Research Paper on "Cardiac Therapy for Men With Coronary Artery"

Research Paper 5 pages (1858 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Cardiac Therapy for Men with Coronary Artery Disease

The problem that this article addresses is one that involves a growing number of people. Although people of any age, including newborns (neonatal.peds, 2000), can conceivably suffer from heart problems, coronary artery disease (CAD) traditionally affects the older population. As more people are living longer and the population ages, there will be more people, both men and women, that have this problem. Heart disease is not only the leading cause of hospitalization among the older population, but also the leading cause of death worldwide (Baird & Pierce, 2001). While coronary artery disease is a significant problem, it is usually treatable. However, individuals must follow the recommendations that are made by their doctors. Many of the patients require many years of treatment so that they can function at their jobs and have a good quality of life. Their self-image is also often damaged by the problems that they face and the disabling affects that they must work through (Baird & Pierce, 2001). Because of this, many of these same patients give up on some of their treatment because it simply seems too much for them. They can become discouraged and decide that they are not willing to do everything that has been recommended to them. The problem looked at in this study, therefore, is what to do about the fact that many patients turn away from some or all parts of their treatment, and they end up suffering more and also costing the medical insurance community a great deal of money. Finding out what kinds of issues stop these people from continuing with the treatment that they need and what weakens their self-care behaviors are at the heart of the study discussed here. The problem is important for nursing for several reasons. One important reason is that these people have a reduced quality of life when they do not take care of themselves in the way that they are supposed to. Another problem is that more of these people are living longer - which is good in and of itself - and therefore the cost of caring for them is rising, which can tap the resources of many hospitals and other care centers. The third significant reason has to do with the millions of dollars that insurance companies are paying out to take care of these people when they will not take care of themselves. The frustration that is felt by the patient is important, but so is the frustration that is felt by doctors and nurses that are trying to keep these people alive and raise their quality of life, but are failing in this endeavor due to the fact that the patients will not participate in their care in the manner that they should. In order to fulfill their ethical responsibilities, doctors and nurses must do their best to ensure that their patients follow their orders (Spencer, Mills, Rorty, & Werhane, 1999).

The purpose of the study is to find out why these patients are not taking care of themselves in the way that they should be. If this can be discovered, it is possible that new and better ways can be found for these people to take care of themselves. By doing this, it may be that these patients will be more willing to take care of themselves the way that they should and become active participants in the care that they require. If this is something that can be done, the costs will be reduced, the burden on the nursing profession will be reduced, and the quality of life that these individuals have will be increased. Everyone will win, but only if the solution to the problem can be found.

For this particular study the research question is as follows: "what self-care factors are most often reported by men with CAD as facilitating and inhibiting their adherence to a cardiac therapy program" (Baird & Pierce, 2001). This research question is clearly stated within the study, so that there is no question as to what is being examined. The question is rather broad, but this type of question lends itself very well to a qualitative study of the issue. Mostly, this is due to the fact that this type of question is not concerned with statistical data, which would need a quantitative study, and instead looks at what men with CAD are struggling with or not struggling with when it comes to what they must do to help take care of themselves. While CAD cannot be 'cured' as it is understood in the traditional sense, there are many things that CAD patients can do to improve the quality of their lives. The research question indicates the desire of the researchers to uncover what men are willing to do to help manage their CAD and what they are not willing to do, even if many of these less desirable behaviors are doctor recommended and necessary.

For this study, the qualitative method that was used consisted of interviews with five informants that were involved in a cardiac therapy program. These interviews lasted one hour, and no one was forced to participate. It appears that this type of qualitative method was the right one for this study, because the patients were allowed to express their own opinions, instead of picking the best answer from survey questions. Each patient was asked what helped or hindered their participation in the cardiac therapy program and then were allowed the rest of the time to consider this issue and discuss it. This allowed for very candid responses and also allowed the patients to speak freely, since participation and anything that the patients said did not affect their treatment in any way.

The way that the subjects for this study were obtained was very appropriate, since they were all older men between 60 and 70 years old that were involved in a cardiac therapy program as a result of CAD. They had all been diagnosed within the past two years, and they were willing participants. The sample size was also adequate. Although the study could have certainly been conducted with more individuals, the fact that there were only five patients interviewed allowed the researchers to have a lot of time with each person. This helped the patients feel that they could actually talk about what they needed and wanted, as well as what they had difficulty with. By not rushing them, and by allowing them the time and the chance to think of things on their own, the researchers added validity to the study and helped these individuals work through some of their difficulties in the process. The study was conducted in a quiet, comfortable, and softly-lit room at the cardiac therapy center, so the men would be comfortable, would not have to travel elsewhere for the interview, and would be in surroundings that they were used to. This was very appropriate, since it allowed the patients to feel more at ease. By ensuring this as much as possible, the chances of getting serious and thoughtful answers was greatly improved.

The collection of the data was consistent with the purpose of the qualitative approach in that it followed through on the interview method and allowed for the exploration and examination of thoughts and feelings, as opposed to facts and figures. This is in the best tradition of what qualitative study is supposed to do, and therefore the researchers were on target with what they did to collect the data, based on what they hoped to achieve. These collection procedures were appropriate because they allowed the research question to be answered in the best way possible - from the thoughts and feelings of those that were experiencing and dealing with the problem. It was also important to the researchers to protect the rights of those that they interviewed. In order to do this, the information that was collected from each person became part of a group response, the patients were ensured that the information that they gave would not be tied to their name or them personally in any other way, and their participation was totally voluntary. All of this information was stressed to the patients. In other words, there was no pressure for them to participate, and their participation or lack thereof had absolutely no effect whatsoever on the treatment that they were receiving or would receive in the future. It was very important to the researchers that this information was understood by those that chose to participate in the study. As for data saturation, there is evidence that this was achieved in that the men in the group were a good combination of different factors that put them in the cardiac therapy area in the first place. This kept the researchers from collecting data from only one type of cardiac patient and broadened the scope of responses that were received.

The way that the data was analyzed was appropriate for the data collected in this… READ MORE

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