Improving the Quality of Life: the Nurse-Based Home Visiting Model - Essay Example

? Quantitative research critique Quantitative Research Critique Yeliz, A., & Nuran, A. . Improving the quality of life for multiple sclerosis patients Using the nurse-based home visiting model. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, (26), 295-303. The title ‘Improving the quality of life for multiple sclerosis patients using the nurse-based home visiting model’ clearly describes the study. This is a study carried out to improve life quality for persons suffering from multiple sclerosis using the model of nurse-based home visiting. The population sample is defined clearly from the title for multiple sclerosis patients. However, the length of the title is inappropriate; also, this study does not contain an abstract. The two researchers (Yeliz and Nuran) are both professors. Both work with the nursing department of the health science department from Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey. This is enough evidence that they are both qualified as researchers as they come from reputable companies. The department of nursing from Hacettepe University is a well-established institution, and by them, researchers, associated with the nursing department in the faculty of health sciences, is a good explanation of the their qualification to undertake a research on nursing (Figved, et. al, 2007). The problem is indicated where the research paper indicates that the sufferers of multiple sclerosis have high co-morbidity, which relates to poor life quality and the high costs in health care. As a result, such patients cannot access the optimal homecare, and there is no any model for nurse-based home visiting. The problem stated has the significance in that it introduces the reader to the purposes and aims of the research study. As a result of the existence of the above problem, the study aims at determining the effects of the nursing interventions based on NANDA in order to determine the effects of home-based nursing interventions on issues that relate with Quality of Life (QOL) among patients with multiple sclerosis. The research variables are the intervention and control groups in the study sample. The participants in the intervention groups were 21, and those in the control group were 24 making a total of 45 participants (Carton, et. al., 2004). The hypothesis has been stated clearly whereby the author says that patients with MS live with their families, and they need homecare services just like other people with other diseases, which are chronic. This hypothesis acts as a basis in which the research focuses on, seeking for the effectiveness of home-based nursing interventions. This natural flow from the theoretical framework and the research problem (whereby because of the problem of inappropriate home-based model, the patients live with their families where the homecare services) are inefficient. This provides the theoretical framework of the research in that when people suffering from multiple sclerosis lack sufficient home-based care, the effects can be chronic, and there should be an appropriate model, which aims at handling the resulting problems. The hypothesis contains two variables that are investigated; intervention and effectiveness of the homecare based nursing. These are clearly and objectively worded whereby from just the mention of the hypothesis, because of living with their families, the homecare based might be challenging since they require health professionals to administer the services. Through this, a reader can evaluate the effectiveness of the homecare-based nursing (Karantay, 2002). This research used the pretest-posttest experimental group design where patients from the control group received the interventions from standard care that has to be given to patients with multiple sclerosis; the participants in the intervention group received the nurse-based home-visiting care. The appropriateness of the design to the research question is well defined, where due to the purpose of the research of establishing the effectiveness of the homecare-based nursing, the research design usage of both control and intervention groups was critical. The administration of the homecare-based nursing intervention for the intervention group was checked against those of the control group and the effectiveness evaluated. The design is particularly appropriate to the purposes of the research since the effectiveness of the home-based model can be clearly determined using the control group and comparing the results. The information provided in this research design is enough to allow for the replication whereby the pretest-posttest approach evaluates the effectiveness of homecare-based nursing for the intervention and control groups. These were the key aims of this research where the control group had to be used to allow for the comparison. This is in itself sufficient to allow for any replication of related research (Stuifbergen & Becker, 2003). The quantitative data collection methods of general questionnaire and symptom evaluation forms were used in collecting data. These were developed by the researcher together with the MSQOL-54 Scale. The rationale for the selection of these methods is given, whereby the researcher had first to do a pretrial work among 50 patients using the general questionnaire and symptom evaluation forms. The selection of the validity and reliability of the two methods was based on the results of the pretrial. The questions that were evaluated as hard and misunderstood by the participants during the pretrial were corrected by the experts before the actual test or excluded totally from the forms. The two methods are effective for the study sample since, despite the number of questions being relatively higher, the sample size is small (45 participants); hence, the analysis may be quite easier. This research used statistical package for the social sciences in analyzing the data. The chi-square test was used in analyzing the categorical data and the mean score for the 45 participants evaluated. The methods used for analysis allowed for the intra-group comparison for the both intervention and control groups. The pretest-posttest research design is enhanced through the analysis method where there are differences in the symptoms between intervention and control groups. The resign design was meant to compare the effectiveness of control and intervention groups while the data analysis method enhanced the comparison of the two groups. The statistics from the MSQOL-54M indicated the comparison results from both the interventions and the control groups. The statistics from the analysis correspond with the findings. For instance, the score for MSQOL-54M for both the intervention and the control groups revealed statistically insignificant difference of p=0.06, and this is used for comparing the effectiveness of the homecare-based care for both intervention and control groups. These results are clearly represented through numerical methods, as well as in explanation. For instance, for a value of 0.04, the researcher explains that this means that this shows that the value being evaluated is statistically significant (O’HaraL & DeSL, 2002). The results are clearly highlighted in the conclusion section. The research hypothesis aimed at investigating on the effectiveness of the homecare-based nursing for patients with multiple sclerosis. This is outlined in the conclusion section, and the importance of the researcher, conducted through NANDA guidelines, results of the data analysis are clearly related to the research hypothesis in that results from analysis reflected how effective the homecare-based nursing was by comparing the results for both control and intervention groups. The main theoretical framework in this research was based on multiple sclerosis, and how people can be helped using the homecare-based nursing, and the conclusions have clearly highlighted that the homecare based nursing from the analysis proves to be effective as it helps to improve the quality of life for patients with multiple sclerosis. The conclusion contains the recommendations on the need for future support programmes for patients who are unable to access the health programmes and they live at home. These recommendations are supported in the data where the researcher expresses the importance of homecare-based nursing for people who are live at their homes. References Carton, H., Loos, R., Pacolet, J., Versieck, K., & Vlietinck, R. (2004). A quantitative study of unpaid care-giving in multiple sclerosis. MultScler (6), 274–9. Figved, N., Myhr, K. M., Larsen, J. P., & Aarsland, D. (2007). Care giver burden in multiple sclerosis: the impact of neuropsychiatric symptoms. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 78, 1097–102. Karantay, F. (2002). The Effect of the BreathingExercises and Home Training on Pulmonary Functions and Quality of Life with Multiple Sclerosis Patients. Doctorate Thesis. Istanbul: Istanbu lUniversity. O’HaraL, C., & DeSL, I. (2002). Evaluation of the effectiveness of professionally guided self-care forPeople with multiple sclerosis living in the community: a randomized controlled trial. ClinRehabil (16), 119–28. Stuifbergen, A., & Becker, H. (2003). A randomized controlled clinical trial of aWellness intervention for women with multiple sclerosis. Arch Phys MedRehabil (84), 467–76. Read More