Critique of Assessing the Utilization of Maternal and Child Health Care among Married Adolescent Women - Coursework Example

Critique of Assessing the Utilization of Maternal and Child Health Care among Married Adolescent Women: Evidence from India Abstract The utilization of maternal and child healthcare among married adolescent women has been the center of discussion in most forums. Research has therefore continued to make recommendations that can help remedy the situation. The outcome of the research has been written in research articles that must have a predefined format. This is because complex and ad hoc articles do not presents the facts clearly thus making the readers to have hard time. This paper is a critique to the article that is titled: Assessing the utilization of Maternal and Child health Care among Adolescent Women: Evidence from India. The paper describes analyzes the format step by step and makes comments in the process. Focus is placed in tandem to the formats of the research papers. Key words: article, evidence, Critique of Assessing the Utilization of Maternal and Child Health Care among Married Adolescent Women: Evidence from India Introduction The introduction starts by explaining the purpose of the research giving facts and the background of the study. The facts are supported by statistical figures whose source is also well stated. It also acknowledges the efforts by other authors to research on the death of children born by adolescent mothers. Additionally, it also states the scope of the research and the reason why it is viable. The references given also fully support the facts that the study seeks to find. At a glance the reader will be able to get what the article is all about and yearn to read more of it. However, the structuring of the introduction is not very well. This is because it is long and full of facts which would have otherwise been included in the literature review section. The introduction portion is full of relevant literature which of course is good since they all support and build the facts of the study. Prior to this there is a summary that describes the article in a nutshell. The authors did a good thing to present it but this should have been in form of an abstract. Issue Identified in the article The article seeks to explore the prevalence as well as factors that are associated with the utilization of child and maternal health care services. The study is based on married adolescents in India. However, the article does not clearly state this. Instead it is included in the long introduction that may end up confusing the reader. The authors would have considered a format that describes the issue being sought in a clear and concise manner. Source of the Issue The problem being handled relates to early marriages. This is because this is the only event that can offer grounds for such. The cause of early marriages is well outlined. The authors attribute it to the socioeconomic and cultural factors of the women such as education, economic and social status, and accessibility to facilities, poverty, and lack of health care professionals. The other issue is lack of proper education on pregnancy as well as contraceptives (Singh, Kumar, & Singh, 2012). This is well supported. However, the fact that it is in the introduction makes it easy for one to generalize and pass over it therefore lacking the idea of the issue that the article is trying to research on or upon which the study is based. The authors could have arranged the work in a predefined format that otherwise would have made it easier for the reader to get what issues are being presented. If included in the introduction one might fail to read it and may lose grasp of the article. Significance of the Issue The issue is significant in that the prevalence of death among children born to adolescent mothers as well as the adolescent mothers themselves is very high in India as shown by the statistics presented. For instance, about 30 to 70 % of married women in the 20- 24 years age bracket were married before they were 18 years old (Singh, Kumar, & Singh, 2012). The authors also point out that maternal mortality is very high being at 10% in India. They also show the rate of death of newborns to adolescent mothers to be 50% compared to mothers in their twenties. The number of girls giving birth in their teenage between 15 and 19 years is sixteen million and in developing countries the births account for 95% of the deaths. The statistics make it significant to conduct such a study so as to reduce the number of adolescents succumbing to early pregnancy. Once again, despite being well stated and supported just like the above, the significance of the study is included in the introduction. This makes it hard to identify. This could have been written in a separate heading maybe like “purpose of the study” or “significance of the study” this would have made the article so presentable that any reader reading it would be able to understand the issues being studied and their relevance in real life situation. The research done in other countries with the same significance is also once again referred to in the form of referencing. The relevant bodies stated to have interest in the same are also authentic. Feasibility of the study The feasibility of the issue of study lies in the outcome of the results. The issue of study affects a large population being that India is categorized among some of the third world countries. This makes it feasible since all the factors that cause the issue or rather the sources of the issue are catapulted by this position. This include poverty, economic as well as educational status, lack of quick access to healthcare facilities, and the absence of professionals to handle the cases of adolescent maternal and healthcare (Singh, Kumar, & Singh, 2012). The other issue that makes it feasible is the culture of the people of South Asia that allows early marriages. This once again should have been stated and a headline of the same included within the article because it is the backbone of the research. Scope of the Literature Review The authors have not cited a clear review of the literature used in the article. However, within the article there are appropriate references that are included in the introduction. A good article would have covered this in its own section bearing in mind that different authors may have diverse views on the same issue and may also approach the issues from different angles. The statements in this section contribute to the understanding of the issues as well as establishing a foundation for the problem statement. The authors would have considered doing this in the form of sections such as: (1) Relevant research in India; ( 2) Relationship between adolescence, Pregnancy and child birth; and (3) relationship between maternal and child health care and the Millennium development Goals. Additionally, the authors could have considered using a clear outline of the literature review that is under the headline “Literature Reviews” or “Review of Literature”. This could have made it easy to get the facts about the literature right at a glance and tie their relevance to the issue of discussion. This would also give an in-depth knowledge of the topic. Theoretical Context of the Issue Death due to early pregnancy is widespread all over the world and is very much discouraged even by the international bodies. This is well explained. The theoretical background of the issue of maternal and child healthcare and its corresponding consequences and outcomes is included in the introduction. At a glance therefore a reader may not be able to connect the theory and what is really in action from the long and unstructured introduction. Therefore, it would have been wise if the authors would have included a headline for the same and explained it in a way that even a layman can understand. Hypothesis/ Research Questions This research tested the hypotheses of how health care is utilized by adolescent mothers and the children born to them. The hypothesis agrees well with the topic of the article as well as the issues that are the source of the problem. Additionally it is also limited to the resources the authors (researchers) had. However, the questions used in the research are not included in the article. It would have been wise if the authors included an appendix of the research questions. The hypothesis is seen to be generalized in the introduction while it should have been stated on its own. Variables of Interest The article states the three variables considered in a clear and concise manner. They include: full antenatal care, full immunization, and antenatal care. The inclusion factors are well stated. For instance, full antenatal care includes the mothers who have had at least three antenatal visits, received iron and folic acid tablets for three months or more, and mothers who have had a tetanus toxoid injection either three years before pregnancy or two injections of the same during pregnancy (Singh, Kumar, & Singh, 2012). The variables are in tandem with the issue of study. There is no method for controlling extraneous variables as well as the exclusion criteria. However, socioeconomic and demographic predictors are used to control the scope of each variable. Methodology The authors have stated the methods used to collect data and as can be seen the research is based on a demographic survey by the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) (Singh, Kumar, & Singh, 2012). The method used by the researchers is comparison of the data from the survey whose source was surveys and observation methods. The data by NFHS was collected through contact with the health professionals as well as interviews. The interview method is advantageous because the researchers would have used the opportunity to seek clarification as well as gauge the accuracy of the answers from the respondents. However, the method is time consuming and costly. The method of contact with the respondents serves more as an observation method per se because the researcher actually observes the daily schedule of the contact person. It is however, disadvantageous as a method of data collection because they can change in the period of data collection to impress the researcher. The authors have failed to acknowledge the advantages and disadvantages of the methods used to collect the data they are depending on for statistics. Additionally, they have failed to acknowledge how the authority for data gathering was accorded to NFHS. Description of the Research design The authors have not described the research design they are using but as it seems the research is of an exploratory design. It employs both qualitative and quantitative methods in gathering data and involves the comparison of data from the primary sources and supporting it with secondary sources. The sample size is well stated and facts clearly stated. Assessing Internal and External Validity The research is valid based on the facts that it has from the data gathered. The inclusion factors and the sample sizes are okay with the study being that only a representative is required here. In terms of external validity the results of the study will affect the view on early marriages and its influence in adolescent births. Externally, the study is valid in the way that it is based on real data from a chosen population. Obtaining the samples The samples were obtained from contacts with health workers whose number was stated. The authors have explained why the samples were necessary and why they needed to be specific on the sample size stated for each variable. Measurement instruments Since no measurements were taken there were no measurement instruments ore techniques used. This therefore means that their validity and reliability were of no importance in the study. So does the sources of error. Data Analysis To come up with a good conclusion and recommendation the authors analyzed data using bivariate and multivariate analyses methods. Bivariate analysis had focus on the relationship between the utilization of maternal and child healthcare services by selected social, economic and demographic related characteristics. On the other hand the multivariate analysis employed logistic regression to establish the factors that explained and predicted the utilization of health outcome. The latter considered three variables earlier named. Chi square test was used to validate the variables for bivariate analysis. Further analysis was done using SPSS whose version the authors stated as 15.0. This is well explained and makes the outcome of the study plausible and valid (Singh, Kumar, & Singh, 2012). The results are well presented statistically and in tabular form. This is very well placed and well referenced being that it is obtained from another source. This makes the authors’ facts be plausible and have base. The results are then well interpreted in the form of explanation of the figures and percentages in the tables. The authors have achieved the presentation of the results since they can easily be read through and at a glance the results internalized and related to the topic of the article. In short the results are well interpreted and supported with appropriate references in the form of citations. Findings The findings of the study are indicated in the results. They are also well explained and supported with appropriate texts. The authors have used this chance to fully validate their results as well as convince the reader that the research study is essential. The arguments in this section are in line with the topic of the article thus the findings are well communicated. However, the authors should have designated separate paragraphs for this instead of using the results section mention their findings. The authors have failed to state the limitations of the study. However, they have recommendations to the concerned authorities. The authors have alternative explanations for the findings. This is presented with reference to research conducted by other researchers. The authors have not included the conclusion section instead they have done this in the results section. They don’t give any implications of their research on future research. The whole article does not acknowledge the format of writing a research article. However, the content of the research is of substance but if well presented more was meaning would be added to the article. Reference Singh, L., Kumar, R., & Singh, P. K. (2012). Assessing the Utilization of Maternal and Child Health care among Married Adolescent Women:Evidence from India. J.BioSoc.Sci, 44, 1-26. doi:10.1017/S0021932011000472 Read More