Critical Appraisal of a Mixed Method Research Literature on Stroke Rehabilitation Needs

Running head: EVIDENCE BASED NURSING RESEARCH
Evidence based nursing research
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1EVIDENCE BASED NURSING RESEARCH
Introduction:
The purpose of the essay is to critically appraise a mixed method research literature by
Ekstam et al. (2017) to find out perception of stroke patient and their carers regarding
rehabilitation needs 1 year after stroke. The critical appraisal is based on the research scenario of
Aunt Sue-Anne, who had stroke six months ago who was an active and independent person prior
to stroke. However, after stroke and a period of intensive rehabilitation, she reports of feeling
low because of dependence on activities of daily living such as cleaning and showering. As a
carer for post stroke patient like Aunt Sue, it is necessary to understand how carers may support
post stroke patients with activities of daily living. Hence, critical appraisal gives an insight into
authorship, use of appropriate research question, research deigns and results of the article. It also
provides an insight into barriers to the application of the findings in evidence based practice.
Part A
Authorship
The main aim of Ekstam et al. (2017) was to explore the link between dyad’s perception
(people with stroke and dementia caregiver) on rehabilitation needs of person with stroke. To
make judgment on quality of research paper, evaluation of authorship is necessary. There are six
authors for this research and they are affiliated from the Department of Occupational Therapy,
Department of Clnical Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of
physiotherapy and Department of Neuroscience and rehabilitation needs. From the affiliation of
authors, it can be said that they have experience in an area related to the topic of rehabilitation
needs. In terms of qualification, the author Lisa Ekstam has done Ph.D in occupational therapy
and other authors also have qualification in similar field. Hence, this information gives the idea

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that the topic for research is in relevance with their qualification and area of expertise. The
research was published in 2015 which means it is recently published paper that can give updated
information on rehabilitation needs of participant. However, only one conflict of interest that has
been seen in the paper was that ethical considerations during participant selection were not met.
Research question
The main research question for the study by Ekstam et al. (2017) was exploring and
comparing perception of stroke patients and their informal caregivers on rehabilitation needs 1
year after stroke. The need for research in this area was stated by the author by stating current
state of research and gap in research on the topic. For example, the author argued that sense of
coherence (SOC) is needed to view world as manageable and meaningful. According to Ekstam
et al. (2017), SOC should be linked with perceived rehabilitation needs to assess perception after
stroke. The authors also mentioned about lack of studies that explore dyadic perspective on
rehabilitation needs. However, there is lack of such studies. Hence, the rational for the research
became evident from this explanation. The quality of reporting is also understood from author’s
statement of significance of the research problem. The author emphasized on the importance of
the topic by giving an overview about the prevalence of perceived unmet rehabilitation needs in
patients 1 year after stroke. Ullberg, (2016) also proved that unfulfilled rehabilitation needs 1
year after stroke is common and it is associated with increased pain and dependency in stroke
patient.
Research Design
Ekstam et al. (2017) used mixed method study design to gain answers to the research
question. The use of mixed method is suitable as the research had multiple objectives. The