NURS 403 Ethics, Research Design and Sampling Activity
Comparative Qualitative Research Design
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Comparative Qualitative Research Design
Article: Degrazia, M., Giambanco, D., Hamn, G., Ditzel, A., Tucker, L., & Gauvreau, K. (2015) Prevention of deformational plagiocephaly in hospitalized infants using a new orthotic device. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 44(1), 28–41
The Vulnerability of the Study Subjects
The study subjects in the article are infants delivered at 22 or more week’s gestation but are less than two weeks old. These subjects are vulnerable because they cannot make informed decisions and have reduced freewill. The protection that should be put in place to protect them from harm includes local regulations ensuring that their foreseen risk is minimal, the subject directly benefits from the research, and researchers do not compromise their well-being.
Potential Risk Inherent to the Study Subjects
The potential risk inherent in the study subjects included cardiorespiratory instability, device integration, and gastrointestinal events. Therefore, the information that should be specifically included in the informed consent includes the expected benefits and foreseeable risk using cranial cup device.
Evidence of the Study Being Reviewed by IRB and Informed Consent Obtained
According to the article, each of the participating institution’s ethical review committee approved the study. Parents of infants involved in the study filled HIPAA authorization and informed consent before participating in the study. Additionally, some parents withdrew their infants from the research because of concerns like comfort, suggesting that they signed the informed consent that allowed them to withdraw from the study.
How the Authors Minimized the Risks to the Subjects
The researchers were concerned about gastrointestinal disturbances and cardiorespiratory instability. They ensured the safety of the study participants when utilizing the cranial cup. The authors recorded continuous oxygen saturation to enhance the safety of the study subjects and measured cardiorespiratory stability.
Whether Potential Benefits of the Treatment Outweighs the Potential Risks to the Infants
The study’s primary purpose was to measure the cranial cup device feasibility, efficacy, and safety in hospitalized infants susceptible to DP (deformational plagiocephaly). DP is a medical condition defined by the flattening of the infant’s head, leading to a widened, narrowed, elongated or asymmetrical head shape. The condition might be accompanied by frontal bossing, facial asymmetry, and ear misalignment. However, cranial cup corrects or prevents the medical condition by supporting the baby’s entire body and head in semiside and supine lying positions. The study findings confirmed that rotating the device with moderate positioner offers a potentially efficacious, safe, and feasible therapy for DP prevention. The harm associated with the study included gastrointestinal disturbances and cardiorespiratory instability. However, the researchers managed them by recording oxygen saturation. Thus, the potential benefits of the treatment outweigh the potential risk to the infants.
Research Design Sampling Questions
Differentiating between A population and a Sample
A sample refers to a group of individuals involved in the research. These individuals can be surveyed or interviewed to meet the study purpose. In contrast, a population is the wider group of individuals that the researchers plan to generalize their study findings. In the article, the population comprises all infants at risk for DP while the study sample was the 62 infants included in the study. Therefore, a sample is important in nursing research because conclusions derived from it are generalizable to the target population, such as infants at risk for DP.
Defining Sampling Error and why it is minimized
A sampling error is a statistical error that results when a sample is not representative of the population. Researcher minimizes it to enhance the generalizability of their study findings to the broader population.
Selection Bias and Conditions under Which It May Exist
Selection bias is a type of error that results when the researcher decides the study participants because their selection is not random. In such studies, the subjects selected might not be similar, and the characters differentiating them might result in varying outcomes. S