Introduction
Nowadays, many authors believe that the issue of stroke education should be studied more thoroughly (Shook & Stanton, 2016). In her research, Beal (2015) aims to analyze and review the opinions and attitudes of African American women towards the problem. With the help of this study, the author wants to extend the knowledge on the present situation and develop the solution to the problem that is not very popular among the researchers (Byrd & Clayton, 2015, p.97).
Analysis
Within the frame of the study, the author conducted a series of interviews in order to raise such an important topic as stroke symptoms awareness among a specific group represented by African American women. Two research questions were formulated. First, it was necessary to study the perceptions of the causes and effects of stroke among African American women. To continue, the author aimed to study the sources of knowledge on health that the participants could use in order to extend their knowledge. The importance of these questions is caused by quite a high rate of stroke among African American women. Due to that, the task connected to increasing awareness among the representatives of the group can be regarded as urgent.
The discussed study is qualitative and descriptive. The author could choose it because it is possible to call such type of design the best for the study that is somehow related to certain racial minorities and specific groups. Thus, such type of design may help to better study the reasons of the discussed situation that are connected to certain cultural differences. As for its strengths, it allows the researcher to focus on the life experience and feelings of the participants. Nevertheless, qualitative studies also have certain weaknesses. For instance, it is more difficult to analyze a large amount of data while conducting qualitative research. In addition, it does not allow to collect as credible statistical data as in the case with quantitative research.
The group of interviewed participants consisted of almost fifty women, all the participants were thirty-five years and older. Although the research seems to have been conducted in accordance with all the rules, It is not right to say that the conclusions made with the help of such sample size allow understanding the situation concerning stroke awareness on an international scale. Considering the intent of the study, the number of participants can hardly be called adequate. Nevertheless, the research was conducted by only one author and it explains the size of the sample used.
Then, it is important to analyze data collection methods used within the frame of the research. Thus, the data was collected by the author and one of her co-investigators who helped her to attract the participants. Having divided the participants into six groups, the researchers conducted a series of interviews in order to collect the data. During the interview, the only audio recorder was used. During the next stage, the data were transcribed and processed with the help of qualitative content analysis method. As for ethical considerations, the interview questions were formulated in order to make the participants think about their knowledge and attitudes to the topic; they were not asked about anything that could remind them of their traumatic experience (such as the death of friends and relatives). Nevertheless, there is a weakness connected to the way that the interviews were conducted: the participants of the groups might hear each other’s opinions and unwittingly influence the results.
The limitations of the study can be connected to the fact that there were almost no women with higher education among the participants whereas there are a lot of African American women having scientific degrees. It can be overcome with the help of expanding the sample during further research. It is necessary to list and discuss limitations within the study as it helps future researchers to understand the problems that are to be solved.
As for findings, they can be called quite important for the field. Having analyzed the data collected with the help of interviews and singled out relevant ideas expressed by the participants, the author concluded that there was an urgent need for culturally sensitive education for African American women. As many participants confirmed, society did not pay close attention to providing a stroke education for African American people. The findings answer research questions and they can be considered quite credible.
Conclusion
In the end, the discussed article presents good and substantial research into the topic; the research questions identified by the author seem to be significant for the present situation with stroke education. With the help of proper data collection and analysis, the author was able to extend the knowledge on the topic. The findings give an idea of participants’ attitudes and problems connected to the topic. It is possible to implement them into practice; nevertheless, additional research with an extended sample may be required. Anyway, the author raises an important problem in the research, and this is why its results have to be taken into consideration.
References
Beal, C. C. (2015). Stroke education needs of African American women. Public Health Nursing, 32(1), 24-33.
Byrd, W. M., & Clayton, L. A. (2015). An American health dilemma: Race, medicine, and health care in the United States 1900-2000 (Vol. 2). New York, NY: Routledge.
Shook, R., & Stanton, S. (2016). Patients’ and caregivers’ self-perceived stroke education needs in inpatient rehabilitation. International Journal of Therapy And Rehabilitation, 23(6), 278-287.