The researchers wanted to develop a detailed study that explores and examines how mechanical ventilation guidelines in intensive care units are developed and disseminated in the Swedish health care system. In addition, the researchers wanted to examine how hospitals used evidence in mechanical ventilation and the respective guidelines in their daily practice in the country (Eldh, Vogel, Soderberg, Blomqvist & Wengstrom, 2013).
The researchers performed a national survey by inviting all the general intensive care units in the country. The researchers used the survey to examine how MV guidelines take place and to review the guidelines submitted for ICU. They also interviewed senior physicians and head nurses, where both open-ended and semi-structured questionnaires were used. Telephone interviews were used to examine ICU managers.
The researchers included all the anesthetic departments that have ICUs in medicine or surgical care. These were selected from the list of the country’s ICUs included in the information provided by the 21 Swedish county councils. This implies that all the ICUs not included in the list were excluded from the study.
In this study, all the ICUs included in the national register on the annual intensive care report were included. In total, there were 65 participants in the study (Eldh, Vogel, Soderberg, Blomqvist & Wengstrom, 2013).
Quantitative data were obtained from the participants using questionnaires. The head nurses, ICU managers, and senior physicians were interviewed using open-ended and semi-structured questionnaires conducted via telephone (Eldh, Vogel, Soderberg, Blomqvist & Wengstrom, 2013). Each interview took between 10 and 20m minutes. No such test was conducted because it was a descriptive study.
The study found that the local guidelines that hospitals develop for mechanical ventilation in ICUs are the basis for healthcare practice in Sweden. The national guidelines act as an additional source of information for the institutions, which helps in improving mechanical ventilation and the expected results (Eldh, Vogel, Soderberg, Blomqvist & Wengstrom, 2013).
Conclusion
I agree with the research because the section notes that despite the increase in knowledge and the use of evidence in nursing, the availability of this evidence is minimal at the local levels (Eldh, Vogel, Soderberg, Blomqvist & Wengstrom, 2013). Although the research question has not been indicated, it is worth noting that the researchers wanted to determine whether the ICU units in Sweden used evidence in clinical guidelines for mechanical ventilation in their daily practices (Eldh, Vogel, Soderberg, Blomqvist & Wengstrom, 2013). The research question was answered because it was found that local guidelines for MV are used as the basis for healthcare practice in the country’s ICUs (Eldh, Vogel, Soderberg, Blomqvist & Wengstrom, 2013). Although the researchers have not mentioned it, it is worth noting that bias could have arisen if face-to-face interviews were conducted because some respondents were likely to shy away from telling the truth, because the topic relates to critical aspects of national health care (Eldh, Vogel, Soderberg, Blomqvist & Wengstrom, 2013). Conducting the interviews via the phones exposed the data to bias because the credibility of the responses given can hardly be determined.
Thus, the descriptive quantitative design was appropriate because the aim was to determine the number of ICUs that used the approach and describe the phenomenon based on the finding (Eldh, Vogel, Soderberg, Blomqvist & Wengstrom, 2013). It also suggests that healthcare professionals should have easy access to information to enhance the use of the evidence-based practice in healthcare (Eldh, Vogel, Soderberg, Blomqvist & Wengstrom, 2013). This study provides evidence of the credibility of the findings because previous studies have also highlighted some of the aspects addressed in the article. For instance, some studies had previously shown that most of the hospitals, especially in ICU units, follow the basic guidelines provided at the national level but also apply their guidelines to fit the situation (Eldh, Vogel, Soderberg, Blomqvist & Wengstrom, 2013). In addition, the findings of the study are credible because the study design, the sample, and sampling methods, and the study question were relatively valid. In addition, the findings are consistent with the previous findings and expose other knowledge gaps that should be studied.
Reference
Eldh, A. C., Vogel, G., Soderberg, A., Blomqvist, H., & Wengstrom, Y. (2013). Use of evidence in clinical guidelines and everyday practice for mechanical ventilation in Swedish intensive care units. Worldwide views on evidence-based nursing, 10(4), 198-207.