Critical Appriasal Research Paper 2022

Running head: CRITICAL APPRAISAL
CRITICAL APPRAISAL
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

CRITICAL APPRIASAL
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The main aim of the paper is to critically appraise the research paper by Browning and
Cruz (2018) which is dealing with reflective debriefing as the social work intervention to lower
the moral distress among the ICU nurse. The report will include appraisal the literature review,
research problem, purpose, research question, theoretical framework and research design. The
author Browning and Cruz (2018) are the clinical coordinator of the palliative care team, temple
university hospital, Philadelphia. They are an experienced researcher in the field of palliative
care; hence, it can be said that their current position and experience supports the qualification to
conduct the study, including ICU nurses. The reviewed article has not identified the type of
research, and the variable author has used to conduct his research. Moreover, there is no clear
information stated regarding the population of the study, the author has included ICU nurse in
the research but fails to mention about the name and place of the hospital. After reading the
abstract, it lacks in the clear presentation of the purpose, design and sample, however,
intervention and the key result are highlighted in the abstract. It is evident from the study of
Austin (2015) that abstract should contain clear and brief information about the whole research,
which the paper more authentic. Therefore, the quality of the abstract in the article by Browning
and Cruz (2018) is low, which is identified as one of the weaknesses of research.
Literature Review (ROL)
The clinical issue of the high level of moral distress among the nurses working in the ICU
department has led to lower their working efficiency and increase the prevalence of the poor
quality of care to the patient (Whitehead et al., 2015). This led to research by Browning and Cruz
(2018) on the social work intervention with the objective to lower the moral distress by the mean
of reflective debriefing. In the paper, the author has provided evidence by reviewing the work of
difference researcher to highlight the significance of the identified clinical problem. The author

CRITICAL APPRIASAL
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has stated that ICU nurse experience a high level of moral distress than other health care
professional (Choe, Kang & Park, 2015) and it is more significant for nurses. This gives rise of
feeling powerlessness in the situation when they do not agree with the order of physician create
immense moral distress (Henrich et al., 2017). In the reviewed article, the author has discussed
the significance of the clinical issue, but its impact was missing in the literature review section.
The author has highlighted the definition of moral distress, teamwork and communication, an
ICU nurse and moral distress, use of palliative care social work and development of an
intervention for addressing moral distress. However, there is a lack of support from the current
peer literature review and has included old paper which is not from a relevant source. Thus, it
decreases the reliability of the ROL in the research paper.
Moreover, the studies included by the author has highlighted their finding in ROL, and
lack their critical appraisal. Thus, the quality of the paper taken is not tested, which can increase
the chance of biasness (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017). However, the flow of information in the ROL
clearly gives idea and knowledge about the problem of interest, that makes the paper
understandable for the reader (Brannen, 2017). It is also noted that author has discussed the gap
in research in the area of social work and palliative care concerning to the moral distress by
stating that there is low evidence available for debriefing method as an intervention.
Research Problem, Purpose, Research Questions/Hypotheses
The major research problem identified in the reviewed article was engaging the ICU
nurse in completing the MDS-R for six months and employing a debriefing session. It is reported
in the study of that Kisorio and Langley (2016) ICU nurse have a busy schedule, and it is
difficult to manage time for the taking part in the research. Information was impliedly stated by
the author. However, the main purpose of the study was to alleviate the moral distress of the ICU