Qualitative Research in Nursing and Healthcare

Question: Discuss about the Qualitative Research in Nursing and Healthcare. Answer: Background The main aim of health institutions and medical centers around the world is to improve the health status of their patients. This aim can only be achieved through effective patient care which involves meeting the emotional, psychological and physical needs of the patients. Nurses need to pose emotional intelligence and leadership skills to improve patient satisfaction. Emotional intelligence is the process by which a person gets to identify his or her emotions, learn how to reason about them and also get to manage the emotions of those around him or her (Holloway, I., Wheeler, 2013). Each and every human being has emotions and these emotions differ from one person to the other. These emotions have a huge impact on the social life of an individual. Thus if a nurse is able to poses emotional intelligence, then they are in a position of understanding the patient and knowing their needs. In everyday life caring involves a lot of decision making and critical thinking and in most cases the one in charge must have leadership skills (Clifford, Carnwell, R., Harken, L., Open Learning Foundation, 1996). This also apply to the nurses, since they are in charge of the patients, they have to portray firm leadership and make right decisions serves to the interest of the patients and themselves too. Purpose and objective The purpose of this research is to identify and know how emotional intelligence and effective leadership affect patient satisfaction. The purpose is aimed at giving an understanding to the following research question: What are the professional actions and ethics that the nurses need to comply with to improve patient satisfaction? Methods Qualitative research mainly deals with exploring a phenomenon, theory or issue and giving the experiences on it. Such experiences include the participants views, opinions, relations and many more (Patton, M, 2015) Tracy, 2013). The methods employed in this research help to collect data, study and analyze the data to give results that brings an understanding to the research question in a qualitative manner. Sampling and sample In every research only a given sample of the study population is used to give data. Samples are usually used as a representative of the total population. Sampling is the process by which samples are obtained. The number and type of people to select during sampling is determined by the aim of the study and the characteristics of the study population such as size and diversity. In this research the method of sampling used is the quota sampling. This is a type of sampling where participants are chosen according to the objective of the research and in addition to that certain characteristics such as age are considered when choosing participants. In this research, age was considered. The participants chosen were those patients that were capable of giving opinions and views of how the nurses actions towards them affect their satisfaction (Melnyk, B., Fineout-Overholt, 2011). The participants were mostly adult; some children were also selected but only participated with consent of the parent or guardian. Both nurses and patients were selected from different health institutions. Only a quarter of nurses and patients were used as a representative of the rest in each health institution. This sample size made it possible for the researcher to gain data from very different sources about the study topic. Rigor This involves ways on how to improve the quality of the findings. The way in which the findings of a research can be of quality is by finding a recruitment strategy. Such a strategy helps the researcher to identify and select potential participants (Latimer, J, 2003). It also helps the researcher to identify the minimum number of participants that would give relevant findings and gives the researcher a way on how to approach the participants. Just as it is noted above in sampling and sample, age is the main consideration in this research while choosing participants. From one health institution to another the participants are chosen according to their ability to give data that is relevant to the research study. From this criteria at least a quarter of the study population as the study sample. Data collection Data collection is the most important part of a research. The methods used for data collection should lead the researcher to achieving correct and relevant data. For qualitative data, the following data collection methods were used during the research: Participant observation- the data is collected based on the naturally occurring behaviors in the usual situations. The researcher observes how the nurse treats the patients, whether the nurse is able to cope up with difficult patients and still manage to provide their needs. Or even a case where the nurse reassures the patients whenever they are feeling down. Individual interviews- the data is collected based on a persons experience, opinions and perspectives. The nurses and the patients that were selected during sampling are interviewed individually to know what their views and opinions are about emotional intelligence, nurse leadership and patient satisfaction. Focus groups- the data is collected based on the cultural norms of a particular group. As professionals nurses have ethics to follow, a group discussion is held with the nurses selected to discuss how these affect them while working, whether it hinders or improves their emotional intelligence and effective leadership. Ethics approval A good research must always comply with the ethics of a research. In this research the following were done to ensure that the research complied with the research ethics: Having an informed consent- before the research is done, the administrations of the health institutions are requested to give permission for the research to be performed (In Gerrish, K., In Lathlean, J, 2015). After permission is granted, the next step is to inform the participants about the research so that they understand and know what is needed of them. This ensures that the participants give data that is relevant to the study. Protecting confidentiality- in this research confidentiality was assured by making sure that only authorized people access the information obtained from the participants (Latimer, 2003). Data analysis Data analysis in qualitative research aims at understanding picture portrayed by using the data obtained to describe what the phenomenon means. In this research, the content of the data is analyzed (Speziale, H Carpenter, D, 2011). The information gotten from the nurses about how they ensure patient satisfaction and also the difficulties they come across while doing so, is analyzed according to the research study. The information from the patients about the nurses action towards them is also analyzed according to the research study ( Andrew, S., Halcomb, E, 2009). This analysis involves categorizing verbal or behavioral data with an aim of classifying, summarizing and tabulating. Reference: Holloway, I., Wheeler, S. (2013). Qualitative Research in Nursing and Healthcare. Chicester: Wiley. Clifford, C., Open Learning Foundation. (1997). Qualitative research methodology in nursing Taylor, B. J., Kermode, S., Roberts, K., Roberts, K. (2006). Research in nursing and health care: Evidence for practice. South Melbourne, Vic., Australia: Thomson. and health care. New York: Churchill Livingstone. Clifford, C., Carnwell, R., Harken, L., Open Learning Foundation. (1996). Research methodology in nursing and healthcare. 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