Elizabeth J Halcomb

Mixed methods research for nursing and the health sciences

Table of Contents . Foreword. Preface. Editors and contributors. Glossary. Section One: Preliminary Considerations . Chapter 1 Introduction to Mixed Methods Research for Nursing and the Health Sciences. Chapter 2 Does Mixed Methods Constitute A Change In Paradigm?. Chapter 3 Designs for Mixed Methods Research. Chapter 4 Managing Mixed Methods Projects. Section Two: Conducting Mixed Methods Research . Chapter 5 Data Collection in Mixed Methods Research. Chapter 6 Analysing Mixed Methods Data. Chapter 7 From Rigour to Trustworthiness: Validating Mixed Methods. Chapter 8 Reporting Mixed Methods Projects. . Section Three: Exemplars of Mixed Methods Research . Chapter 9 Mixed Methods Intervention Trials. Chapter 10 A Mixed Method Sequential Explanatory Study: Police Referrals to a Psychiatric Facility. Chapter 11 Action Research as a Mixed Methods Design: A Palliative approach in residential aged care. Chapter 12 Future Challenges for Mixed Methods Research in Nursing and the Health Sciences. Index...

Australian nurses in general practice based heart failure management : implications for innovative collaborative practice

Background: The growing global burden of heart failure (HF) necessitates the investigation of alternative methods of providing co-ordinated, integrated and client-focused primary care. Currently, the models of nurse-coordinated care demonstrated to be effective in randomized controlled trials are only available to a relative minority of clients and their families with HF. This current gap in service provision could prove fertile ground for the expansion of practice nursing [The Nurse in Family Practice: Practice Nurses and Nurse Practitioners in primary health care. 1988, Scutari Press, London: Impact of rural living on the experience of chronic illness. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 2001. 9: 235–240]. Aim: This paper aims to review the published literature describing the current and potential role of the practice nurse in HF management in Australia. Methods: Searches of electronic databases, the reference lists of published materials and the internet were conducted using key words including ‘Australia’, ‘practice nurse’, ‘office nurse’, ‘nurs∗’, ‘heart failure’, ‘cardiac’ and ‘chronic illness’. Inclusion criteria for this review were English language literature; nursing interventions for heart failure (HF) and the role of practice nurses in primary care. Results: There is currently a paucity of data evaluating the potential role for practice nurses in a reconfigured, collaborative health care system. Those studies that were identified were, largely, of a descriptive nature. In addition to identifying the practice nurse as a largely unexplored resource, key themes that emerged from the review include: (1) current general practice services face significant barriers to the implementation of evidence-based HF practice; (2) there is considerable variation in the practice nurse role between general practices; (3) there are significant barriers to the expansion of the practice nurse role; (4) multidisciplinary interventions can effectively deliver secondary prevention strategies; (5) practice nurses can potentially facilitate these multidisciplinary interventions; and (6) practice nurses are favorably perceived by consumers although there is some confusion about the nature of their role. Conclusion: On the basis of this literature review, practice nurses represent a potentially useful adjunct to current models of service provision in HF management. Further research needs to comprehensively investigate the role of the practice nurse in the Australian context with a view to developing effective and sustainable frameworks for clinical practice. In particular, high-level evidence is required to evaluate the efficacy of the practice nurse role compared to current disease management strategies.

An integrative review of facilitators and barriers influencing collaboration and teamwork between general practitioners and nurses working in general practice

AIM To identify facilitators and barriers influencing collaboration and teamwork between general practitioners and nurses working in general (family) practice. BACKGROUND Internationally, a shortage of doctors entering and remaining in general practice and an increasing burden of chronic disease has diversified the nurses role in this setting. Despite a well-established general practice nursing workforce, little attention has been paid to the ways doctors and nurses collaborate in this setting. DESIGN Integrative literature review. DATA SOURCES CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Life, Cochrane Library, Joanna Briggs Institute Library of Systematic Reviews and Trove (dissertation and theses) were searched for papers published between 2000 and May 2014. REVIEW METHODS This review was informed by the approach of Whittemore and Knafl (2005). All included papers were assessed for methodological quality. Findings were extracted, critically examined and grouped into themes. RESULTS Eleven papers met the inclusion criteria. Thematic analysis revealed three themes common to the facilitators of and barriers to collaboration and teamwork between GPs in general practice: (1) roles and responsibilities; (2) respect, trust and communication; and (3) hierarchy, education and liability. CONCLUSION This integrative review has provided insight into issues around role definition, communication and organizational constraints which influence the way nurses and general practitioners collaborate in a team environment. Future research should investigate in more detail the ways doctors and nurses work together in general practice and the impact of collaboration on nursing leadership and staff retention.

Trial and retribution: a qualitative study of whistleblowing and workplace relationships in nursing

Abstract This paper reports a study aiming to present and describe the effects of whistleblowing episodes on nurses’ workplace relationships. Eighteen participants with direct experience of whistleblowing were recruited into the study, which was informed by a qualitative narrative inquiry design. Findings were clustered into four main themes, namely: Leaving and returning to work—The staff don’t like you; Spoiled collegial relationships—Barriers between me and my colleagues; Bullying and excluding—They’ve just closed ranks; and, Damaged inter-professional relationships’I did lose trust in doctors after that. Findings suggest a need to facilitate a climate in which it is safe for nurses (and others) to raise concerns about patient care or organisational wrongdoing, and to eliminate the existing belief that whistleblowing is a negative act fuelled by revenge or sedition.

Mixed methods research is an effective method of enquiry for community health research

Abstract Rapid social change, the pressure of contemporary living, an aging population and an increase in chronic disease have a significant impact on community health. The complex issues underlying research into community health offer significant challenges to the researcher. The use of mixed methods research is growing in popularity in a range of disciplines, although its application is less well understood. This paper will outline the utility of mixed methods research for community health research and demonstrate how this methodology can be used to enhance the richness of data obtained.

Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the collaborative method: reflections from a single site

Background: A collaborative is an effective method of implementing evidence-based practice across multiple sites through the sharing of experience and knowledge of others in a similar setting, over a short period of time. Collaborative methods were first used in the USA but have been adopted internationally. Aim: This paper sought to document the facilitators and barriers to the implementation of the collaborative method, based on a single site’s experience of participating in a multisite, state-wide heart failure collaborative. Method: Qualitative data was collected using three complementary methods: participant observation, reflective journalling and key informant interviews. Quantitative monitoring of team performance occurred monthly according to prespecified performance indicators. Findings: Barriers and facilitators that were identified by this study included: organisational factors, team composition, dynamics and networking, changing doctor behaviour, clinical leadership and communication. Conclusion: The findings from this study underscore the importance of leadership, communication and team cohesion for the successful implementation of the collaborative method at individual sites. In addition, the importance of a preparatory stage that deals with known barriers and facilitators to the collaborative method before the commencement of the official study period was highlighted. The potential for the collaborative approach to improve clinical outcomes warrants further systematic evaluation of process issues and consideration of the barriers and facilitators to implementation in various settings.

Telemonitoring can assist in managing cardiovascular disease in primary care: a systematic review of systematic reviews

BackgroundThere has been growing interest regarding the impact of telemonitoring and its ability to reduce the increasing burden of chronic diseases, including chronic cardiovascular disease (CVD), on healthcare systems. A number of randomised trials have been undertaken internationally and synthesised into various systematic reviews to establish an evidence base for this model of care. This study sought to synthesise and critically evaluate this large body of evidence to inform clinicians, researchers and policy makers.MethodsA systematic review of systematic reviews investigating the impact of telemonitoring interventions in the primary care management of CVD was conducted. Reviews were included if they explored primary care based telemonitoring in either CVD, heart failure or hypertension, were reported in the English language and were published between 2000 and 2013. Data was extracted by one reviewer and checked by a second reviewer using a standardised form. Two assessors then rated the quality of each review using the Overview Quality Assessment Questionnaire (OQAQ).ResultsOf the 13 included reviews, four focused on telemonitoring interventions in hypertension or CVD management and the remaining 9 reviews investigated telemonitoring in HF management. Seven reviews scored a five or above on the OQAQ evidencing good quality reviews. Findings suggest that telemonitoring can contribute to significant reductions in blood pressure, decreased all-cause and HF related hospitalisations, reduced all-cause mortality and improved quality of life. Telemonitoring was also demonstrated to reduce health care costs and appears acceptable to patients.ConclusionTelemonitoring has the potential to enhance primary care management of CVD by improving patient outcomes and reducing health costs. However, further research needs to explore the specific elements of telemonitoring interventions to determine the relative value of the various elements. Additionally, the ways in which telemonitoring care improves health outcomes needs to be further explored to understand the nature of these interventions.

Nursing student feedback on undergraduate research education: implications for teaching and learning

Abstract Teaching research to undergraduate students presents many challenges to nurse academics. Yet facilitating students to develop skills in critically analysing and interpreting research is vital if we are to achieve evidence-based nursing practice. This paper explores student feedback from a research unit undertaken by Australian undergraduate nurses in order to highlight the challenges for academics trying to engage students in this material. Three hundred and sixty nine (83.5%) second year nursing students provided qualitative and quantitative feedback at the completion of a research unit using a standardised student feedback form. From a combination of the qualitative and quantitative feedback, the most positive aspects of the unit were the teaching staff, the group work and interaction in the class room and the online assessment item. Participants were least satisfied with the way in which the unit was presented, the written assessment items and assessment feedback and the perceived relevance of the unit. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of the theoretical underpinnings of adult learning and teaching in the development of future course materials.

Role theory : a framework to investigate the community nurse role in contemporary health care systems

Nurses’ perceptions of their role are influenced by societal attitudes, government policies and trends in professional issues. Dynamic factors in contemporary health environments challenge traditional nursing roles, in particular those of community nurses. Role theory is a conceptual framework that defines how individuals behave in social situations and how these behaviours are perceived by external observers. This paper reviews the role theory literature as a conceptual framework to explore community nurses’ perceptions of their role. Three theoretical perspectives of role theory have emerged from the literature review: (i) social structuralism; (ii) symbolic interactionism; and (iii) the dramaturgical perspective. These philosophical perspectives provide a useful framework to investigate the role of community nurses in the contemporary health care system.

Life beyond severe traumatic injury : an integrative review of the literature

It is only recently that recognition of the serious and debilitating sequelae of trauma has prompted exploration of outcomes beyond survival, such as disability, health status and quality of life. This paper aims to review the literature describing outcomes following severe traumatic injury to provide clinicians with a greater understanding of the recovery trajectory following severe trauma and highlight the issues faced by those recovering from such injury. Electronic databases, published reference lists and the Internet were searched to identify relevant literature. The heterogeneous nature of published literature in this area prohibited a systematic approach to inclusion of papers in this review. Trauma survivors report significant sequelae that influence functional status, psychological wellbeing, quality of life and return to productivity following severe injury. Key themes that emerge from the review include: current trauma systems which provide inadequate support along the recovery trajectory; rehabilitation referral which is affected by geographical location and provider preferences; a long-term loss of productivity in both society and the workplace; a high incidence of psychological sequelae; a link between poor recovery and increased drug and alcohol consumption; and valued social support which can augment recovery. Future research to evaluate interventions which target the recovery needs of the severely injured patients is recommended. Particular emphasis is required to develop systematic, sustainable and cost-effective follow-up to augment the successes of existing acute trauma services in providing high quality acute resuscitation and definitive trauma management.