Critique Articles for Evidence Based Practice in Nursing

This article critiques a journal article on end-of-life care in an acute setting to determine the effectiveness of the evidence for nursing practice. It analyzes the title, author information, abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, result, discussion, limitation, and conclusion. The article uses a systematic approach to evaluate the relevance of the evidence in clinical practice.

Running head: CRITIQUE ARTICLES
CRITIQUE ARTICLES
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Authors note:

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Introduction:
Evidence based practice utilises the skills of decision making and critical thinking in
the practice through the use of evidence from critically assessed research to determine the
appropriateness of the practice that has been applied in the clinical situation (Hall & Roussel,
2016). The assignment aims to critique a journal article in order to determine whether the
evidences are effective enough to use in the nursing practice. The chosen article for the
assignment is No one said he was dying: Families' experiences of end-of-life care in an acute
setting by Odgers et al. (2018, p. 21). The following paper will utilise the systematic
approach in order to analyse various components of the article such as author information,
abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, result, discussion, limitation and
conclusion to identify the relevance of the evidence in clinical practice.
Critique of the article:
Title and author information:
The evaluation of the title and author information with the systematic critique
framework would help to determine the qualification of the authors and identify whether the
article is peer reviewed or not. An appropriate title is defined as the title that helps the reader
to assume the content of the paper and informs about the variable of interest, study population
and study design (Cals & Kotz, 2013, p. 585). The title of the article is not descriptive enough
and does not inform about the study design, however, it does inform about the focus of the
study that is experience of families during end-of-care in a acute setting and the population of
the study that is families of patient depends on end-of-care facility (Odgers et al., 2018, p.
21).

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The article is peer reviewed and has four authors. Study has indicated that the authors
of the article should have adequate academic qualifications to relate their professional ground
with the research. The qualification of the authors has been provided in the first page and all
of them are well qualified in nursing (Odgers et al., 2018, p. 21). Thus, it can be said that the
article is published by a reputable journal that is the Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing
and quality is also good as all of the authors are qualified enough.
Abstract:
An appropriate abstract should provide the readers the summary of the overall
research and introduce the key components of the study (Cals & Kotz, 2013, p. 585). The
abstract of the selected article is well structured with clear aim and conclusion and informed
that qualitative method has been used in the study. Thus, the abstract has helped to determine
whether the study is relevant or not (Odgers et al., 2018, p. 21). Hence, it can be said that the
article has provided a proper abstract.
Introduction and background:
An appropriate introduction should inform about the topic of the research briefly and
mention the rational of the work as well. In addition introduction of a study should provide
context about the purpose or objective of the study (Gastel & Day, 2016). In the selected
article the introduction contains a brief discussion about end life care and trends of end-life-
care in Australia. In-depth information about the research objective has been provided in the
introduction and rational for the study such as less examination of the quality of life in end-
of-life care, experience of the nurses and family and lack of research on end-of-life care is
also mentioned. There is no specific part of literature review in the study, however, the
background of the study such as importance of acute care during end-of-life situation, quality
o end-of-life, experience of nurses, patients and their family in such situation, adequate data,

3CRITIQUE ARTICLES
focus of the policy and program developers and need for the research has been mentioned in
the introduction (Odgers et al., 2018, p. 21). Such information has helped the readers to
understand the significance of the study.
Methodology:
In order to conduct a research it is important to select appropriate method to address
the research objectives. Qualitative method is one of the most effective method to conduct a
research. Lewis (2015, pp. 473-475) has reported that qualitative research is allowed for in-
depth interview, case study analysis, ethnographic research and content analysis as well. In
this selected article the researchers have used qualitative method including semi-structured
interview. As the study has focused to evaluate the experience of the nurses and families of
the patients during end-of-life care it is important to observe and understand their view. In
this regards semi-structured interview is appropriate as it could help to inquire the experience
effectively. The study setting was mentioned properly that is regional health service in
Victoria, Australia (Odgers et al., 2018, p. 21). In order to conduct interview for research it is
important to inform the participants about the importance of the research and take their
consent regarding the recruitment. Ethical consideration is another important aspect of
research as it helps to avoid ethical, legal, political or social issues (Faden et al., 2013, pp.
S16-S27). In this regards the study has invited the participants and selected them according to
the inclusion criteria. In addition, ethical consideration has been taken from the Health
Service Human Research ethics Committees (Odgers et al., 2018, p. 21). Thus, it can be said
that, the study has used effective methodology to represent the result.
Data collection:
In a research paper it is important to describe the in-depth data collection process,
nature of the data such as primary or secondary. Limitation or barriers in the data collection

4CRITIQUE ARTICLES
process is also important to include in the paper (Weigold, Weigold & Russell, 2013, p. 53).
The selected article has described the data collection process in brief and did not inform
about the limitation or barrier. However, the data collection section has informed about the
process of collecting data such as semi-structured interview between 3 and 12 months
following the death of the relative of the participants. Thus, it can be said that, the data
collection part of the article could be better.
Data analysis:
Data analysis of a research should contain the instrument or process of analysing the
data and checking for biasness as well. In addition the storage of the data to keep
confidentiality of the data is important to include in the paper to help the readers to ensure
that data has been analysed appropriately to represent the findings (Schabenberger &
Gotway, 2017). In this study, the interview was recorded and transcribed verbatim. Two
researchers have listened the audios and read the transcript to identify the themes and
describe them with the support of the data from the transcripts. However, data storage or
confidentiality is not mentioned in the paper that may lead to ethical issue (Connelly, 2014,
pp. 1-444).
Result:
It is important to recruit proper sample size to derive the quality result that is
applicable to general people (O’reilly & Parker, 2013). On the other hand the result should be
precise and easy to understand so that readers could identify the findings and its relevancy in
the clinical practice and should consider all the variables and outcomes of the research
(Derntl, 2014). According to O’reilly & Parker (2013, pp. 190-199) large sample size helps to
reduce the margin of error in an effective manner. In this selected study 12 participants
including 10 female and 2 male have been found to participate in the interview and response

5CRITIQUE ARTICLES
rate was only 14.8%. Thus, it can be said that the sample is small for the research. Due to
such small sample size there is a risk of lack of generalizability of the findings (Charan &
Biswas, 2013, p-121). However, the study has informed about the themes identified from the
interview and presented them with adequate explanation. Definition and categories of the
themes have been represented in chart that has helped the readers to understand the central
points of the theme and link them with clinical practice. Each theme identified from the
interview has been supported with the transcript as well. Thus, it can be said that the study
has represented precise result that is easy to understand.
Discussion:
An ideal discussion of a research paper should explore the findings of the study its
relevancy in the clinical practice (Derntl, 2014). The selected article has described the overall
topic in the discussion section. It has started with explaining what will be described in the
discussion and its importance such as understanding the way in which the family members
communicated with the health professionals and play important role in the end-of-life care.
Specific information such as lack of clear communication, factors related to the perception of
the family members regarding the sudden death of their relatives, experience and feelings of
the family members, lack of recognition of imminent death and lack of knowledge of the
family members regarding the end-of-life care (Odgers et al., 2018, pp. 105-123). Such
description has helped to understand the importance of effective communication and
knowledge about the end-of-life care in the clinical practice.
Strengths and limitations:
The study has identify the limitation in an effective manner. It has explained that the
sample size was small for the study and the research was performed in a rural setting in
Australia. Thus, the findings may be limited to a particular area and may not be generalised

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with all population. However, the study has provided adequate information about the quality
of care during end-of-life situation, helped to understand the family experience, factors
affecting the quality of care and the contribution of the family member in decision making,
which is supported by relevant data. Implications and key actions for the health professionals
have been provided as well. Such contribution of the study has helped to understand the
interventions that could be taken to improve the quality of care and it can be considered as
the strength of the study (Odgers et al., 2018, p. 21).
Conclusion of the selected article:
A proper conclusion should summarise the key points of the study and should not
contain new information (Smith & Wong, 2016, pp. 3-881). In this regards the selected study
has concluded their findings and summarise the overall concept in an effective manner.
Recommendations such as improved communication, advance care plan and guidance to the
family and the patient have been explained. No new information has been included in the
conclusion. Thus, it can be said that the authors have concluded the study appropriately.
Conclusion:
From the above discussion it can be said that, the title of the selected study is not
descriptive, but it does inform about the focus and population of the study. The article is peer
reviewed as all the authors have adequate qualification. The abstract of the article was
structured well and has provided summary of the study effectively. Literature review was not
described separately, however, in-depth objective and background of the study has been
included in the introduction. Appropriate methodology has been used while considering the
ethical factors. However, data storage and confidentiality of data has not been mentioned.
Precise result has been described and the discussion has informed about the relevant
information regarding end-of-life care with the support of data. The study is limited to 12

7CRITIQUE ARTICLES
participants and rural setting, thus, lack of generalizability may occur. However, it has
informed about the factors affecting end-of-life care and provided effective recommendations
that are applicable to clinical practice. Thus, it can be said that the researchers have provided
quality research which is relevant and acceptable in clinical practice.

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