14 Jan Is the study qualitative

MSN 602 ADVANCED THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF NURSING PRACTICE AND RESEARCH

Module 1 Discussion

Building an Evidence-Based Study

Questions 1-9. Below is a description of a study’s conceptual framework. Read the description and then answer the following questions 1-9.

There is abundant evidence that adolescents are at especially high risk of pregnancy complications and that their infants have a higher-than-average rate of low birth weight and neonatal death. Few studies, however, have examined the health status of children of adolescent mothers after the first few weeks of life, but findings suggest that these children continue to be at a health disadvantage throughout their childhood. The purpose of this study was to further explore factors that might lead to greater health problems and less appropriate use of health care among children born to adolescent mothers.

The theoretical framework for this study was the Health Belief Model (HBM). This model postulates that health-seeking behavior is influenced by the perceived threat posed by a health problem and the perceived value of actions designed to reduce the threat (Becker, 1978). Within the HBM, perceived susceptibility refers to a person’s perception that a health problem is personally relevant. It is hypothesized that young mothers, compared to older mothers, are developmentally unable to perceive their own (or their infant’s) susceptibility to health risk accurately. Furthermore, adolescent mothers are hypothesized to be less likely, because of their developmental immaturity, to perceive accurately the severity of their infants’ health problems and less likely to assess accurately the benefit of appropriate interventions than older mothers. Finally, teenaged mothers are expected to evaluate less accurately the costs (which, in the HBM, include the complexity, duration, accessibility, and financial costs) of securing treatment. Thus, because it is expected that adolescent mothers perceive lower threat and less susceptibility to health problems than older mothers, their children are at higher risk to health problems. In summary, the HBM provides an excellent vehicle for testing the mechanisms through which children of young mothers are at higher-than-average risk of severe health problems and are less likely to receive appropriate health care.

Is the framework for this study based on a conceptual model of nursing? Explain.

Would the HBM be described as a shared theory? Explain.

Is the HBM a grand theory? Explain.

Was the HBM used as a basis for developing hypotheses in this study? Explain.

Is the study qualitative or quantitative? Explain.

In the second paragraph, second sentence, the key “outcome” of the model is specified. What is it? Explain.

In this study, the HBM will be tested with two groups. What are they? Explain.

If the researcher’s hypotheses are not supported, would this study disprove the HBM? Explain.

Given the problem statement, what other theory or conceptual model could be used to guide the study? Explain why you chose the other theory.

This question does not refer to the above items 1-9. As part of your assigned readings you were to read the AACN MSN Essentials. What is the purpose of the AACN Masters Essentials?

List each of the nine Essentials and provide a statement in your own words about the value of the each individual Essential to advanced nursing practice.