Term Paper on "Nurses Role in Recognizing and Responding"

Term Paper 6 pages (1807 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Nurses Role in Recognizing and Responding to Elder Abuse?

The aim of this study is a qualitative investigation of the nurse's role in recognizing and responding to elder abuse. The primary question the researcher seeks clarification of is "what is the nurses role in recognizing and responding to elder abuse." Qualitative research methodology is most often used to examine the historical context and subjective methodology of a given phenomena and includes multiple research designs. Qualitative research will allow analysis of the context of reality and allow the researcher to examine what people actually do as opposed to their subjective feelings regarding what they do (Adler & Adler, 1987).

For purposes of this study the researcher will use a case study approach, which will entail use of an "unstructured interview combined with ethnographical methodology" (Berg, 1989; Macionis & Plummer, 1998: p. 44). This will allow the researcher to gather information from the subject population by allowing subjects to express their opinions and feelings in their own viewpoints and words. This approach is also sometimes referred to as participant observation, where the researchers goal is to describe people in a "social setting within their own culture, group and society" to record given phenomena (Macionis & Plummer, 1998: p. 48).

Recent evidence supports use and implementation of case studies in a systematic manner to increase the "validity and causal nature of given phenomena" (Jensen & Rodgers, 2001: p. 34). Case studies involve multiple typologies. The format adopted for purposes of this research will be a comparative case study that examines multiple case studies of varying entities for cross unit and longitudinal comparison using qualitative research methods (Jensen & Rodgers, 2001). This will allow qualitative investigation of the research entities selected at multiple points in time, and enable a cohort design so that research material to be converted into quantitative figures at a later data if necessary.

From the sample population examined the researcher will attempt to generalize the data found to other populations. One of the limitations of a case study is that opponents argue it is difficult to "generalize data from one population to another" (Berg, 1989: p. 27). In this case the researcher will attempt to use a nomothetic or group design to overcome this obstacle and calculate averages and totals from the group rather than from an individual.

Ethnography or filed research will allow the people surveyed to reflect their needs more accurately. It is based on extensive observation and note taking and assumes a condition of naturalism, meaning the researcher is as non-invasive as possible when examining natural phenomenon to prevent interference (Neuman & Wiegand, 2000). In this case the researcher is better able to develop rapport with the subject participants and make observations without scrutiny. In this type of examination the researcher will observe the group then take notes separately, being careful to record the sequence of events that occurred, movements and gestures used by others, thoughts and feelings on the situation.

Participants will be encouraged to answer open-ended questions as this will not restrict responses and will enable collection of unstructured data. This information will be more difficult to measure, organize and code but will allow a greater range of response that will allow more information gathering from the subject being examined.

Data Collection Procedures

Each time the researcher visits the residential home the researcher plans to collect data through participant observation. The researcher will plan questions in advance and use a tape recorder to record initial responses to interview questions. This will enable the researcher to make notes after the interview and to create a report of the events that occur within each session. Comments and conclusions the researcher draws from the research will be based on the researchers experiences in the setting selected for the study. The researchers will also reference written records of information provided by the residential community to provide well-rounded observational analysis of the phenomena explored.

Data Analysis

The raw data the researcher collects will be converted or coded and utilized for analysis. The researcher will transform data into coding units to provide a frame of reference for interpretation. The most commonly used coding methods for analyzing unstructured data include use of "nominal and binary scales" (Britton, 1996: p. 2). Using a nominal scale numbers are assigned values in order to classify them, then information is distributed using frequency distribution scales (Ford & Foley, 1999: s. 5). In this case the researcher will use a frequency distribution to arrange groups of responses to determine how frequently they occur within the case study examined.

Three letter tags will be crated to interpret data for analysis and distribution on the frequency scale for this research study.

The researcher will also select samples from each category of information coded and also use frequency counts to summarize research findings (Ford & Foley, 1997; Britton, 1996).

Participant Cohort/Sample Size/Settings

Longitudinal research of the groups of participants selected over multiple periods of time will allow the researcher to follow the participant cohort and measure developmental variables that occur with time (Powers & Knapp, 1995). These participants will be observed for specific variables and data will be collected to describe patterns of change and causal relationships that exist among participants (Powers & Knapp, 1995).

Cohort studies are better able to provide valid research provider evidence for causation of a given phenomena at multiple points in time, thus the information gathered as a result of research is less likely to be affected by classification, recall or bias errors (Knapp, 1995). Cohort or longitudinal approaches are the best method for observational studies but do require large samples observed over significant periods of time. Thus for purposes of this study three populations of citizens in elder care in three nursing homes in a residential urban city will be examined. The groups observed will consist of a population of abused elderly individuals numbering no less than 120 currently treated by welfare or residential care and nursing facilities in an urban municipality (Litwin & Zoabi, 2004). The participants will have participated in the support group for a minimum of six months, with background data collected from clients based on social workers and nurses familiar with each case members history (Litwin & Zoabi, 2004). The combined sample group will include older men and women ranging in age from 55 to 98. Sociodemographic variables will be measured based on self-reported income, marital status and lifestyle and information gathered from caseworkers.

Observations and responses will be collected over a period of three months to provide longitudinal evidence for purposes of this study.

Limitations of Study

Case studies generally do not represent entire populations of people thus the researcher does not suppose the information gathered for purposes of this study will not be generalized beyond situations that are similar to the primary cases examined (Travers, 2001). The researcher will limit the potential for overgeneralization. The researcher has adopted a comparative analysis and ethnographic approach however to limit potential validity problem sand to ensure that the research gathered is invalid and as representative as possible of the population at large.

Statistical analysis based on generalization from the sample size is not warranted, however by using a comparison study the researcher can generalize their theory to the population as a whole based on cases that are carefully selected to represent "the dimensions of the theory" drawn from the research (Case Studies, 2005: p.1). To limit potential bias the researcher will select cases based on "theory driven processes," selecting cases that fall into "causal typologies" identified by the literature review (Yin, 2002: p. 32).

Ethical Issues

In this case it is vital that confidentiality be maintained to "protect group identity of all participants" and respondents in the study (Litwon & Zoabi, 2004: p. 133). To protect the confidentiality and identity of participants discrete methods will be adopted. All participants will be provided anonymity when participating in the study. The researcher will also provide non-malfeasance, with the intent of avoiding exposure to unnecessary risk by exposing participant personal information, background history or demographic information that might otherwise reveal a participant identity.

To further assert the ethical nature of this research study the researcher assumes beneficence, meaning the researcher will take positive and proactive steps to ensure the interests of the group examined are taken into consideration and legitimate. The researcher will ensure that all actions are taken in a manner that will benefit the study participants. Subjects will collect data from individual case histories only with informed consent and assure that that information is kept confidential (Mathers, Howe & Hunn, 2004). Written informed consent will be obtained using a consent form. This consent will be witnessed to prevent abuse of potentially vulnerable subjects in the study (Mathers, Howe & Hunn, 2004).

Conclusions

The intent of the research study is to examine the role nurses have in recognizing and responding to elder abuse. To facilitate this research the study employs use of case study and ethnographic methodology. There are multiple problems… READ MORE

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