Investigating the Causes of Anaemia in Elderly NHS Patients

This report investigates the causes of anaemia in elderly individuals, focusing on a case study within the NHS healthcare system. The research begins with an introduction to anaemia, outlining its impact on the elderly population, and establishing the research's aims and objectives. Chapter 1 presents a research proposal and literature review, identifying contributing factors, detailing research methodologies (qualitative approach, deductive reasoning, descriptive design, and interpretivism philosophy), and outlining data collection methods (secondary data from books, journals, and online resources, and primary data via questionnaires). A detailed timeline for the research is also provided. Chapter 2 documents the research process, including the activities performed. Chapter 3 presents data analysis, using thematic analysis, and includes recommendations for treatment. The report concludes with a peer viva transcript and a comprehensive conclusion, summarizing the findings and offering insights into the causes of anaemia in old age, including iron deficiency, vitamin deficiencies, and other factors. The report also discusses ethical considerations and provides a list of references.

The Cause of Anaemia in old people

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1: Research proposal and Literature Review .....................................................................1
1.2 Identifying the factor that contribute ....................................................................................1
1.1 Describing possible research project outline specifications..................................................1
1.4 Research Methodologies........................................................................................................2
1.5 Presenting proper plan and procedure for the research specification....................................4
2.1 Match the resources to the research question........................................................................5
1.3 Literature Review..................................................................................................................5
Chapter 2: A Research Diary..........................................................................................................7
Research Diary.............................................................................................................................7
a). The following activities has been performed in order to conduct research:...........................7
b)..................................................................................................................................................7
Chapter 3: Analysis..........................................................................................................................8
Theme 4.........................................................................................................................................12
Recommendation And Justification...........................................................................................14
Chapter 4: Peer Viva......................................................................................................................14
Transcript...................................................................................................................................14
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................16
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................17

Topic: “The cause of Anaemia in old age people”
INTRODUCTION
Anaemia is a condition in which healthy blood cells in human body are unable to take or
carry adequate oxygen to body tissues. It is the condition in which people may feel tired and
week (Lopez and et.al., 2016). This research aims at finding the cause behind Anaemia in old
people. In order to have deep understanding on this topic a survey will be conducted in order to
find reasons behind cause of anaemia is old people. In order to understand its concepts more
clearly various literature will also be used by taking help of books, journals as well as various
online websites will also be used to find the cause. The organisation which will be taken in study
is NHS. NHS is a publicly funded national healthcare system. It is primarily funded by the
government of UK. NHS provides health car services to all English residents. The report will try
to highlight some factors which is linked with complications in elderly people. And after
successful completion of research some recommendation will also be given. In order to conduct
a research a proper research methodology will be used so that the desired outcomes can be
obtained.
Chapter 1: Research proposal and Literature Review
1.2 Identifying the factor that contribute
Aim: “ To identify the causes of Anaemia in an old people : A case study on NHS”
Objectives:
 To identify the deep understanding of Anaemia in old age people.
 To analyse the factors which is linked to sever complications in elderly people
 To recommend some medications which can help in treatment of Anaemia.
1.1 Describing possible research project outline specifications
Background: Anaemia is one of the common haematological disease among old age
people and as per the research, the cause of anaemia is found in around 80% of the old age
people and most common is chronic disease and due to iron deficiency. There are many cause of
Anaemia such as Lack of Iron , lack of Vitamin B12. Another reason is Malabsorption in which
the body of old age people is not able to properly absorb the use of Nutrients from their diet. In
the same way, the case study is based upon the NHS which is one of the top hospital in UK and
provide best treatment to their patients as well. Thus, the present research will help to determine
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the causes of Anaemia in old age people specially and also describe some remedial medication
for the treatment as well.
Rationale: as per the research, it is cleared that Anaemia is quite common among old age
people and thus, it is one of the big issue, that is why the researcher chooses topic that is “The
cause of Anaemia in old age people”. Another reason of choosing the topic is such that, while
research on the particular topic, researcher gain the knowledge and also learn different medical
terms as well which will help in their future.
Research questions:
 What is the meaning of Anaemia in old age people?
 What are the factors that affect elderly people?
 What are the remedial strategies that help in treatment of Anaemia?
1.4 Research Methodologies
It is a systematic method which used by researcher to effectively complete their research.
This will be the qualitative research as it will help in getting deeper knowledge of topic.
Research type:
The main goal of research process is to get deep knowledge and understanding of topic.
The two main methods which is used in empirical research are qualitative and quantitative. The
research will use qualitative research. The qualitative research will help in gaining information
about people attitude, thinking and motivation. The research questions which will be used will
help in gaining deeper understanding of the topic.
Research approach: Research approach can be defined as plan or procedures which consist of
steps of assumptions. There are two type of research approach which is used by researcher which
are inductive and deductive. Inductive approach use generation of new theory which emerge out
of data which has been collected. However the deductive research approach will be used in order
to carry the research. Deductive research is a type of approach which in which hypothesis is used
which is based on existing theory and then designing is done in order to test hypothesis (Guest
and et.al., 2015).
Research design: Research design is framework of different methods and techniques which is
used by researcher for combining various components in logical manner so research problem can
be handled easily. Research design is used in order to explain the type of research.
The research design which will be used in this project is descriptive research design.
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Descriptive research design can be defined as describing nature of demographic segment which
focuses on why certain phenomenon occurs. The researcher is interested in describing situation
or case in study.
Research philosophy: Research philosophy can be defined as a belief which describes the ways
in which data can be collected, analysed and used. In the project interpretivism research
philosophy will be used (Soiza, Donaldson and Myint, 2018). Interpretivism shows the human
interest in study. It will include a small samples and it will investigate qualitative data.
Data collection: Data collection can be defined as a process which can be used in order to gather
and measure information. It enables to one to answer and evaluate outcomes of the questions
asked. The main idea behind data collection is to get the quality evidence which allow to analyse
and give answers to the questions which has been posed in research.
For collecting data for the research completion both primary as well as secondary data
collection method will be used. For the purpose of collecting secondary data various published
books, journals as well as online portals will be used. While for collecting primary data,
questionnaire will be used .As this primary data collection method aims at deep understanding of
the existing situation as well as person's belief and opinions about the topic.
Data analysis: It is the process which is used in order to evaluate the data that is further
used for analytical and statistical tool that helps to discover the information and assist in better
decision- making as well. The data analysis also includes the critical analysis and interpretation
of the numbers so that it helps a researcher to attain the aim and objectives as well. Basically
there are two types of data analysis such that Qualitative data analysis and Quantitative data
analysis. In the present report, researcher will chooses Thematic data analysis under Qualitative
data analysis in which survey is conducted that helps to attain the aim that is “To analysis the
cause of Anaemia in old age people” and further help to conduct the research in better way as
well.
Sampling: It is the process which is used to predetermine the number of observation that
is taken from the larger populations. Thus, it is used to find the representative samples in order to
avoid bias. There are two types of sampling that is probability sampling and non- probability
sampling. In that, researcher will uses simple random sampling method in which 20 patients are
chooses who are suffer from Anaemia from NHS. Therefore, the simple random sampling
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method also helps the researcher to attain the aim that is “To analysis the cause of Anaemia in
old age people”.
Ethical Consideration: There are important principles which must be consider for
research such that:
 The research participants should not be harm so that it will help to conduct the research in
precise manner.
 The Researcher should make sure that the primary data is secured and no data is shared to
anyone.
 There should not be any type of miscommunication and even the primary data findings
should be present in systematic way.
 The confidentiality should be maintained so that it will help to attain the aim and
objectives.
 The researcher should take consent from the participants prior to the study.
1.5 Presenting proper plan and procedure for the research specification
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7
Aims and
Objectives
Research
proposal
Literature
review
Research
methodolo
gy
Questionn
aire
Data
collection
Data
analysis
and
interpretati
on
Findings
Conclusio
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n and
recommen
dation
Submissio
n
Feedback
and
Modificati
ons
2.1 Match the resources to the research question
Particulars Resources
Understanding the term Anaemia Articles, Journals
Causes of Anaemia Internet. Articles and Journals
Remedial Action Articles, different case study
Questionnair Though Survey
1.3 Literature Review
Theme 1: Deep understanding of anaemia in old age people
As per the view of the author Stauder (2018), Anaemia is a condition in which there is a
deficiency of red cell and haemoglobin in the blood of the old age person which eventually
results in pallor and weariness. Anaemia is generally of many different types such as iron
deficiency anaemia which is occur due to the very little presence of oxygen in the body.
Generally the symptoms of Iron deficiency anaemia are Headache, dizziness or light-headedness.
Vitamin deficiency anaemia is the anaemia which generally occurs in the old people when their
body is not able to develop the enough amount of the vitamin to produce healthy red blood cells.
Symptoms found in the old age person is Irregular heartbeats and Shortness of breath. Anaemia
of inflation is the another type of the anaemia which is caused because he body of the old person
is not able to store the enough amount of the iron to produce or make the healthy red blood cells.
Symptoms for anaemia of inflammation are getting tired easily during or after physical activity
and pale skin. Aplastic Anaemia is the another type of the anaemia in which there is deficiency
in of all blood cell type i.e. red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Generally symptoms
of Alpastic anaemia are Nosebleeds and bleeding gums. As per the view of author iron
deficiency anaemia and Alpastic anaemia are the most dangerous type of the anaemia.
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Theme 2 : Factors which is linked to sever complications in elderly people
As per the view of the author Clevenger ( 2015) Anaemia is caused due to many factor and some
out of them are very common factor causing anaemia in the old age people such as improper diet
of the person as the person grow older, interest and motivation for the people to eat more
nutritious food used to end which is the biggest reason which causes the anaemia in old age
person as nutrition is the biggest requirement for iron to product the cells in the body. Another
cause related to the diet is that heavy consumption of the tea and coffee which generally used to
consume the iron from the meals. As the report suggest that 80 percent of anaemia in the older
person is caused because of the most common ways that are chronic diseases and iron deficiency.
Vitamin B12 deficiency, folate deficiency, gastrointestinal bleeding and myelodysplastic
syndrome are among the other cause of anaemia in the elderly. As per the author Stauder (2018),
other ways which causes the anaemia is the loss of the blood in the older person due to the
bleeding or wounds and also due to the less amount of the iron in the bone marrow as it requires
the good amount of the iron to produce or make red blood cells in the body of the older person.
Theme 3: Recommending some medications which can help in treatment of Anaemia.
As per the view of Clevenger and Richards, (2015) anaemia is one of the most common
disease that is mostly found in old age people. But there are so many medications which help to
treat the disease. Such that if the person is suffering from iron deficiency anaemia, then the
doctor should provide iron supplements and if necessary, the nurse may also provide Ferrous
Sulphate of 200 mg in three times daily because it is one of the cheapest option and it helps to
increase iron in human body. On the other side, as per the view of Stauder, Valent and Theurl,
(2018) if the person is suffer from Haemolytic anaemia then, it is to be recommended that nurse
or doctor should provide Spleen removal surgery and also give drugs that suppress the immune
system of an individual. Apart from this, the patient must have food which are rich in Vitamin C
such as citrus food, strawberries and leafy green vegetables so that it will help to boost the
amount of iron absorbed. Further, Vitamin A and beta- carotene also help human being for
absorbing an iron.
In addition to this, it is also stated by Clevenger ( 2015) if the person is suffering form
Anaemia and that is related to sudden blood loss, at that time, transfusion of the red blood cells
are also require in order to relieve the symptoms and also replaces the lost blood too. At that
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time, the doctors must check the blood count routinely and if they find low level of blood then
they should immediately transfusion of red blood cell.
Chapter 2: A Research Diary
Research Diary
a). The following activities has been performed in order to conduct research:
It has taken about 1 week to decide aims and objectives and preparing research proposal.
As the whole study is based on Anaemia in old people therefore it is very necessary to create a
clear aims and objectives which give an clear view of the topic of research and idea behind
conducting the research. In second week in order to gain knowledge regarding the topic various
literature has been studied so that a basic idea can be developed on the area of research. As in
order to start the research it is highly required that proper research methods should be used.
Therefore in the same week research methodology has been prepared which includes deciding on
research type, research approach, and research philosophy. For gaining more knowledge
regarding this topic a questionnaire has been prepared to find out people's attitude and beliefs on
this topic. Therefore a questionnaire has been prepared and about 20 peoples have been asked to
fill the questionnaire. Then the data has been collected from them in order to analyse their views
and gain more abstract idea behind this. The both the task which is preparation of questionnaire
and data collection has been performed in third week. After collection of data in third week data
analysis has been performed in fourth week. The data which has been collected from respondents
has been analysed and interpretation has been done with the help of pie charts and tables. After
interpretation the findings of research has been documented in the same week. In the fifth week
after analysing and interpreting data the conclusion of study has been stated along with some
recommendation for treatment of anaemia.
b).
The project was given to us to conduct research on our interested topic. I have taken
about one week to decide on my topic and designing research proposal. As I have interest in
gaining knowledge about new things therefore I found this research project interested and I have
decided to take topic which is on cause behind anaemia. Then I have decided to gain some
overview about the topic for which I have use some online websites to make my concepts clear
and understand the main cause and treatment of anaemia. Then I have decided to prepare a
research method which I will use so that I can reach to a qualitative findings by the end of my
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project so I have selected the way through which I will collect data and methods which I will use
to interpret my findings. I have prepare a questionnaire in order to find out what type of anaemia
disease are common in old people and what are its symptoms and ways to cure it. While doing
the research I have came to know that iron deficiency anaemia and Alpastic anaemia are most
dangerous type of anaemia (Kumar, 2019). It has also been analysed during the project that
anaemia is caused due to various factors in old people such as heavy consumption of tea and
coffee, eating habits etc.
However the project was very helpful for me I have gained enough knowledge in this
topic which I think will be beneficial for me in future. The most difficult part of this project was
to collect data on the topic as most of the people was not interested in filling the questionnaire
form while some of them has not seriously fill the questionnaire which has created a difficulty
for me to reach at conclusion. I have decided that in future if same situation arises than I will try
to take an interview of the experts in the field and will try to make them fill the opinion and I
will also try to take a big sample size so that I can reach at conclusion more easily and in
accurate manner.
Chapter 3: Analysis
QUESTIONNAIRE
Name:
Age:
1. What type of anaemia disease you are suffering from?
 Iron deficiency Anaemia
 Vitamin deficiency Anaemia
 Anaemia of inflammation
 Aplastic Anaemia
2. What type of the symptoms which are found in the old age person of Anaemia?
 Easy fatigue and loss of energy
 Dizziness
 Leg cramps
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 Insomnia
3. Is iron deficiency anaemia and Alpastic anaemia are the most dangerous type of the anaemia
for older person?
 Yes
 No
4. Is old person are able to defend the causes of the Anaemia efficiently?
 Yes
 No
5. What is the best way through which anaemia in the old person can be improved?
 Medicines
 Exercise
 Diet
Theme 1
1. What type of anaemia disease you are suffering from?
Respondent
s
Iron deficiency Anaemia 10
Vitamin deficiency Anaemia 3
Anaemia of inflammation 2
Aplastic Anaemia 5
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Interpretation
After going through above data it has been interoperated that Iron Deficiency anaemia is the
most type of the anaemia disease which is found in the maximum number of the respondent as
out of the total pool of the 2 respondents 50 percent responded that is 10 respondents are in
favour of the Iron deficiency Anaemia. Second most common disease which is found in the
respondents are Alpastic Anaemia. So it can be said that the respondents should look for the
symptoms of Iron deficiency Anaemia and Aplastic Anaemia to keep an eye on the anaemia.
Theme 2
2. What type of the symptoms which are found in the old age person of Anaemia? Respondents
Easy fatigue and loss of energy 7
Dizziness 8
Leg cramps 3
Insomnia 2
10
10
3
2
5
Iron deficiency Anaemia
Vitamin deficiency Anaemia
Anaemia of inflammation
Aplastic Anaemia