Report: Evaluating a Healthcare Research Study and Findings

This report provides an in-depth analysis of a healthcare research study focusing on the effectiveness of a multimedia educational intervention in reducing unplanned hospital readmissions among patients with heart failure. The study, a randomised controlled trial conducted in Australia, evaluated the impact of an educational intervention, including a DVD, verbal discussion, and a written manual, compared to usual education. The analysis critically examines the study's methodology, including participant selection, the use of questionnaires, and the assessment of internal validity. It highlights the limitations of the research, such as the single-site study design and the potential for bias in follow-up calls. The report also discusses the compliance and adherence to the intervention, ethical considerations, and the overall impact of the educational resources provided to the patients. The report concludes by evaluating the study's findings and their implications for healthcare practices and future research in heart failure management.

Running head: INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH IN HEALTHCARE
INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH IN HEALTHCARE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH IN HEALTHCARE
Response to Question 1
As per the study conducted by Boyde et al. (2018), a randomised controlled trial design was
used in a single centre. The need assessment was not based upon any scientific study or
research; rather, it was entirely based on the response of the participants from the two base
questionnaires used in order to evaluate the learning need. The patients were recruited who
were referred to the HF-MP at the large tertiary referral hospital in Brisbane in Australia.
Thus, it can be seen that a limited number of respondents were chosen that did not
approximately described or defined the study population. As per the opinion of Cypress
(2017), qualitative studies are conducted with rigor as compared to quantitative because of
the subjectivity of the type of research, it is challenging to deal with numbers and statistics,
and therefore, the rigor of this study was questionable. The analysis in this article was
conducted using a quantitative method using statistical data; therefore, the rigor is low in
nature. The biasness can be found explicitly from the study design where blinded
randomisation was used in order to choose the population. Moreover, the education
intervention was implemented only among patient with heart failure; however; the general
population is sometimes unaware of various aspects and require support.
Response to Answer 2
The internal validity of the study was found to be inappropriate and inconclusive in
nature. From the article conducted by Boyde et al. (2018), it was concluded that a targeted
multimedia educational interventional would be effective in reducing the all-cause unplanned
readmission to hospital among people with the problem related to heart failure. However, no
difference between the two groups (the control and interventional) found in the score of
knowledge and self-care was obtained. As observed, the specific mechanism that would help
in explaining the reason why the patient in the interventional group would demonstrate

2INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH IN HEALTHCARE
reduced all-cause unplanned readmission was not identified in the study. A number of
important variables were not measured in the study that may have an impact on
understanding the all-cause hospitalisation rate in both the groups that would help in
assessing a framework that would help the patient in educating about the interventional
strategies.
There are certain limitations that had been observed in the particular research. The
study had limited scope as it includes a single-site study as a result; the outcome was biased
in nature. The researchers had conducted the follow-up calls at an interval of three and twelve
months, which was not blinded; as a result, it may have an impact on the outcome. In order to
minimise bias or influence of the nurse, a telephone script was used that limited any
discussion or offering additional educational data at the time of the call (Boyde et al., 2018).
This has a negative impact because a number of patients may not have understood the
questions and since no clarification was provided, a false positive result was obtained. In case
the patients wanted extra information, they were referred to the HF nurse specialist who was
not the investigator of the study created confusion and discrepancy. The use of the SCHFI
questionnaire was self-reported; as a result, it could be assumed that the behaviour was
practiced as there was no direct observation.
Response to Question 3
From the article, it was found that compliance, as well as adherence to the
intervention, was reported. The appropriate institutional research ethics review committees
have approved the study and informed and written consent was obtained from each of the
participants prior to conducting the telephonic survey. The Metro South Health Service
Human Research Ethics Committees, Brisbane, Queensland, approved the research and the
investigation was confirmed as per the principles that had been outlined in the Declaration of

3INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH IN HEALTHCARE
Helsinki (Boyde et al., 2018). From the discussion, it was known that most of the patients
who had received the interventional educational resources such as DVDs were utilised after
the discharge.

4INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH IN HEALTHCARE
References
Boyde, M., Peters, R., New, N., Hwang, R., Ha, T., & Korczyk, D. (2018). Self-care
educational intervention to reduce hospitalisations in heart failure: a randomised
controlled trial. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 17(2), 178-185.
Cypress, B. S. (2017). Rigor or reliability and validity in qualitative research: Perspectives,
strategies, reconceptualization, and recommendations. Dimensions of Critical Care
Nursing, 36(4), 253-263.