Planning and Design Analysis of a Qualitative Research Study
NUR/443 Evidence-Based Nursing Research and Practice

Planning and Design Analysis of a Qualitative Research

Introduction

A qualitative research is a “systematic, subjective approach used to describe life experiences and give them meaning” (Burns & Grove, 2011). With this type of research, the data are collected through interviews, focus groups, observations, and review of documents. Thus, qualitative research uses words instead of numbers. This paper is going to analyze the planning and design of a qualitative research paper titled: Patient’s experience of pain and pain relief following hip replacement surgery, published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing on October, 2010.
Research questions

Although the research question or questions are not clearly labeled in the study, the research questions were as follows: 1) How do patients describe their experience with pain after hip replacement surgery?, 2) How do patients describe their pain relief following hip replacement surgery?, 3) How does pain affect patients after hip replacement surgery?
Problem
A research problem is “an area of concern in which there is a gap in the knowledge base needed for nursing practice” (Burns & Grove, 2011). In this research, it was identified that many patients undergo hip replacement every year and previous research has focused largely on the long-term effects of pain for these patients but not so much on their subjective, early postoperative pain experience.
Purpose
A research purpose is “a clear, concise statement of the specific goal or focus of a study” (Burns & Grove, 2011). The purpose of the research study was to describe patients’ experience of pain and pain relief following hip replacement surgery (Joelsson, Olsson, & Jakobson, 2010).
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is “a formal statement of the expected relationship(s) between two or more variables in a specified population. The hypothesis translates the research problem and purpose into a clear explanation or prediction of the expected results or outcomes of selected quantitative and outcome studies” (Burns & Grove, 2011). This qualitative research study does not have a hypothesis.
Independent and dependent variables
An independent variable is “an intervention or treatment that is manipulated or varied by the researcher to create an effect on the dependent variable. A dependent variable is” the response, behavior, or outcome that the researcher wants to predict or explain” (Burns & Grove, 2011). This study does not have independent or dependent variables. What this study has are demographic variables which are the qualities of subjects that are collected to describe the sample. The study included fifteen patients, a mixture of men and women, with an age range of 55-75 years old. All subjects had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, had restricted mobility, and suffered from chronic pain.
Theoretical framework A theoretical framework is a group of concepts that are related, like a theory but not quite as well worked out. It guides the research, determines what to measure, and what statistical relationships to look for. This study does not have a theoretical framework.

Population Fifteen patients undergoing hip replacement surgery were included in the study. All participants gave their written consent for their participation after receiving written and oral information. Patients who had difficulty in understanding instructions or difficulty with Swedish were excluded (Joelsson, Olsson, & Jakobson, 2010).
Setting
The study was carried out at an orthopaedic unit of a hospital in the County of Vastra Gotaland in Sweden, which performs elective surgery. The postoperative pain management at the unit was adapted to the individual and was based on the following principles: Morphine injections subcutaneously during the first 48 hours after surgery followed by peroral pain relief with paracetamol, often in combination with dextropfoxifen or tramadol (Joelsson, Olsson, & Jakobson, 2010).
Sampling method The sample thus consisted of men and women in the age range 55–75. All had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, had restricted mobility and suffered from chronic pain (Joelsson, Olsson, & Jakobson, 2010).
Practice application The results provide some indication that pain management for this group of patients in the early postoperative period needs to be improved to reduce the fear of moving and improve the process of regaining independence. Devoting more attention to the patients during the initial postoperative phase may be the key to improve the training and making it even more effective (Joelsson, Olsson, & Jakobson, 2010).

Theoretical framework The theoretical framework was not stated in this study.
Level of evidence The development of total hip replacement surgery has been very successful and patients are usually satisfied with the long-term results (i.e. Knutsson & Engberg 1999, Stomberg & Oman 2006). However, there are issues to be resolved. The findings in the study show that there are reasons for more active improvement of postoperative pain management, especially during the first few days after surgery (Joelsson, Olsson, & Jakobson, 2010).
Is the article useful for EBP, outcomes research, both, or neither? Explain your answer. The findings of this study shed empirical light on postoperative pain experience and pain alleviation among patients who undergo hip replacement surgery. It is useful for evidence base practice because it enables health practitioners of all varieties to address healthcare questions with an evaluative and qualitative approach. It can also be useful for outcome research because it was informed by the perspectives, interests and values of patients throughout the research process, from the selection of research questions to the dissemination of research results. The results provide some indication that pain management for this group of patients in the early postoperative period needs to be improved. The patients experienced intense pain during the first and subsequent postoperative days. The pain intensity gradually decreased with the length of stay, which is also in line with results from previous studies (Stomberg & Oman 2006, Niemi-Murola et al. 2007).
Conclusion
Qualitative research is often used to generate possible ideas or concepts which can then be used to formulate a hypothesis in quantitative studies. Qualitative research lacks some components that are found in a design of a quantitative research. It requires a less restrictive concept of design than the traditional quantitative research approach which has rigor and control.

References
Joelsson, M., Olsson, L., & Jakobson, E. (2010). Patient's experience of pain and pain relief following hip replacement surgery. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19(), 2832-2838.
Stomberg MV & Oman UB (2006) Patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty: a perioperative pain experience. Journal of Clinical Nursing 15, 451–458.
Burns, N., & Grove, S. K. (2011). Understanding nursing research: Building an evidence-based practice (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier.