Critiquing an Article in Nursing Research.

Posted: December 16th, 2022

Critiquing an Article in Nursing Research.

Critiquing an Article in Nursing Research
STUDENT: ______________________________________________________ DATE: _______________________________
TITLE OF ARTICLE: _ Psychological adaptation to spousal bereavement in old age: The role of trait resilience, marital history, and context of death (Spahni et al., 2016) _
(Responses submitted on the template below)
Select one of the articles available in the article folder then complete the information for this table: (16 points)Critiquing an Article in Nursing Research.

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Research Question OR Purpose of Study (2 pts) Study Design
(2 pts) Dependent Variable(s) (2 pts) Independent Variable(s)
(2 pts)
Sampling
Method
(2 pts) Description of sample and size (2 pts) Identify all data collection tools used (2 pts) Key Findings (2 pts)
To examine the factors that influence psychological adaptation to the loss of a marital partner.Critiquing an Article in Nursing Research.

The study design was a cross-sectional survey of factors affecting psychological adaptation to bereavement through the loss of a marital partner. Depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, and loneliness. The loss of a marital partner through death. Stratified random sampling. There was a study group sample of 480 widowed (281 women, 199 men) participants with the average age of 72.81 years. The control group was a group of 759 participants (360 women, 399 men). The data collection instrument used was a questionnaire. Psychological adaptation to marital loss through bereavement is affected by many factors, trait resilience being the key one.Critiquing an Article in Nursing Research.

Then answer the following questions about the study: (14 points)
1. Why was the study needed? (2 pts)
This study was needed because previous empirical studies on the subject yielded contradictory results due to the lack of a control group. This study therefore included a control group of married individuals with both partners still alive (Spahni et al., 2016). They were assessed for factors such as mental stability and personality before marriage in a bid to weed out confounding variables. This was in realization of the fact that psychological adaptation to bereavement by a partner is influenced by a plethora of factors. However, it is this same realization that compromises the reliability of the results of this study because some confounding variables are not obvious and therefore cannot be controlled.
2. Was the research design appropriate to the question OR purpose? Provide brief rationale for your answer. (2 pts)
The research design was not appropriate to the purpose because it only gave a snapshot of the position as it is at the time of the study. A better design would have been a prospective case-control study in which married couples are identified and followed over several years to identify the psychological changes occurring to them once they lose their partner during the study. To generate the best evidence for nursing practice, the research design needs to provide the highest level of evidence (LOE) for future practice and the enhancement of the evidence-based practice (EBP) competencies of nurses (Melnyk et al., 2017). A cross-sectional survey like in this study does not exactly give the highest LOE for nursing practice.Critiquing an Article in Nursing Research.
3. Was the literature review current and thorough? Provide brief rationale for your answer. (2 pts)
The literature review in this study was indeed thorough. The paper has quoted and referred to previous studies throughout it. However, the studies and published papers chosen for the literature were not current enough. Only one paper was published in 2015. Majority of the rest of the papers reviewed were between 2003 and 1967. For instance, there are papers reviewed in the literature and which were published in 1977, 1985, and 1993. This does not provide reliable factual backing for the study because most of the literature published 20, 30, and 40 years ago is now obsolete.
4. Do you think the intervention(s) was adequately described in order to replicate this study? Provide brief rationale for your answer. (2 pts)
Yes. The interventions were adequately described to facilitate replication of the study. The study attempted to account for the numerous confounding variables that were the weakness of previous studies. However, this replicability is compromised by the weak methodology used to arrive at the results of the study.Critiquing an Article in Nursing Research.
5. Describe the major findings of the study? (2 pts)
The major findings of the study were that many factors are responsible for the psychological adaptation of a bereaved spouse to the spousal loss. The study found that trait resilience was the main factor, with marital history and its context being of slightly lesser impact. However, as has been pointed out, it is unlikely that all confounding variables were controlled and that trait resilience is the only main factor.
6. What were limitation(s) of the study? (2 pts)
The main limitation of the study is that it is a cross-sectional survey that is not robustly experimental enough to yield valid and reliable results. Also, the data collection instrument which was a questionnaire does not guarantee the presentation of factual information by the respondents. Some may be embarrassed to fill out the exact details of their marital relationships.
7. How or could findings be used to influence practice and/or policy? (2 pts)
These findings could be used to inform psychotherapeutic interventions used to treat clients who have lost their spouses. However, because of the serious limitations of the study and its findings, the results should be applied to nursing evidence-based practice with an abundance of caution.Critiquing an Article in Nursing Research.

References
Melnyk, B.M., Gallagher‐Ford, L., Zellefrow, C., Tucker, S., Thomas, B., Sinnott, L.T. & Tan, A. (2017). The first U.S. study on nurses’ evidence‐based practice competencies indicates major deficits that threaten healthcare quality, safety, and patient outcomes. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 15(1), 16–25. Doi:10.1111/wvn.12269
Spahni, S., Bennett, K.M. & Perrig-Chiello, P. (2016). Psychological adaptation to spousal bereavement in old age: The role of trait resilience, marital history, and context of death. DEATH STUDIES, 40(3), 182–190. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2015.1109566

STUDENT: ______________________________________________________ DATE: _______________________________
TITLE OF ARTICLE: _ Psychological adaptation to spousal bereavement in old age: The role of trait resilience, marital history, and context of death (Spahni et al., 2016) _
Submit responses on this template.
Select one of the articles available in the article folder then complete the information for this table: (16 points)
Research Question OR Purpose of Study (2 pts) Study Design
(2 pts) Dependent Variable(s) (2 pts) Independent Variable(s)
(2 pts)
Sampling
Method
(2 pts) Description of sample and size (2 pts) Identify all data collection tools used (2 pts) Key Findings (2 pts)
To examine the factors that influence psychological adaptation to the loss of a marital partner.

The study design was a cross-sectional survey of factors affecting psychological adaptation to bereavement through the loss of a marital partner. Depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, and loneliness. The loss of a marital partner through death. Stratified random sampling. There was a study group sample of 480 widowed (281 women, 199 men) participants with the average age of 72.81 years. The control group was a group of 759 participants (360 women, 399 men). The data collection instrument used was a questionnaire. Psychological adaptation to marital loss through bereavement is affected by many factors, trait resilience being the key one.Critiquing an Article in Nursing Research.

Then answer the following questions about the study: (14 points)
1. Why was the study needed? (2 pts)
This study was needed because previous empirical studies on the subject yielded contradictory results due to the lack of a control group. This study therefore included a control group of married individuals with both partners still alive (Spahni et al., 2016).
2. Was the research design appropriate to the question OR purpose? Provide brief rationale for your answer. (2 pts)
The research design was not appropriate to the purpose because it only gave a snapshot of the position as it is at the time of the study. A better design would have been a prospective case-control study in which married couples are identified and followed over several years to identify the psychological changes occurring to them once they lose their partner during the study (Fineout-Overholt et al., 2010).Critiquing an Article in Nursing Research.
3. Was the literature review current and thorough? Provide brief rationale for your answer. (2 pts)
The literature review in this study was indeed thorough. The paper has quoted and referred to previous studies throughout it. However, the studies and published papers chosen for the literature were not current enough. Only one paper was published in 2015. Majority of the rest of the papers reviewed were between 2003 and 1967. For instance, there are papers reviewed in the literature and which were published in 1977, 1985, and 1993.Critiquing an Article in Nursing Research.
4. Do you think the intervention(s) was adequately described in order to replicate this study? Provide brief rationale for your answer. (2 pts)
Yes. The interventions were adequately described to facilitate replication of the study. The study attempted to account for the numerous confounding variables that were the weakness of previous studies.
5. Describe the major findings of the study? (2 pts)
The major findings of the study were that many factors are responsible for the psychological adaptation of a bereaved spouse to the spousal loss. It found that trait resilience was the main factor, with marital history and its context being of slightly lesser impact.
6. What were limitation(s) of the study? (2 pts)
The main limitation of the study is that it is a cross-sectional survey that is not robustly experimental enough to yield valid and reliable results.
7. How or could findings be used to influence practice and/or policy? (2 pts)
These findings could be used to inform psychotherapeutic interventions used to treat clients who have lost their spouses.Critiquing an Article in Nursing Research.