All They Said Was My Kidneys Were Dead - Research Paper Example

? Introduction The paper under critique in this appraisal is d “All they said was my kidneys were dead Indigenous Australian patients’ understanding of their chronic kidney disease. The model of critique used for this paper is known as COREQ. It is a 32-item checklist model. The items are grouped into three main domains namely; research team and reflexivity, study design, and data analysis and reporting (Tong A, 2007). This method has been developed following the complexities associated with reporting fundamental aspects of qualitative researches. Prior to its development, only partial checklists were available for qualitative researches. Other methods, which would have been used, for critiquing this research include Bray and Rees model of 1995 and Benton and Cormack model of 2000. These methods have been used prior to the COREQ method and can still be used for critiquing this research (Lee, 2006). The journal featured in the ERA ranking fro 2009. It can, therefore, be said to be highly regarded among numerous published journals. The authors of the report can be identified as professionals in the field. Kate and Jeannie are research fellows at the George Institute for International Health, Sydney, NSW. Cunningham works at Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, NT. Numerous related works of research can be associated with her. The other authors also work in related fields of medicine, and they can be termed as credible authors. The analysis of this research based on the credibility of the authors becomes immensely simplified. The title choice for the paper seems impressive. While catching the attention of the reader, it identifies a statement from a respondent (Kothari, 2006). It entices a reader to enquire what caused the statement highlighted to be made. Making this enquiry, the reader manages to review the research. The key point of the research sought to explain the understanding of different Australians concerning end-stage kidney disease. The research bases this on the need for effective communication between a patient and medical staff. The understanding of a patient about a disease can immensely help medical staff in offering the patient with desirable care (Devitt J, 2008). The research sought to establish perceptions of indigenous and non- indigenous Australians concerning the disease. The aim of the research can be identified as establishing the difference in understanding of the ESKD between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. The review of this topic provides a solid base for the research. Existing evidence shows that, Indigenous people face numerous barriers when seeking medical care for the disease (Lawton J, 2009). It, therefore, becomes essential to establish the perceptions of these patients to enable healthcare workers understand the patients. Research team and reflexivity Reflexivity can be defined as the ability for an action to affect the person performing. The authors of this report need not be reflexive in order to avoid bias in their reporting. This can be extremely difficult, considering their profession. They, therefore, should try to limit their reflexivity towards the research. The authors are members of the profession aiming to benefit from the research, therefore, reflexivity can be allowed minimally. None of the researchers worked in the hospitals where the interviews were conducted. The researchers worked for various institutions within the medical profession but not directly in hospitals. The participants did not have any knowledge of the interviewer. The interview sought to establish a life narrative about the existence of the disease and, therefore, the participant did not know the reasons for giving the interview. The interviews were conducted through peer-to-peer mode (Holliday, 2007). This ensured comfort of the participant as the interviewer was conversant with the livelihood of the participant. The interviewer had some knowledge of the participant. With interviews conducted in indigenous languages, it became essential to use interviewers who understood the language well. The problem of the language barrier would be overcome by this mode of interview (Matthew McKay, 2009). Study design Phylosopical approach The methodological orientation of the researchers seems to be ethnography (Westbrook, 2008). They seek to establish the adequacy of communication and information in patients from different ethnic group. The interviews are also conducted in the local languages. The method seems remarkably consistent with the data collection method. The interviews would not have taken place without an ethnological classification of the participants. The transcribed data would be easy to analyze with the software used for the analysis. This method enabled data presentation indicating the views, and perceptions possessed by each ethnic group scrutinized. The application of this method was essential in ensuring that reporting occurs in relation to the ethnic group of each participant. Participant selection The participants were selected using the convenience selection model. The use of this method meant that the researchers played a significant role in selecting the participants (Baxter, 2008). They researchers chose the people they thought would provide them with the relevant information concerning their study. This selection mode may have influenced the findings of the research. Some of the people not included in the study might posses information highly relevant to the research. This mode of selection creates some bias on the researchers pertaining to the participants. This bias may limit the information collected, as the identified participants may not be cooperative enough. Possible Cooperative, participants may have been left out by the selection mode. Face-to-face communication was employed during the interview. This was efficient as first-hand information could be collected from participants. The 241 persons interviewed formed the sample. 146 of them were indigenous and the other 95 comprised of non-indigenous Australians. Setting The interviews were conducted in hospital renal units while others were carried out in dialysis centers. The interview only involved the interviewer and the participant. In some cases, however, there were non-participants present in the interviewing room. Many of these included translators, extensively used to assist the interviewer with the language. The important characteristic of the sample was the race of the participants. There were indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Other demographics considered by the researchers included ethnicity, location, age, sex, treatment type, and illness duration. Data collection The use Face- to-face interviews was extensively utilized in the data collection. This ensured the participant had the opportunity to explain his/her understanding of the disease. The application of this method was significantly appropriate in gathering the essential information (Patricia Pulliam Phillips, 2008). All interviews took place once, and no repeat interviews were conducted. The use of field notes was not utilized as recording, and later transcriptions of the interviews were done. The entire process was conducted over a period of two years, between 2005 and 2006. Once the transcripts had been made, none was returned to the participants for further comments. This acted to ensure the data remained in the original form of collection. Ethics Fourteen (14) relevant jurisdiction ethics committees approved the research. This included six all-indigenous committees. Throughout the research period, the researchers received funding from their respective organizations of employment. The employers also provided other support from the monitory support. Other than supporting the researchers, the funding organizations, did not have any direct influence on the research (Mark Israel, 2006). They researchers maintained their autonomy during the research period. Analysis and findings Data analysis Manual coding was used in the data coding, and thematic groups of materials were defined and coded (Ader, 2008). Descriptive statistics were generated by software from the coded data. In the research, data saturation is not discussed anywhere. The trustworthiness of the data presented cannot be ascertained. The data was based on the information provided by the participants and their understanding cannot be tested. It is difficult to know if the participant was ever informed about the cause of his/her disease. Reporting The authors provide several extracts of interviews in the report. An interview is presented to support each statement. This method show consistency with the methodology used in the research. Just as the researchers chose the participants, they also chose the interviews to include in the report (Tabachnick, 2007). These interviews provide a sufficient data in support of the findings of the research. Discussion The major finding of the research was that the indigenous people felt poorly informed about the illness. Confusion and frustration are also evident in this category of participants. The role of the nurse in the context of this research would be educating a patient about a disease (Parry O, 2006). This would be aimed at increasing patient information pertaining causes and ways of dealing with a prevalent condition. Conclusion The quality of this research cannot be questioned. The idea presentation seems sound and extremely clear. The findings of this research can be utilized in the nursing profession immensely. Nurses can be used as agents for educating the public about some common misunderstood diseases (Martha J. Bradshaw, 2011). The information would be provided to the public concerning all diseases commonly misunderstood by the public. Improved information to the public can help in the disease management. The findings of this report can be extended to other diseases in an aim of increasing awareness in the infected persons. References Ader, H. (2008). Advising on Research Methods: A consultant's companion. Huizen, the Netherlands: Johannes van Kessel Publishing. Baxter, P. a. (2008). Qualitative Case Study Methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report , 13(4): 544-559. Devitt J, C. A. (2008). Study protocol — Improving Access to Kidney Transplants (IMPAKT): a detailed account of a qualitative study investigating barriers to transplant for Australian Indigenous people with end-stage kidney disease. BMC Health Serv Res , 8: 31. Holliday, A. R. (2007). Doing and Writing Qualitative Research, 2nd Edition. London: Sage Publications. Kothari, C. R. (2006). Research methodology: methods and techniques. New Delhi: New Age International (P) Ltd. Lawton J, A. N. (2009). Contextualising accounts of illness: notions of responsibility and blame in white and South Asian respondents’ accounts of diabetes causation. Sociol Health Illn , 29: 891-906. Lee, P. (2006). Understanding and critiquing qualitative research papers. Nursing times , 30-32. Mark Israel, a. I. (2006). Research ethics for social scientists. London: SAGE Publications. Martha J. Bradshaw, A. J. (2011). Innovative Teaching Strategies in Nursing and Related Health Professions. London: Jones and Bartlet publishing. Matthew McKay, M. D. (2009). Messages: The Communication Skills Book Oakland. Oakland: New Harbinger Publications. Parry O, P. E. (2006). Issues of cause and control in patient accounts of type 2 diabetes. Health Educ Res , 21: 97-107. Patricia Pulliam Phillips, C. A. (2008). Data Collection: Planning for and Collecting All Types of Data. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Tabachnick, B. &. (2007). Using Multivariate Statistics, Fifth Edition. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Tong A, S. P. (2007). Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): a 32- item checklist for interviews and focus groups. International Journal for Quality in Health Care , Volume 19, Number 6: 349 – 357. Westbrook, D. A. (2008). Navigators of the Contemporary: Why Ethnography Matters. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Read More