Amount of Error Made within the Hospital Premises - Term Paper Example

CRITIQUE OF A QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH STUDY: McFadden, K. L., Stock, G. N., & Cowen III, C. R. (2006) Exploring strategies for reducing hospital errors. Journal of Healthcare Management, 51(2), 123-135 ARTICLE CRITIQUE INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH PAPER This research paper deals with the practicality associated with the reduced amount of error made within the hospital premises which pertains to the prevention of patient deaths. An examination of the different error reducing strategies is made from the existing literature and accordingly their perceived importance and the level of implementation is checked. However, there is a difference observed between the perceived importance and the level of implementation of these strategies within the hospital due to the presence of certain barriers with hinder the implementation despite the acknowledged importance of these strategies. Later, using the quantitative techniques the benefits realized were determined as a result of the implementation. VARIABLE IDENTIFICATION The independent variable is the perceived importance of the error reducing strategies. The dependent variable is the implementation of the error reducing strategies. The barriers (external and internal) act as the moderating variable which moderates the relationship between the dependent and independent variable. RESEARCH DESIGN The research methodology used for this research paper was the survey design. A random sample of the hospitals was selected from all over the state and accordingly the perceived importance and the implementation of the error reducing strategies was checked using a questionnaire as the data gathering instrument. The target population was identified and the questionnaires were distributed via the electronic media. A follow up was made about whether the questionnaire was received to the right person by making phone calls. THE STRENGTHS AND THE WEAKNESSES OF THE STUDY STRENGTHS Problem Statement The problem statement of a research study is basically a set of puzzles that the researcher intends to solve. The statement may not be a single statement presenting the problem; rather it could constitute few paragraphs or multiple points covering the problem area. However, they should “present a concise description of the nature of the problem to be investigated” (Blaikie, 2000, p.16). With respect to this, the problem statement of this research paper is very well presented. It is actually covered in four very concise points which identify the problem areas that are dealt in the research paper. They deal with the variables identified (dependent, independent and moderating) with which all the study relates to. Sample/ Population However rigorous the study might be, the vitality of selecting the appropriate sample and targeting the key respondents can not in any case be ignored; for a failure with this part of the study would result in the whole study being fruitless as the validity of the results could well be challenged. The research paper under consideration deals with the perceived importance and the implementation of the error reducing strategies in the hospitals and the barriers that come in the way. With respect to that, the key respondents that were identified for the data collection were the “director of quality, director of quality, director of performance management, or risk manager” (McFadden, K. L., Stock, G. N., & Cowen III, C. R., 2006), which is the representative of the target population. Moreover the biases while selecting the sample were reduced as the researchers of the study ‘stratifies the sample based on geographic region to increase the generalizability of the findings.’ Design The design selected by the researcher for this study is the survey design. The information that is to be gathered for the study was the perceptions on the importance of the error reducing strategies and their implementation – which in can be very well gathered using the structured questionnaire. “The surveys are about particular methods of data collection and analysis” (Blaikie, 2000, p.41). The survey was conducted over a geographically diverse are which increases the generalizability which as a consequence is very suitable for the research paper. WEAKNESSES Title “The title of a research project needs to be both concise and informative. It should capture the essence of what the project will be about and where and with whom it will be conducted.” (Blaikie, 2000, p.15). The title of the research under critique is “Exploring Strategies for Reducing Hospital Errors.” The point here is that the title does convey us the message that the study is going to be conducted with the hospitals but it fails to give the ‘essence’ of what the research project is actually about. The study does not explore the different strategies regarding error reduction; rather it investigates the perceived importance and the implementation of the already existing error reducing strategies in the hospitals. Hence, the topic of the research fails to give the true meaning of the subject of the study. Review of the Literature The review of the literature in its ideal sense is supposed to review the relevant existing literature on the variables indentified in the problem statement of the study. In this case, however, the literature review examines the seven error reducing strategies one by one, but does not mentions the relative importance of the strategies nor does it mentions the benefits received out of the implementation of the reviewed strategies. Measurement/ Instrument Another weakness that can be found in this research study is that it is not specified that how are the identified concepts measured. It is mentioned that the questionnaire was used (which is also the part of the survey design) – but the dimensions of the constructs is not mentioned and the elements of the dimensions upon which the statements of the questionnaire are made or determined is not present in this research paper. IMPORTANCE OF THIS RESEARCH PROBLEM TO NURSING PRACTICE The research problem that has been identified in this paper has an immense importance for the nursing practices. It is reported in the article under study that “medical errors account for more than 98,000 deaths per year in U.S. hospitals and that 58 percent of these error-related deaths may have been preventable” (McFadden, K. L., Stock, G. N., & Cowen III, C. R., 2006). The fact just mentioned clearly reflects upon the imperative nature of the issue the study deals with. The importance also lies in the realm that the errors might be made due to the lack of knowledge with respect to the patient, and since the nursing job is the one that requires being around the patient most of the time, it becomes highly useful for the nursing staff to abide by the strategies that reduce the probability of the medical errors. STRENGHTS OR WEAKNESSES? WHAT OUTWEIGHS? Is there a thing called a perfect research? Every researcher has justifications for the work produced by him or her, but yet there are places where the strengths lie and there are corners where the weaknesses stare. However, there is a certain abstract level where one can demarcate whether the particular research study has the weaknesses that outweigh or the strengths? So is the case with the research study subjected to such as analysis. It cannot be denied that this particular research study is devoid of any weaknesses whatsoever. In fact there are some. To slightly make a mention of those, the title is not expressive, literature review does not cover certain aspects and the notions adhered to in the study are not operationalized for the measurement purpose in the study. But despite these, it should be mentioned that there are strengths of this study more vigorous in nature for that matter. The problem that was addressed to in the entire paper was so clearly defined and for that the target population was very meticulously chosen. As a result, the data gathered is meaningful and valid. Moreover, the extensive geographical dispersion of the data gathered increases the generalizability. Other than this, the data so presented in the descriptive statistics provides a great deal of clarity as to which strategy is perceived as important and which should the one implemented on the priority levels. Hence inference can be made that the strengths of the article outweighed the weaknesses that it presented. CONTRIBUTION OF THE FINDINGS TO THE NURSING PRACTICE The contributions of this research article can be found in the analysis of the different research strategies – their relative importance and their level of implementation along with the benefits realized by the lower gap between the perceived importance and the implementation. The fact that the error reducing strategies have been implemented, as also reviewed in the literature of the study, it then rules out the issue of non-practicality. If these strategies are adopted by the hospitals and properly implemented, the nursing practice in terms of error reduction would improve a great deal. Moreover the training, if it is provided will reduce the chances of error committing due to the lack of knowledge. CONCLUSION The research study that has been under the light of critique deals with a very important issue that is faced by the contemporary hospitals. The author has tried to prioritize the research strategies based upon the gap between the perceived importance and the implementation. This effort can be worthwhile if the hospitals adopt the strategies according to their respective circumstances and as prioritized. However, despite the aforementioned weaknesses inherent in the research study, the analysis of the data using descriptive statistics and the regression model can be very useful in terms of improving the quality of service delivery in the hospitals. REFERENCES Blaikie, N. (2000). Designing Social Research, Malden: Blackwell Publishers Inc. McFadden, K. L., Stock, G. N., & Cowen III, C. R. (2006) Exploring strategies for reducing hospital errors. 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