Ethical Considerations: Confidentiality of Patients' Information - Assignment Example

Introduction There are various issues that researchers consider before undertaking their studies. Most important is the research design which involves all the stages from data collection to interpretation of the results. Therefore, this piece of work strives to highlight how to successfully implement a qualitative research on electronic health record related to patient errors. It gives some of the qualitative methods of data collection, limitations of the study and possible ethical considers that might influence outcome of the study on electronic health record related to patient errors. DQ 8.1 (1)What are some qualitative methods of data collection that might be appropriate for your own research? (My study is on Electronic Health Record Related to Patient Errors) Interviews are usually useful for qualitative research since they seek to get the views of the respondents on a particular topic (Gioia, Corley, & Hamilton, 2013). In this study, interviews will aid the research in finding out what health practitioners have to say about electronic health records that may lead to patient errors. In this case, the study will engage in direct interviews by first designing questionnaires to aid in data collection. The study can also collect data through interviews by structuring questions before the data collection process or engage in open-ended which takes a conversational format (Doz, 2011). Qualitative interviews can take structured form where the interviewer pre-determines and lists the questions or can be unstructured where researcher does not begin with prepared questions. Therefore, the study will ask all participants the same question though wording and order of the questions may vary. Another method of collecting qualitative data is the focus groups as a special type of interviews (Wisdom et al., 2012). The method involves collecting data or interviewing specific groups that researchers refer to as focus groups. On the other hand, the method targets homogeneous groups like healthcare givers. In this study for instance, focus group interviews that target the staff who handle patient records as well as those who process information. (2) Provide reasons for your choices The reason for preferring qualitative research interviews for this study is that they wholly dig into social topics that would otherwise prove unreliable when using quantitative methods (Gioia, Corley, & Hamilton, 2013). On the other hand, the study favours interviews over other qualitative data collection method since it involves direct engagement with the respondents. The direct engagement implies that the researcher can guide the participants in answering structured questions (Jackson, 2012). Focus groups are useful sources of information in qualitative research since such interviews narrow down to specific population that can provide relevant information to research (Wisdom et al., 2012). One advantage of using focus group interviews is that they will provide a useful source of quality control since it gives respondents the opportunity to provide checks and balances. On the other hand, the method will be helpful in this study because it curbs extreme views. Another reason for using focus group interviews in this study is that the method always proves enjoyable for the participants since the interviewer less evaluates them when they are in a group setting (Doz, 2011). On the other hand, the method offers other respondents a clue of what others have to say thus being able to reconsider their views before responding to the questions. DQ 8.2 (1)What are some limitations of your proposed study? (My study is on Electronic Health Record Related to Patient Errors) (2) How can these be addressed? Please have some examples Time is always a limiting factor in most researches (Denzin, 2012). In this study, time could limit the data collection process especially the direct interviews targeting both individual and focus groups. Travelling to various health care organisations to conduct interviews means that the research will require more time. Nonetheless, going to the organisations also requires prior notification. There is some possibility of visiting organisations and scheduled meetings getting cancelled which might be a waste of time and resources. The other limitation of the research stems from research design (Jensen, Dawson, & Falk, 2011). Some variables will be difficult to measure and analyse, and qualitative data interpretation requires knowledge of coding of data. If the implementation stage will fall short of coding as a technique, then interpretation will prove hectic. Another limitation stems from the sampling method the research will adopt (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, & Podsakoff, 2012). The implication is that reliability and validity of the research depends on the ability of the research to represent the population evenly under study (Fogelholm et al., 2012). In this case, the research may suffer bias if the sampling methods do not represent all the study subjects. Lack of resources, though unrecognisable, is also a limitation of qualitative studies since the researcher needs resources for executing and implementing the study in form of money to buy study materials. (2) How can these be addressed? To overcome the problem of time as a limiting factor, the research will ensure that there is proper preparation with a definite time frame for all the activities (Denzin, 2012). The best way to handle the problem of time as a limiting factor is by having an itinerary for the entire research. Nonetheless, there is a myriad of sampling methods that can reduce biases in research. The best way of overcoming sample biases is by using cluster sampling that organises the target population into specific groups (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, & Podsakoff, 2012). In this case, the study can use clusters of health caregivers by organising them in terms of age, job designation, and time they have spent in the organisation. On the other hand, overcoming the problem of research reliability is possible by using measurable variables (Fogelholm et al., 2012). The study will, therefore, identify measurable variables pertaining to electronic health records. It is also imperative to note that using measurable variables solves interpretation problems (Jensen, Dawson, & Falk, 2011). Most important, it will be necessary to acquire the necessary skills for coding qualitative data. A prior knowledge of data analysis packages like the SPSS may help the research in recording, interpreting, and analysis the data. DQ 8.3 (1)What important ethical considerations might affect your research? (My study is on Electronic Health Record Related to Patient Errors. When using research interviews, there are some issues that prevent effective implementation of a research. Data handling is a major issue in qualitative research due to privacy and security concerns by the respondents (Biddison et al., 2014). Therefore, this study anticipates strong opposition from some health care organisations in issuance of employee information. However, privacy and security as an ethical concern characterises both scientific and social research. Respondents may be unwilling to disclose their information citing the inability of most researches to uphold confidentiality in handling their data. Maybe the researcher may not have ill motives but might be unable to keep data out from other people. When disseminating questionnaires, there will be an enormous concern on the extent of information that the research requires from the respondents. Some questions about ethnicity, race, and religion may be respondents in uncomfortable positions since these are sensitive issues. Thus, the research will face an ethical concern with the type of information it anticipates collecting from the respondents (Weijer et al., 2011). The only reserve, this research has, is promising respondents that the study will treat all their information with utmost confidentiality, and promises no ethical misconduct. 2) Discuss methods for minimizing these considerations The most important method of minimising ethical considerations is by obtaining informed consent from the participants (Qu, & Dumay, 2011). Informed consent implies that all respondents are aware that they are participating in the research and have a clear understanding of what the study seeks from them. In this case, the study will provide all respondents will relevant information such as research purpose, possible outcomes and inconveniences as well as risks that may befall the interviewees. Nonetheless, informed consent encourages volunteering for the research where the study makes sure that it does not deceive or coerce respondents into taking part in the study. Another method of handling the ethical considerations is the protection of confidentiality and anonymity (Heilferty, 2011). In this case, the study promises to hold all the information confidential and that it will not identify the respondents by name. A perfect way of protecting anonymity is by removing identifiers like geographical cues, vernacular terms, and names. On the other hand, the research can alternatively write up the responses by using proxies (Heilferty, 2011). Finally, the research should also prove the respondents with the opportunity to withdraw from the study. However, withdrawal should be voluntary. For instance, the researcher can provide respondents with consent forms that have a withdraw clause when they feel the study will harm them in a certain way. Conclusion Briefly, there is a myriad of methods collecting qualitative data on this research but the study prefers interviews and focus groups. Nonetheless, the study will also take into consideration some of the limitations as well as methods of handling them. For instance, cluster sampling takes care of population biasness. Eventually, the study aims at dealing with ethical considerations especially with issues concerning privacy and confidentiality of the information from the respondents. References Biddison, L. D. et al. (2014). Ethical considerations: care of the critically ill and injured during pandemics and disasters: CHEST consensus statement. CHEST Journal, 146(4_suppl), e145S-e155S. Denzin, N. K. (2012). Triangulation 2.0. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 6(2), 80-88. Doz, Y. (2011). 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