21 hours ago Tami Frazier  Initial Discussion Post COLLAPSE Top of Form NURS 6052 – Essentials of Evidence-Based Protocols Week 7 Initial Discussion Post Qualitative Design             Evidence-based research provides quality information that is tested and proven to be credible and reliable.  For this post, I will discuss the qualitative design used in a study by Vandyk, Young, MacPhee & Gillis (2018) on Exploring the Experiences of Persons Who Frequently Visit the Emergency Department for Mental Health-Related Reasons.  The qualitative study I chose uses interpretive design as the methodology to decipher information that was clinically significant (Vandyk, Young, MacPhee, & Gillis, 2018).  The interpretive design focuses on themes and patterns from participants to make informed decisions regarding the patient experience (Vandyk et al., 2018).  This type of design assumes that numerous theories can be interpreted to provide vital information that can encourage change in clinical practices.            This study was initiated to explore and gain insight into the experiences of mental health patients who visit the emergency department (ED) repeatedly.  It is estimated that psych patients present to the ED five times more than other patients (Vandyk et al., 2018).  These patients are often met by unfriendly ED staff who are annoyed because of their frequent visits.  The purpose of this study was to openly interview ten participants who had visited the ED 12 or more times within a year and discuss their experiences (Vandyk et al., 2018).  The ethical considerations included obtaining informed consent from the participants, the interviewers could not have a prior relationship with the participants, and data was anonymized in team meanings in order to discuss findings (Vandyk et al., 2018).  The researchers used these considerations to control bias and protect patient’s rights.           The use of a qualitative interpretive design uncovered themes from the interview findings.  Based on Williamson (2009), qualitative research seeks to define the participants experience through insight and reality.  These insights produced themes consisting of the participant’s experience, the provider's response to them, and protective factors used to motivate patients outside of the hospital setting (Vandyk et al., 2018).               Conversely, a quantitative design is better used to gather evidence that is precise and easily decodable (Polit & Beck, 2017).  If a quantitative design were used in this study, it would skew the results because the number of participants was minimal and the evidence was not easily deciphered.  Also, when assessing a patient’s thoughts, emotions, and personal observations, there is no precise measurement available.  Therefore, it is essential to use the correct research design in order to provide information that is correct, valid, and reliable.  References Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2017). Nursing research: Generating and assess.

1. 21 hours ago
Tami Frazier
Initial Discussion Post
COLLAPSE
Top of Form
NURS 6052 – Essentials of Evidence-Based Protocols
Week 7 Initial Discussion Post
Qualitative Design
Evidence-based research provides quality information
that is tested and proven to be credible and reliable. For this
post, I will discuss the qualitative design used in a study by
Vandyk, Young, MacPhee & Gillis (2018) on Exploring the
Experiences of Persons Who Frequently Visit the Emergency
Department for Mental Health-Related Reasons. The qualitative
study I chose uses interpretive design as the methodology to
decipher information that was clinically significant (Vandyk,
Young, MacPhee, & Gillis, 2018). The interpretive design
focuses on themes and patterns from participants to make
informed decisions regarding the patient experience (Vandyk et
al., 2018). This type of design assumes that numerous theories
can be interpreted to provide vital information that can
encourage change in clinical practices.
This study was initiated to explore and gain insight into
the experiences of mental health patients who visit the
emergency department (ED) repeatedly. It is estimated that
psych patients present to the ED five times more than other
patients (Vandyk et al., 2018). These patients are often met by
unfriendly ED staff who are annoyed because of their frequent
visits. The purpose of this study was to openly interview ten
participants who had visited the ED 12 or more times within a
year and discuss their experiences (Vandyk et al., 2018). The
ethical considerations included obtaining informed consent from

2. the participants, the interviewers could not have a prior
relationship with the participants, and data was anonymized in
team meanings in order to discuss findings (Vandyk et al.,
2018). The researchers used these considerations to control
bias and protect patient’s rights.
The use of a qualitative interpretive design uncovered
themes from the interview findings. Based on Williamson
(2009), qualitative research seeks to define the participants
experience through insight and reality. These insights
produced themes consisting of the participant’s experience,
the provider's response to them, and protective factors used to
motivate patients outside of the hospital setting (Vandyk et al.,
2018).
Conversely, a quantitative design is better used to gather
evidence that is precise and easily decodable (Polit & Beck,
2017). If a quantitative design were used in this study, it would
skew the results because the number of participants was
minimal and the evidence was not easily deciphered. Also,
when assessing a patient’s thoughts, emotions, and personal
observations, there is no precise measurement available.
Therefore, it is essential to use the correct research design in
order to provide information that is correct, valid, and reliable.
References
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2017). Nursing research: Generating
and assessing evidence for nursing practice (10th ed.).
Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.
Vandyk, A., Young, L., MacPhee, C., & Gillis, K. (2018).
Exploring the experiences of persons who frequently visit the
emergency department for mental health-related
reasons. Qualitative Health Research, 28(4), 587-
599. doi:/10.1177/1049732317746382
Williamson, K. (2009). Evidence-based practice: Critical
appraisal of qualitative evidence. Journal of American
Psychiatric Nurses Association, 15(3), 202-
207.doi:/10.1177/078390309338733

3. 13 hours ago
Jessica Dunne
RE: Discussion - Week 7
COLLAPSE
Top of Form
NURS 6052: Essentials of Evidence-Based Practice
INITIAL POST
Knight, F., Ridge, D., McShane, R., Ryan, S., & Griffith, L.
(2017). Care, control, and the electroconvulsive therapy ritual:
Making sense of polarized patient narratives. Qualitative Health
Research,27(11), 1675-1685. doi:10.1177/1049732317701403
I selected a qualitative study conducted by Knight, Ridge,
McShane, Ryan, and Griffith (2017) which aimed to gain a
better understanding about the differences regarding patients’
opinions regarding their respective experiences with
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Quantitative research
indicates the efficacy of ECT; however, both positive and
negative post procedure patient reports are common.
Contradictory patient evaluations need to be studied to help
clinicians optimize the ECT experience which could improve
compliance (Knight, Ridge, McShane, Ryan, & Griffith, 2017).
Moreover, ECT is one of the few options for treatment resistant
depression, however, it is often stigmatized as barbaric.
Negative perceptions about ECT treatment are a primary barrier
preventing patients from agreeing to the treatment.
The results of the study identified several themes consistent
with participants who associated ECT as a positive experience;
trust in staff, a sense of being cared for, thorough explanation
of the procedure and associated risks and benefits, autonomy in
making the decision to undergo ECT treatment, and good
relationships with the ECT staff and psychiatrists. In contrast,

4. participants who reported negative ECT experiences described
ECT staff as cold or disconnected, reported feelings that they
were misunderstood, that their concerns were dismissed, that
they were not well informed of the procedure, and that they had
little or no choice in agreeing to ECT treatment (Houghton et
al., 2017).
Qualitative Design
Quantitative data can identify the divergence of patient onions
regarding ECT exists. However, it cannot identify why these
differences are occurring. Polit and Beck (2017) report that
phenomenology, a construct used qualitative research, focuses
on the meaning of lived experiences of humans (Polit & Beck,
2017). The researchers of this study employed narrative style
interviews with patients regarding their lived experiences of
ECT. The interviews were recorded and subsequently
transcribed for analysis; data saturation was achieved.
Participants provided oral history to tell their ECT story, in
their own words, from their own perspective (Knight et al.,
2017). I believe that the qualitative design was appropriate for
this type of research, as the aim was to establish a
phenomenological relationship.
Ethical Considerations
According to Houghton, Case, Shaw, and Murphy (2010),
informed consent can be challenging when conducting
qualitative research particularly because the researcher cannot
always control the direction of interviews or observations
(Houghton, Case, Shaw, & Murphy, 2010). The researchers in
the ECT study declared that while ethical issues regarding ECT
itself were outside the scope of their research. However, the
study was approved by the Multicentre Research Ethics
Committee. Additionally, research participants were provided
comprehensive written information about the study, were
allotted adequate time to review these materials, were afforded
the opportunity to ask questions, and all signed written consent
forms for their narrative interviews to be used in the study
(Houghton et al., 2010).

5. Another ethical issue pertaining to qualitative research is
confidentiality. Because of the intimate nature of qualitative
data, participants may be vulnerable to embarrassment and risk
of exposure if too much personal information is disclosed
(Houghton et al., 2010) To mitigate the ethical risk regarding
confidentiality, the researchers of this study were offered the
choice of using pseudonyms in place of their real names. While
most of the participants chose to use a pseudonym, some of the
participants had already spoken publically about their ECT
experience and elected to use their real name. Nonetheless,
informed consent in this regard was obtained from each
participant (Kight et al., 2017).
Variations in Qualitative and Quantitative Research Designs
Williamson (2009) asserts that qualitative research is
descriptive and provides insight and understanding into human
experiences. Qualitative researchers seek to understand how
participants think and feel.
These data are not numerical; rather, they are full and rich
descriptions from participants who are experiencing the
phenomenon under study. The goal of qualitative research is to
uncover the truths that exist and develop a complete
understanding of reality and the individual’s perception of what
is real. (Williamson, p. 202, 2010).
Qualitative research seeks to uncover the subjective, whereas
quantitative research focuses on analyzing trends in objective
data. The quality of the information obtained through the
narrative interviews in the ECT study provided significant
insight into the feelings and perceptions of the participants.
Quantitative analysis would not have been able to obtain this
type of information. The information obtained in the qualitative
study regarding patients experiences regarding ECT can be used
to impact evidence-based practice in a more significant and
meaningful way than the quantitative data alone.
References
Houghton, C. E., Casey, D., Shaw, D., & Murphy, K. (2010).
Ethical challenges in qualitative research: Examples from

6. practice. Nurse Researcher,18(1), 15-25.
doi:10.7748/nr2010.10.18.1.15.c8044
Knight, F., Ridge, D., Mcshane, R., Ryan, S., & Griffith, L.
(2017). Care, control, and the electroconvulsive therapy ritual:
Making sense of polarized patient narratives. Qualitative Health
Research,27(11), 1675-1685. doi:10.1177/1049732317701403
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2017). Nursing research generating
and assessing evidence for nursing practice. Philadelphia:
Wolters Kluwer.
Williamson, K. M. (2009). Evidence-based practice: Critical
appraisal of qualitative evidence. Journal of the American
Psychiatric Nurses Association,15(3), 202-207.
doi:10.1177/1078390309338733
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