Question 1: Study Purpose/Question
Did the study have a clearly stated purpose/research question? Yes
Explain your response below:
In the abstract, the paper clearly explains that it seeks to explore the measures through which parents talk about the perceived benefits and risks incurred by vaccinating and not vaccinating their children. The primary purpose of the paper is well explained and detailed to the core.
Question 2: Relevance to nursing/midwifery practice
Explain how this question was relevant to nursing/midwifery practice.
This question is relevant to nursing/ midwifery practice as it gives more in-depth insights into the issue of immunization. It gives detailed information on the importance and risks that are associated with the vaccination of children.
Question 3: Ethics
What were the possible risks of participating in the study?
The risk of vaccine-preventable diseases
Risks associated with vaccination
Risks associated with a lack of understanding
Were these risks clearly identified by the authors? Yes / No
Yes
If risks were identified by the authors, how did they propose to minimize risk?
The authors proposed to minimize the risk by choosing not to incorporate some research methodologies like the deficit model and introduction of concepts that would make the interviewees feel obstructed.
Did the authors state that they had approval from an ethics committee to undertake the study?
Yes / No
No
How did the authors obtain informed consent from the participants?
Some of the models that led to more risks were rejected on the foundations that they ignored why and how parents make logical assessments and appropriate decisions in social contexts.
Did you identify any potential risks associated with the study that were not identified by the authors and if so, what were they?
I did not identify any other risks associated with this study
Question 4: Study Methodology
What the chosen methodology for this study?
Qualitative research method
(b). Was this choice suitable for the given research problem/question? Yes / No
Yes
Explain your response to (b):
It is suitable since it gives an in-depth understanding of the issue of vaccination and why parents choose to vaccinate or not vaccinate their children
Question 5: Data Collection/Rigour
Describe how the data was collected for this study (interview, observation, etc.).
Interviews were used to ask parents on their opinion about vaccination
Did the researchers provide the participants with the opportunity to check the collected data?
Or research findings? Yes / No
Yes
Did the researchers continue recruiting people to the study until data saturation was reached?
Yes / No
Yes
Did the study use multiple data collection methods (e.g. collect data from more than one source)? Yes / No
Yes
Explain how the points in (b), (c) and (d) contribute to the trustworthiness of the overall research findings.
Checking of the provided data makes the participants confirm if the data used is correct. Recruiting of more people allows the diversity of the data and information collected
Multiple collection methods allow the research to get detailed information
Question 6: Participants
How many participants were included in the study?
29
What were the inclusion and exclusion criteria?
The interviewees had to be parents
Age requirements for the youngest child
Explain how the participants were recruited.
There was the recruitment of parents in suburban areas as they were invited for the interviews
Fremantle parents were invited through social media, newspapers, and snowballing. The invited participants were then screened to determine if they met the inclusion criteria.
Describe the setting in which the study took place (hospital, community, etc.).
The study took place in a specific community as it is indicated that parents were interviewed within the suburban centers.
Question 7: Research Findings (outcomes)
What were the main findings of this study? (provide a dot point summary)
The parent’s main focus was on maintaining and developing the well-being and health of their children more than protecting them from the prevailing risks.
All responsible parents reported that they did their investigations before making decisions about vaccinations
Parents also made the risk assessment associated with vaccination
Question 8: Study limitations
What were the limitations of this study stated by the author/s?
There may be contextual differences as the studies were made in two different areas
The interviewed parents who had not vaccinated their children do not necessarily represent the views of the other parents
Explain why these are study limitations.
These are study limitations as they affect the credibility of the concluded results and findings
Did the researchers disclose any personal ideas, experiences or knowledge (bias) that might influence the conduct and outcomes of the study? Yes / No
No
Explain why personal ideas, experiences or knowledge (bias) may reduce the validity of the study
Personal ideas may be based on bias and prejudice and may not be true, hence leading to false results and findings
Question 9: Applicability to clinical practice
According to the Levels of Evidence pyramid, what level of evidence is the reported results from this paper?
Level five
Overall, should the outcomes of this study be used to inform evidence-based practice?
Yes / No
Yes
Explain your rationale for your responses to questions (a) and (b).
The reported results are at level five of the Levels of Evidence Pyramid since they are derived from one qualitative study. The outcomes of this study can be used to inform evidence-based research as they are from a factual experiment with real demonstrations to prove that the information provided is true.
Part 2 Reflection (1000 words)
Write a reflection on the learning that you have undertaken in Research Methodology relating to the questions below. If you use supporting references you should reference as per the UniSA Harvard referencing system.
In your reflection, you should consider the following:
Did you have prior ‘knowledge’ about immunization safety for children/pregnant women prior to undertaking this assessment? Describe your understanding of this.
How did you acquire this knowledge (what way/s of knowing/where did the information come from)?
Did you have an opinion (bias) or concerns about the safety of immunization for children/pregnant women before undertaking this assessment?
Has anything that you have learned in the course changed your opinion (bias)/allayed you concerns/increased your concerns about the safety of immunization for children/pregnant women? If so, why?
How has learning more about interpreting research and implementing evidence-based practice influenced your opinions about immunization for pregnant women/children?
In this course, you have learned about how personal beliefs, experiences, and trust contribute to personal health choices and decisions. As a registered nurse and/or midwife, how will you balance a person’s health beliefs with evidence-based practice when assisting them with choices about health care?
Reflection
The study has provided more profound insights into the issue of immunization of children and the risk assessment that is associated with it. I had prior knowledge on the issue of immunization of children as in the case of its essentiality and why it should be administered to children. I had an overview of why immunization against some diseases is essential as it helps in the prevention of some diseases. This reduces the chances of the adversaries that are associated with such diseases. Immunization boosts the body’s abilities towards fighting viruses associated with the targeted diseases. As a result, various campaigns have been lodged towards improving awareness on the importance of vaccination. However, the level of reception of whether to vaccinate their varies among different people as various people either choose or reject vaccinations as a result of their various reasons and beliefs. In my opinion, vaccinations are a must have for both children and pregnant mothers as they protect them from being vulnerable to some common diseases.
I acquired the knowledge about immunization through the reading of various articles and journals on the internet. The articles were mostly used to campaign towards boosting awareness and encouraging the immunization of children/ pregnant mothers. the articles and journals are written by most experts in the medical and nursing fields and they pinpoint the essentiality of immunizing children or pregnant mothers. Furthermore, they give information on where people can get immunized and offer lessons to those who did not have information on vaccination. Some of the issues that revolve around the safety of vaccines are on how they interact with the immunity system or even how the immune system works under various conditions. Typically, vaccines for children or pregnant women enabled their immunity to build a safe and controlled environment that helps prevent the diseases that one has been immunized against. Most articles give their views and some factual information on the issues regarding vaccination. It is through my personal research for such articles, that I gained profound insights into the issue of immunization.
I did not have a concern over the issue of the safety of vaccines on children and pregnant mothers as I support the idea that immunization helps them in fighting vaccine-preventable diseases. Research indicates that infants and pregnant women suffer disproportionately from vaccine-preventable diseases. It would be appropriate to vaccinate pregnant women and children to boost their immunity against preventable diseases that they can receive vaccination against. For instance, the efficiency of the influenza children in pregnant women has been illustrated, with the movement of maternally derived antibodies to the child hence giving additional protection. Most vaccines have a robust safety profile of the ways through which they are prepared. This shows that vaccines are safe to use and pregnant women and children should be vaccinated against vaccine-preventable illnesses. Available research work also proposes that the vaccination of children and pregnant women is safe and not linked with increased risk of negative outcomes on the health of the vaccinated.
The learnings in this research paper have helped me change the bias that vaccinations would affect the health of children at some point. It is essential that children should be protected from vaccine-preventable diseases, which reduces chances of adverse effects on the children and protects them from the illnesses( Betsch, Renkewitz, Betsch, and Ulshöfer). Vaccines are held to very high control standards to ensure that they are safe and effective. It is indicated that all vaccines are tested before their recommended use and tested in labs to analyze their effectiveness and safety. The research paper suggests that there are some parents who have some concerns about vaccinations and choose whether to immunize their children based on these concerns. Vaccines are simply enfeebled toxins which are either dead or in feeble form of the disease-causing virus or bacteria, which makes the body to produce antibodies that protect children from those specific diseases. Therefore, it is incorrect, to indicate that vaccinations could lead to complications in children; since there is no proven information to support that it leads to health problems in vaccinated children.
Learning more about interpreting research and implementing evidence-based practice influenced my opinions about immunization for pregnant women/ children since I have been able to know the various concerns that affect a parent’s choice over vaccination. The research uses a well-structured and methodically way of pinpointing the aspects as of why parents choose to vaccinate their children. The points are analyzed and identified differently and highlighted as results; which entail more of the crucial aspects that were being researched. Parent’s concepts on the risks associated with vaccination are critical in their decision towards choosing or rejection. It is essential to assess and comprehend why parents who partially or entirely reject vaccination interpret the risks; to determine ways of teaching and to convince them towards accepting vaccination. The research widens ones thinking by allowing studies of some of the responsibilities that parents who reject immunization take towards ensuring the safety of their children.
This course has allowed me to learn how personal beliefs, experiences, and trust contribute to individual health decisions and choices. As a registered nurse, I will balance a person’s health beliefs with evidence-based practice when assisting them with choices about health care by giving them empirical evidence. Revealing and educating a person would help them make appropriate choices as they could have been presented with the correct information that would help them overcome or maintain some of their health beliefs. A nurse can be able to assess a person’s help beliefs through listening to their views and then offering to teach them based on scientific findings. It is essential not to overlook and dismiss their opinions but to instead find the reasons that compel them to think in such a manner. Patients have different characteristic, and it will be essential to integrate their preferences into medical interventions. A nurse should, therefore, have flexible guidelines that will allow the involvement of patients in clinical decision making.
References
Betsch, C., F. Renkewitz, T. Betsch, and C. Ulshöfer. 2010. “The Influence of Vaccine-critical Websites on Perceiving Vaccination Risks.” Journal of Health Psychology 15 (3): 446–455