The title of this article represents a quite accurate description of the article. It pointed to the aims and the results of the study, and also it contained most keywords that facilitate searching for the study and recognizing it. This title is considered as a statement of the declarative type, which is meant to state the findings of the study. It is also described as a single-unit title (Nagano, 2015). Even though it associated the two factors of the study, it did not determine whether this association is of positive or negative nature.
The abstract is representative of the study. It is characterized by being clear, organized, with clear objectives, well-structured methodology and significant results. It possesses all of the sections of an ideal abstract (Alguire, n.d.).
The introduction clarifies the importance of the topic and provides the rationale for conducting this study. It provides an explanation for some concepts related to the study such as nursing care quality, measurement of patient experiences and self-reported patient experiences. Also, it mentioned previous studies linked to different aspects of the problem discussed.
The problem of the research has been illuminated in an organized way. At the start, the indicators of the quality of health care were mentioned, with the importance of defining standards of indicators so as to assess the performance and improve the service as a cyclical process. Then, the significance of caring as a fundamental aspect of nursing care quality was declared. Finally, it illustrated that caring has not driven much attention as other quality indicators such as issues related to safety and prevention of adverse events, and the impact of caring on self-reported patient experiences and quality of nursing care is largely unknown.
The purpose of conducting this study was clearly explained, as it focused on studying the association between caring and person-centredness and the nursing care quality. In addition, two research questions were put to explore the association between the studied factors. According to FINER criteria, these questions can be considered fairly good questions. FINER criteria stand for Feasible, Interesting, Novel, Ethical and Relevant (Hulley, et al., 2013). However, these questions could be more clarified.
The theoretical framework has been discussed through explaining the definition of quality of care by the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care. This definition depends on linking quality and safety by using three core principles. The ability of this accreditation to improve hospital care has been debated, as it is not linked to patient recommendation rates of institutions.
The literature review is well organized, logically sequenced and structured, relevant to the topic of the study, defining and explaining many concepts, and depending on multiple sources that are recent and research based (Boland, Cherry, & Dickson, 2013).
Regarding the methods used in this study, it was based on a descriptive non-experimental correlation design, which is appropriate for the nature of the study and its aims. The sample consisted of inpatients at the Australian acute hospital, which is suitable to conduct such a study, as they could rate the quality of the service provided during their admission periods. The sample size was sufficient to obtain reliable data and to avoid type II statistical error. The collection of data was done by using a questionnaire that included demographic data and 11 study-specific variables. These variables depended on four measurement tools, which documented reliability and validity in previous studies and publications. Moreover, two of these measurement tools were approved to have satisfactory psychometric properties.
The analytical approach is consistent with the study design. A descriptive statistical analysis was used to summarize the available data and analyze the structure and distribution of this data. A regression analysis in the form of hierarchical linear modeling was conducted to explore the effect of total score continuous variables “caring” on continuous dependent variable “quality of nursing care”. Also, correlation coefficient was calculated and estimated P-values of ˃ 0.5 were considered highly significant (Katsanidou, Horton & Jensen, 2016).
The results are clearly explained in the form of text and tables, but no figures. Additionally, the statistics are obviously clarified in the form of the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient, which is used to measure the strength of associations between nursing care quality, caring and person-centredness (Katsanidou, et al., 2016). The results showed significant association between these variables.
The discussion is described by being exemplary. The problem of the study is properly stated and supported by previous relevant studies. The methodology is discussed to reveal its validity and reliability. The findings are correlated to the theoretical framework and the questions of the study. Moreover, the results prove that caring is located in the environmental meta-paradigm of nursing. In other words, this study helps to confirm the previous theoretical conceptualizations of caring as being regarded the inter-personal quality indicator of nursing care. Additionally, it reveals the fact that caring contributes to the expert nursing practice and the creation of intimate relationships.
The limitations of the study in the method of sampling and the method of data collection are presented, and their effects on the results of the research are clarified. Furthermore, the factors that may have affected the patients’ perception of nursing care quality are mentioned. The conclusion included recommendations for nursing practice and policymakers to pay more attention to the effect of environmental and experiential domains on nursing care quality in nursing education and practice. Also, recommendations for including patient experiences of care quality in policy conceptualizations of nursing care quality were mentioned. Besides, the conclusion included recommendations for conducting future studies, so that evidence can be accumulated.
According to the Johns Hopkins nursing evidence-based practice (JHNEBP) Evidence Rating Scales, this study is at the level III for its nature as being a non-experimental study. Regarding assessment of the quality of the evidence, the study can be rated as B, which would be of a good quality. Factors included in the assessment of quality are research, summative reviews, organizational and expert opinion. Assessment of the research in the rate B is based on having fairly comprehensive literature review, sufficient sample size, some control, reasonably consistent results and reasonably consistent recommendations. The summative reviews in the rate B are characterized by having reasonably thorough and appropriate search. The organizational evaluation is based on the well-defined methods, reasonably consistent results and the use of reliable and valid measures. Finally, the expert opinion in this rate is demonstrated as that expertise appears to be credible (Dang & Dearholt, 2017).
This study is applicable in practice, as the results and recommendations could be used. Modifying the nursing education to meet the recommendations of the study, as well as modifying the policy conceptualizations of nursing care quality to include the patient experiences of care quality could be achieved.
References
Alguire, P. (n.d.) American College of Physicians. Web.
Boland, A., Cherry, M. G., & Dickson, R. (Eds.). (2013). Doing a systematic review: A student’s guide. London, UK: Sage Publications Ltd.
Dang, D. & Dearholt, S. L. (2017). Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice: Model and Guidelines (3rd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International.
Hulley, S. B. et al. (2013). Designing clinical research (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Katsanidou, A., Horton, L. & Jensen, U. (2016). Data Policies, Data Management, and the Quality of Academic Writing. International Studies Perspectives, 17(4), 379-391.
Nagano, R. (2015). Research article titles and disciplinary conventions: A corpus study of eight disciplines. Journa of Academic Writing, 5(1), 133-144.