Nursing Research: Qualitative Appraisal of Parental Hope in Cancer

This assignment presents a qualitative appraisal of a nursing research study by Kamihara et al. (2015) on parental hope for children with advanced cancer. The study utilized a qualitative descriptive design, examining conversations and interviews with parents of children with relapsed or refractory cancer. The research questions explored the coexistence of hope with a poor prognosis and the types of hopes parents held. The study's sample included parents of children under 18 with advanced cancer from two cancer facilities. Data collection involved audiotaped conversations between clinicians and parents, followed by semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that parents expressed various hopes, including those related to cure, quality of life, and relationships, often despite understanding the child's poor prognosis. The assignment evaluates the study's validity, trustworthiness, and credibility, concluding that the results are relevant for nursing practice by promoting hope and enhancing patient care. The analysis highlights the importance of eliciting realistic hopes and facilitating open discussions between parents and clinicians.

Running head: NURSING RESEARCH
NURSING RESEARCH
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Qualitative Appraisal Table
List Article in APA format: Kamihara, J., Nyborn, J. A., Olcese, M. E., Nickerson, T.,
& Mack, J. W. (2015). Parental hope for children
with advanced cancer. Pediatrics, 135(5), 868-874.
Question:1st page of 869, in
the last sentence of second
paragraph
RO1: Does hope coexist in understanding of the poor
prognosis of child suffering from cancer?
RO2: What are the types of hopes that parents have that are
aware that the child do not have realistic chance of
survival?
Design: It involves qualitative description design for conducting the
study.
Sample: In the method
section in page no 869
The parent of children of less than 18 years old with
advanced cancer were used as participants. It was
conducted in two cancer facilities from the period of Feb
2010 to October 2013. In the study, conversation between
parents and clinicians of 32 children suffering from
relapsed or refractory cancer was audiotaped and interview
was conducted for understanding the hope and expectation
for the child. It can be argued that the clinicians and other
healthcare professionals were also a part of the sample
however, for ease of the researcher, only data from the
parent were utilized. The focus of the study was directed
on the parent and minor focus was on the clinicians and
providers.
Procedures:  The oncologist was visited for seeking permission

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to approach parent for the study.
 Parent were approached either by phone or in
person leading to a conversation (prognostic
discussion) about the children’s advanced cancer.
 It involve informed consent from parents and
providers
 The conversation between parent and provider were
recorded in an audio format.
 One parent that had the authority of decision-
making was chosen for the semi-structured
interview and the period of data collection was 6
weeks. It was audio-recorded and transcribed.
 The medical history of the child was reviewed for 1
years after interview in order to determine the
results.
Appraisal- Are the results valid, trustworthy and credible? (Describe below.)
Are the results
valid/trustworth
y and credible?
Yes ✔
No____
Sample selection:
The use of randomized, convenience sampling selection
techniques was used. Thirty-two participants were used for
conducting the study where the directed content analysis
was employed for analysis. The transcripts were evaluated
with the use of audiotapes in order to assess the accuracy
of the result. Moreover, the use of ETHNOGRAPH
software was performed in order to validate the result and
avoiding bias. An initial coding scheme was used for

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clarification. In addition, the results were sub-sectioned
under various topics, thus, demonstrating the
trustworthiness and credibility of the outcomes.
The comparison was done among participating parents and
non-participating parents that yield no differences in
results.
27 clinicians had participated in the conversation, all the
conversation included at least 1 physicians, and 3 NPs was
used.
Accuracy and completeness:
 The result was accurate in nature as it used the
primary data collection method, the use of a coding
mechanism, and statistical software was used that
helped in determining the low percentage of errors
in the study.
 Individual authors that proved the completeness as
well as maintaining the quality of data in the
research transcribed the entire transcript.
 The transcript was reviewed using audio tapes and
managed using software program called
Ethnograph.
 The authors were transparent as sufficient detail
was shown in the procedure of the research.
Plausibility/Believability:
 It can be stated that when the result was segregated

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into different sections, thus, it made complete sense
and was easy to interpret by the audience
connecting the subject and the reader. Thus, it was
understood by the audience.
 From the study, discussion of various attributes
helped in understanding the purpose of the study;
thus, the result can be stated to be plausible or
believable in nature.
What were the results of the study? (Answer below.)
What were the results of
the study?
Approach/Purpose/Phenomenon: The approach was
direct and straight forward in nature. The purpose of the
result was to evaluate the meaning of hope to parents
whose children have cancer and exploring the extent to
which these parents feels hopeful about the approaching
death of the child.
Reported Results: The result was organized and it
included data of child and the entire conversation in a
transcribed manner. From the statement given by the parent
in relation to prognosis, it was seen that it was similar to
that made by clinicians about the diagnosis of relapsed or
refractory cancer of the child. The language was referred to
as hope, and parents expressed hope for children in relation
to cure, treatment response, improvement in the quality of
life, love, normalcy and relationship with the child. The
expectations of parents were not aligned with hope as they

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hoped for cure but did not believe that complete treatment
is possible.
Will the results help me in caring for my patients? (Provide the information below to
substantiate your answer).
Will the results help me in
caring for my patients?
Relevance:
The result will validate the caring process for my patient as
it will help in the promotion of hope among the parent;
thus, encouraging having a positive outlook on the
treatment and care of cancer in the nursing practice. It will
enhance my knowledge and skills as a registered nurse.
Application: It can be applied in the caring of my patients
by eliciting realistic hopes to both the child and parents,
which can be initiated by the direct discussion of the
parents with clinicians in addressing the critical issue of
advanced cancer setting.

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References
Kamihara, J., Nyborn, J. A., Olcese, M. E., Nickerson, T., & Mack, J. W. (2015). Parental
hope for children with advanced cancer. Pediatrics, 135(5), 868-874.