntary participation where participants are free to join and leave the study, informed consent to indicate that participants understand the purpose, benefits, risks, and funding behind the study, and confidentiality to keep personally identifiable data hidden. Li et al. (2018) fulfilled these requirements since the study was approved by the Ethics committee of the patient’s hospital and all patients signed consent forms to confirm their willingness to participate in the study. Nordfonn et al. (2019) also adhered to ethical requirements by seeking ethical permission from the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics and providing verbal and written information regarding the purpose of the interview study. Participants had the right to decline or withdraw at any time and anonymity and confidentiality was maintained throughout the study.

Conclusion

The prevalence of heart failure in the United Stated keeps on increasing in the United States. The increase is linked to administrative issues and a clinical approach to the disease. An approach that can reduce the rates is self-management and healthcare professionals should be empowered to educate patients on medical adherence and dietary restrictions. As indicated by the two studies above, self-care plays a crucial role in heart failure management. Understanding patients’ coping processes and capacity is key to educating them to handle the disease. The two studies used semi-structured interview methods of study and operated in line with expected ethical considerations. In educating patients on medication adherence and dietary restrictions it is crucial to hand their self-appearance concerns, capitalize on meaning-oriented coping and invest in enhancing their capacity to promote better healthcare outcomes and reduce incidences of rehospitalization.

References

Arifin, S. R. M. (2018). Ethical considerations in qualitative study. International Journal of Care Scholars, 1(2), 30-33. https://doi.org/10.31436/ijcs.v1i2.82

Chew, H. S. J., Sim, K. L. D., Choi, K. C., & Chair, S. Y. (2021). Effectiveness of a nurse-led temporal self-regulation theory-based program on heart failure self-care: A randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 115, 103872. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.103872

Li, C. C., Chang, S. R., & Shun, S. C. (2019). The self‐care coping process in patients with chronic heart failure: A qualitative study. Journal of clinical nursing, 28(3-4), 509-519. https://doi/org/10.1111/jocn.14640

Nordfonn, O. K., Morken, I. M., & Lunde Husebø, A. M. (2020). A qualitative study of living with the burden from heart failure treatment: Exploring the patient capacity for self‐care. Nursing Open, 7(3), 804-813. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.455

Roulston, K., & Choi, M. (2018). Qualitative interviews. The SAGE handbook of qualitative data collection, 233-249.

Tsao, C. W., Aday, A. W., Almarzooq, Z. I., Alonso, A., Beaton, A. Z., Bittencourt, M. S., … & Martin, S. S. (2022). Heart disease and stroke statistics-2022 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 145(8), e153-e639. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001052

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Assessment Description
In this assignment, you will write a critical appraisal that demonstrates comprehension of two qualitative research studies.

For this assignment, use the nursing practice problem and two qualitative peer-reviewed research articles you identified in Topic 1 (or two new articles based on instructor feedback in Topic 1). In a 1,000-1,250-word essay, summarize two qualitative studies.

Use the “Research Critique Guidelines – Part I” document to organize your essay.

You are required to cite a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years, appropriate for the assignment criteria, and relevant to nursing practice.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.