Applying Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique - Essay Example

?OTPP/PTPP 536 Critical Appraisal of a Journal Article Points Enter Citation: Ghafari, S. (2009). Effectiveness of applying progressive muscle relaxation technique on quality of life of patients with multiple sclerosis. Journal of Clinical Nursing (18) 2171- 2179. /1 Identify problem statement, purpose, research hypothesis and or research questions, as appropriate for article. The reasons to do this study: The reason for the study is to identify the significance of PMRT as a clinical solution to the problem of managing associated conditions of multiple sclerosis patients. The problem statement: The article’s problem statement, though not explicitly stated, is the need to establish the effectiveness of PMRT in improving quality of life among multiple sclerosis patients (Ghafari, et al, 2009). Purpose: The purpose of the research, though not explicitly stated, is to investigate the significance of PMRT technique on quality of life of patients who suffer from multiple sclerosis. This is inferred from research aims (Ghafari, et al, 2009). Hypothesis: The research does not state its hypotheses but the following can be inferred from its aims. Null hypothesis There is no significant relationship between PMRT approach and the attained quality of life of the multiple sclerosis patients. Alternative hypothesis There is a significant relationship between PMRT approach and attained quality of life among the patient (Ghafari, et al, 2009). /3 Literature: How do the authors discuss past research on this topic? The authors discuss past research by defining the problem, multiple sclerosis, and describing its symptoms that include “patterns of inflammation, demyelization, and axonal loss” (Ghafari, et al, 2009, p. 2171). The authors then explore the incidence of the disease in the society and the cost of managing it among patients. This identifies a prevalence rate of between 0.015 percent and 0.145 percent with an annual cost of more than 35000 Australian dollars. The literature also explores the effects of the disease on the patients such as adverse economic potentials and interpersonal relationships. The disease’s management through drugs has however indicated adverse impacts without significantly solving the problem. This has identified the need for alternative approaches such as the PMRT. Even though the management approach has been applied for more than seven decades, research has not been done on its effectiveness on the patients’ quality of life. The literature review therefore develops strong background information and identifies the problem, lack of an effective management approach to the disease. Establishing significance of effectiveness of the therapy will therefore aid transition from the traditional treatments with adverse effects (Ghafari, et al, 2009). /2 Identify the study design: The study applied a quasi-experimental design. It used a between group approach of quantitative methods. This is because the participants were organized in groups, the control group, and the treatment group that was further divided, randomly, into three subgroups. Interventions were then administered to the treatment group and measurements taken per group. The subgroups were however not designated (Ghafari, et al, 2009). /1 Participants: The study used 66 participants, aged between 20 years and 45 years. All the participants were confirmed multiple sclerosis patients and were members of “MS association” (Ghafari, et al, 2009, p. 2173). The participants were recruited through a non-probability sampling approach and divided into control group with 33 participants, and three treatment groups, one group with eight individuals and the remaining groups with nine individuals each. The inclusion criteria was the age group of between 20 to 45 years, confirmed multiple sclerosis case and membership of MS association while the exclusion criteria included unconfirmed diagnosis of the disease, experience with specific disorders, experience with relaxation interventions techniques and active participation in sports (Ghafari, et al, 2009). Generalizability: The participants’ selection criterion identifies a generalized approach towards a representative sample. This is because membership of the association does not induce any bias on sample selection and treatment. Consequently, the results from the study can be generalized to other samples or the entire population of people with multiple sclerosis. Lack of standardized measurement approach and different experimental environment among participants is however a threat to the research’s internal validity. The researchers also had limited control on the participants who did the experiment independently (Ghafari, et al, 2009). /3 Data collection procedures The research’s intervention involved application of relaxation techniques by the participants. The results were collected through the participants’ observation and recorded in pre designed questionnaires, a checklist, and a survey. The measures, on quality of life, were adequate to meet the research purpose because they yielded the research’s dependent variable. The results are shown in tabular form from page 2174 to page 2177 of the journal (Ghafari, et al, 2009). /4 What procedures or statistical tests were used to analyze the data? The research used statistical data analysis, student t, and analysis of variance. The student t test was used to analyze the overall difference between participants’ quality of life before and after intervention while the analysis of variance was used to determine existence of difference in quality of life across all measurement points (Ghafari, et al, 2009). /2 Summarize the results of the research The results identify lack of significant difference in measured quality of life before treatment and significant difference between groups after treatments. This suggests significance of the progressive muscle relaxation technique on the participants’ quality of life. Results from the analysis of variance identify existence of significant difference in the measured quality of life among the participants across the times at which measurements were taken. In both statistical tests, student t and analysis of variance, “PCS- 8, MCS-8 and the overall quality of live” reported low probability values, less than 0.001 respectively in student t test (Ghafari, et al, 2009, p. 2175). Similar significance was reported in analysis of variance with probability values that were less than 0.05 (Ghafari, et al, 2009). /3 What are the limitations of this study? One of the identified limitations of the research was lack of standard measure for the results because observations were subjective. “Individual differences and psychological states” among the patients therefore induced a threat to reliability of the collected data. Different environmental conditions in which the study was conducted are another challenge that could have affected results contrary to if the all participants were subjected to similar environmental conditions. This is because the participants were exposed to other different factors to quality of life. Psychological developments due to intervention effects over time are another possible limitation to the study that could have interfered with the results. The researchers did not however account for it as a possible confounds (Ghafari, et al, 2009). /2 Other information important to know about this article: Even though the research identified significance of the relationship between application of PMRT and attained quality of life, it does not establish a comparative rationale for comparing effectiveness of PMRT with effectiveness of other intervention measures. It however adds to the existing knowledge by identifying a problem statement and solving it. Significance of the treatment however forms a basis for evidence-based practice in clinical care for patients with multiple sclerosis, and a transition from traditional intervention methods to PMRT approach (Ghafari, et al, 2009). /3 TOTAL /25 Adapted from Depoy, E. &Gitlin, L.N. (1994).Introduction to research: Multiple strategies for health and human services. St. Lousis: Mosby). Read More