Critical Appraisal of Steginga et al. (2005) using JBI Tool

This assignment critically analyzes the research article by Steginga et al., (2015) and the tool which it utilized is the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool. Using this tool and its broader appraisal question, the assignment discussed each section of the research article and determined the effectiveness of each section with the help of this tool.

Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT
CRITICAL APPRAISAL USING JBI TOOL
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Introduction
An introduction of a research article should possess several aspects such as a clear
emphasis on the topic, indication of the research topic and question that will be dealt and a
broader section of the problem that will be discussed in the later section (O’reilly & Parker,
2013). This method is called the inverted triangle approach that provides a broader idea
regarding the topic prior to discussion about the narrow research question. While discussing the
research article of Steginga et al., (2005), the introduction section was critically evaluated using
Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool (The Joanna Briggs Institute, 2018). The
introduction was concise and clearly identified the physical and mental issues patients go
through while intensive care for cancer and the role of nurses in helping them to maintain a
positive approach and combat the disease fearlessly (Piwowar, 2013). The introduction
successfully cited several research articles and a searched through a wide aspect of cancer
patients to understand their mental state. Further as per Lewis (2015), a succinctly compact
research article introduction is composed of a broader array of supportive researches and are
focused on the research topic from the introduction section. As this article is composed of these
above mentioned section, it is determined as compact.
Title
According to Subotic & Mukherjee (2014), prior to choosing research paper title, it
should be make sure that the research title is composed of four goals of the research. Firstly, after
reading it, everyone should be able to predict the content of it, it should be interesting, it should
be able to reflect the tone of the research and lastly it should contain important keywords using
which it becomes easier to search the research article. The research article in the discussion,

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fulfills the first criteria as it provides complete idea regarding the article and the aim and scope
of the study is mentioned in it. However, the title did not comprise of the method of the research
as well as the type of study the research will conduct to address the research question (Rostami,
Mohammadpoorasl & Hajizadeh, 2014).
Abstract
The prime aim of writing abstract of research article to provide a clear and concise
glimpse of the research paper. As mentioned in the Joanna Briggs Institute appraisal tools, the
study was able to provide the cause as the drastic health condition of cancer patients and its
effect the physical and mental ailment. Starting from scope, to methods findings and future
implication, the researchers included each section appropriately in the section (The Joanna
Briggs Institute, 2018).
Article presentation
According to Lewis (2015), a proper research article should be properly framed so that
while going through the article the reader can understand each of the section without any
concern. The research article provided a concise title and an abstract that included a glimpse of
the entire article. However, the introduction section was not divided into sections like scope,
aims, and objectives and in a brad paragraph all these sections were merged. After that all the
sections such as methods, result and discussion was sub divided into smaller section for the ease
of interpretation.

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Terms
Instead of key terms, the research article contains key points having major findings of the
research articles. In three smaller section the researcher incorporated the entire finding of the
research. However, as per Piwowar (2013), keywords are provided so that searching the article
over internet becomes easier, and this research article does not comply with this process.
Purpose/background
As mentioned in the above section, the purpose and background of the research article
was included in the introduction section and as per the JBI critical appraisal tool, it clearly
mentioned the cause and effect of the subject that is being researched in the paper (Palinkas et
al., 2015).
Target population
According to the JBI critical appraisal tool, while discussing the critical factors of a
research article, presence of the target population in comparison study, control group and
interventions should be analyzed. In this research process, the quasi-experimental design was
used in which pre and posttest designs are utilized. Further, it had one control group with 22 RNs
and one intervention group with 31 nurses. Critically, all the aspects of a proper target population
was served by this research article (Palinkas et al., 2015).
Significance of the study
The significance of the study was mentioned in the introduction section, where barriers to
the nursing professionals while receiving the training of acute care patients was mentioned.
Further, the section was able to point out the negative factors that can affect the healthcare

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professional as well as the patient if those barriers were not removed (Ritchie et al., 2013).
Therefore, despite of the absence of a proper significance section, the introduction of the
research presented its significance properly.
Literature review
The research paper did not included any section of literature review. However, starting
from the introduction, while describing the effect of cancer on mental wellbeing of patients, the
effect of nurses positive attitude on patient and its benefits, the research articles used prior
research citations to support the central idea of the paper. Further as per Hanna, (2012), the
research used previous research articles to establish or authenticate any data or information.
Further as per the JBI critical assessment tool, the paper used multiple measures to determine the
effectiveness of pre and post intervention or exposures. Further, the research process was
inclusive of previous research articles with less than 10 years of publication date. Therefore, it
authenticates the recent research article.
Study or research design
The research method was quasi-experimental design and as per the JBI critical appraisal
tool, it was comprised of an intervention group, one controlled group and they were compared on
the basis of the applied intervention (Anderson & Shattuck, 2012). Further, the follow up process
was completed and in the research process the difference between the follow ups were mentioned
adequately in the assignment as well as discussed and analyzed. Further while describing the
comparison of two test groups the similarities between those groups were also included in the
study. Hence, as per the JBI tool, the study design is compact and appropriate to find out the
research answer of the study (Hanna, 2012).

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Samples
The sample of a research should represent the broader section of the society as the
findings of the research demonstrates the effectiveness of it in entire society. The sample of
research was taken in such a way that the average age of intervention group and control group
was 44.2 which is the mean age of the nursing professionals in Australia (Tufford & Newman,
2012). Further, 86% of the nursing professionals worked in regional or rural areas where people
did not had health literacy and were completely dependent of these professionals for
interventions. Therefore, while discussing the sample size, as per the JBI tool, it was able to
include a smaller section of society that represents the broader section (Ritchie et al., 2013).
Data collection
The data was collected using questionnaires and surveys prior to test or pre-test, posttest
and follow up after 6 months of trained interventions in the research article. As the research
process was quasi-experimental and were involved less number such as maximum 500 nursing
professionals, it involved questionnaire and surveys as the data collection. According to
Englander (2012), these methods are useful as it provides clear and concise idea regarding one’s
observed knowledge. Therefore, the data collection method was appropriate as per the study
design.
Findings
The finding section of this research article was properly addressed in several sections
such as sample related result, self-reports of course effectiveness, comparative analysis and
effect of new learning on the nurses as well as patients. Further as per the quasi experiment

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design, the findings were represented in tabular format that would let readers to understand the
results properly (Ritchie et al., 2013).
Conclusions
The conclusion section is included in the research articles so that after reading all the
research process and findings, the readers are able to recall the aim objective and research
question, and related that to the findings after the research method. The conclusion section of this
research article had proper summary of the entire research article and did not proposed any
newer concept in it. Therefore according to the concept of JBI assessment tool, it is compact and
concise for the study (Anderson & Shattuck, 2012).
Recommendations
While discussing the recommendation, the research recommended inclusion of
personality development courses in the upcoming nursing professionals so that they are aware of
the needs of acute care patients and provide them mental support so that those patients can
achieve wellbeing. As per the JBI critical appraisal tool, the research article recommended the
topic of research for the nursing professional’s behavior improvement. Further it included future
implication as well. Therefore, critically it seems compact and concise for the research (Hanna,
2012).
Conclusion
This assignment critically analyzes the research article by Steginga et al., (2015) and the
tool which it utilized is the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool. Using this tool and its
broader appraisal question, the assignment discussed each section of the research article and

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determined the effective ness of each section with the help of this tool. Further, using several
research articles, focused on the aspects that determines the concise and compact nature of each
sections in the research article which was provided to critical analysis.

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References
Anderson, T., & Shattuck, J. (2012). Design-based research: A decade of progress in education
research?. Educational researcher, 41(1), 16-25.
Englander, M. (2012). The interview: Data collection in descriptive phenomenological human
scientific research. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 43(1), 13-35.
Lewis, S. (2015). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five
approaches. Health promotion practice, 16(4), 473-475.
O’reilly, M., & Parker, N. (2013). ‘Unsatisfactory Saturation’: a critical exploration of the notion
of saturated sample sizes in qualitative research. Qualitative research, 13(2), 190-197.
Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., & Hoagwood, K. (2015).
Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method
implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health
Services Research, 42(5), 533-544.
Piwowar, H. (2013). Introduction altmetrics: What, why and where?. Bulletin of the Association
for Information Science and Technology, 39(4), 8-9.
Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., Nicholls, C. M., & Ormston, R. (Eds.). (2013). Qualitative research
practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. Sage.
Rostami, F., Mohammadpoorasl, A., & Hajizadeh, M. (2014). The effect of characteristics of
title on citation rates of articles. Scientometrics, 98(3), 2007-2010.

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Steginga, S. K., Dunn, J., Dewar, A. M., & McCarthy, A. (2005, March). Impact of an intensive
nursing education course on nurses' knowledge, confidence, attitudes, and perceived
skills in the care of patients with cancer. In Oncology Nursing Forum(Vol. 32, No. 2, p.
375). Oncology Nursing Society.
Subotic, S., & Mukherjee, B. (2014). Short and amusing: The relationship between title
characteristics, downloads, and citations in psychology articles. Journal of Information
Science, 40(1), 115-124.
The Joanna Briggs Institute. (2018). critical appraisal tool. Joannabriggs.org. Retrieved 12
April 2018, from http://joannabriggs.org/assets/docs/critical-appraisal-tools/JBI_Quasi-
Experimental_Appraisal_Tool2017.pdf
Tufford, L., & Newman, P. (2012). Bracketing in qualitative research. Qualitative social
work, 11(1), 80-96.

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Appendix