Abstract
The term Intimate Partner Violence or IPV refers to the physical, psychological, sexual and coercive violence a person suffers from the current or former partner. IPV is among the most common forms of domestic violence across the world. Women are the main victims of IPV. The main contributing factor is that men are physically stronger compared to their women counterparts. Consequently, they succumb to their male partners’ aggressive and coercive actions. Many countries across the world do not have elaborate legal policies to curb IPV cases among women. In addition, clinics and hospitals do not have elaborate policies or strategies to treat women who sustain injuries and health conditions from IPV. The nurses’ preparedness to intervene in various health problems in a country is a fundamental aspect of the healthcare system. In this article, Sundborg, Saleh-Stattin, Wandell, and Tornkvist (2012) conducted research to determine the nurses’ preparedness to deal with IPV cases among women. Based on a critical appraisal of each section of the article, the authors effectively applied both qualitative and quantitative approaches to collect and analyze relevant data for the study.
Introduction
The organization of a research article helps in creating an understanding of the study objectives. A great organization eliminates the possibility of overlapping thoughts and ideas, which might cause confusion. In this regard, the authors organized the article content into abstract, background, methodology, results, discussion, study limitations and conclusion (Fahim & Bagheri, 2012). The content in the subsequent sections is tied together in terms of thoughts and ideas in order to enhance the flow of information. The article has maintained the coherency of concepts within the topic. The discussions, data collected and results revolve around the nurses’ preparedness to deal with IPV among women. As a result, it provides useful information that might help policymakers to create legal and systematic structures for controlling the IPV cases in Sweden and other countries across the world (Haggblom & Moller, 2009). The following part provides a critical appraisal of each section independently. That helps in determining their relevance and effective contribution to the study topic.
The Article’s Abstract
The abstract is the most important part of a research article. It provides a clear picture of the entire article. A poorly written abstract will paint a negative picture of the content of the article. Therefore, it is important to develop a strong abstract that helps the users to understand the content of the article even before reading it. In this regard, Sundborg et al. (2012) have provided a brief summary of all sections, which are background, methodology, results and conclusion. The summary contains key information presented in each section. The abstract also gives the picture of the study organization, objective and success of the study.
Background
The background section is used to describe the history and the nature of the research problem with respect to the existing information. A good background must provide the reason for the study, its scope, and the success level of the previous researchers in the investigation of the problem (Wilson et al., 2015). The background should note specific gaps existing in the study topic and try to address them. That way, the researchers are able to develop the study found. Although it is not intended to be the focus of the study, the background expands on the key information illustrated in the introductory section (Fahim & Bagheri, 2012).
As an introductory part, the article provides a definition of IPV based on the previous literature. The definition of the key term is fundamental in providing the direction for the study. The focus of the study is on the major issues, which are the prevalence among women exposed to IPV and the ability of nurses to care for them. The background has provided basic information about the IPV victims and nurses’ responses to the problem (Sundborg et al., 2012). The study background also addresses the effects of IPV, which have been identified by other researchers. It explores what the existing literature has written about nursing intervention strategies, which include training, enough support and the need to have more time with IPV victims. According to Fahim and Bagheri (2012), the suggested strategies allow the researchers to develop an effective foundation for their research study. The suggested approaches to improve the care to IPV victims create a foundational knowledge of the current study topic.
Based on the previous studies on the topic, the background has described the gaps and shortcomings in the field. One of them is the failure of the government to institute systems that could address IPV and its victims. The article has identified the lack of elaborate resources for the nurses to care for the women who have been exposed to IPV as one of the gaps. Because of that, nurses deal with identified cases according to the patients’ own rights instead of enforcing policies. Lack of knowledge and fear of breaching the integrity of women are among the shortcomings identified in the background section. Lack of coordination among stakeholders is another contributing factor to the poor preparedness of nurses to care for IPV victims (Haggblom & Moller, 2009). The analysis of the gaps in the background section helps the researchers to establish a strong foundation of the argument. As a result, the researchers are able to add knowledge to the existing studies.
Methodology
The methodology section illustrates the study design and plan of data collection and analysis. The methodology approach determines the mode of data collection, presentation techniques, and analysis (Wilson et al., 2015). It illustrates legal and ethical issues regarding the study to establish the validity and authenticity of the data. The study is based on the questionnaires as the quantitative tool for collecting data from the study sample. In order to collect reliable information, relevant survey professionals have assessed and approved the questionnaires. That way, the authenticity and reliability of the questions in the survey context meet the required standards. To prove their validity and assess whether they could provide the necessary information, researchers went ahead to test the questionnaire on 39 nurses (Sundborg et al., 2012). The step was important because the nurses were the target population sample.
When conducting a research study, specific issues of the topic must be addressed into detailed in order to achieve the study objectives. The sample size and their demographic information are important in the presentation of the results and analysis. The analysis of the sample’s responses can be effective if they are classified using their demographic information. Sundborg et al. (2012) classified the population in terms of their sex, age, country of birth, profession and years of experience. The four demographic factors determine the nurses’ knowledge and experience about IPV women. For instance, female nurses are more likely to understand the issues related to IPV compared to male nurses. Age is directly proportional to the years of experience in the nursing profession. The country of birth, on the other hand, determines the scope of the study in terms of the countries.
The core of the study is the nurses’ preparedness to deal with IPV cases. These include the working conditions and personal attitude of the nurses towards the victims. The working conditions in primary health care determine the type of response of a nurse towards different patients. A supportive environment will encourage nurses to assist women exposed to IPV. On the other hand, the personal attitude of the nurses contributes significantly towards the care for the victims. The assessment has helped the researchers to identify knowledge and experience as the main contributing factors. The participants provided direct answers such as “Yes” and “No”. The approach is effective in collecting quantitative data, which can be analyzed using descriptive tools (Fahim & Bagheri, 2012).
Setting and Data Collection
In terms of data collection methods, the size of the study sample is sufficiently above 30, which is the minimum sample size for a peer-reviewed study. In a quantitative survey, a random selection of facilities and study sample is a strategy used to cover the wider geographical area. Through a random selection of data, the study provides the general view of the target population about the study topic. The article applied a random selection method to choose 40 public health care centers out of 174 in Stockholm County. In addition, it randomly captured 277 nurses working in the 40 selected health care facilities (Sundborg et al., 2012). The approach helps in covering the entire region of Stockholm County.
Data Analysis
Statistical tools are effective in analyzing numerical data. The results obtained from the analysis determine the significance of the study (Wilson et al., 2015). To analyze the demographic aspect of the data, the study employs frequency tables. The table effectively classifies the demographic categories of the sample. It provides the percentage distribution of participants based on their responses. That way, the researchers are able to perform further analysis using descriptive tools. Pearson’s chi-square is the main descriptive tool used for the data analysis. To test the significance of the study results, the p-value plays a significant role. If the value of p is less than 0.05, the results are considered significant (Fahim & Bagheri, 2012). The variables are divided into the nurses’ preparedness, ability, and predictive factors that affect the nurses’ preparedness. The relationships of the variables are important in improving the strength of the information gathered. A statistical tool should be used to define the relationships between the dependent variables. In this regard, the study uses regression analysis to establish the strength and relationships of the dependent variables (Sundborg et al., 2012).
Ethical Consideration
Health care and nursing-related studies have an influence on the lives of patients and professionals. They are useful in improving the care services patients get from healthcare facilities. However, such studies should exhibit high standards of credibility (Fahim & Bagheri, 2012). Before giving the researchers permission to proceed with their survey, their research methodology and approaches must be approved by relevant bodies. The Regional Ethical Review Board of Stockholm County assessed the study approach and approved it.
Personal health is vital information that cannot be shared by a third party. Nurses have the obligation of keeping patients’ information from access by a third party. Because nurses were the target participants, the researchers assured them that the information provided would not be shared with a third party. The researchers also understood the possibility of stirring up emotional distress among the nurses who have had experience with IPV victims. Consequently, they provided a list of psychological service providers (Wilson et al., 2015). By getting approval from the relevant authority, the study had successfully addressed the possible ethical issues.
Results
The results presented in the study are based on the questionnaires, demographic and predictive factors that influence the nurses’ preparedness. They are also based on the total number of samples and the number of respondents. Out of the 277 participants, those who responded were 192 (Sundborg et al., 2012). Among those who did not respond, 48 gave reasons for their failure to participate. The information implies that the majority of the participants selected did not ignore the survey questionnaires. The percentage distribution of the responses per question provides an overview of the respondents’ views and actions regarding the topic. The results were also based on demographic information such as sex, age, profession, years of experience and country of birth. The approach of presenting the results conforms to the methodology and approaches designed for the research (Canuel, Rance, Avillach, Degoulet, Burgun, 2014). To develop the study variables, the results were presented in terms of the nurses’ knowledge, ability, and support. The results were useful in developing the dependent variables and determining their strengths and relationships.
The use of a recruitment flowchart helped in providing information about the sample size and the participants who took part in the study. The flowchart simplifies the information of the study sample for easy analysis. The frequency distribution table has been used to provide the result of the demographic information. The tool has effectively presented the demographic variables and percentage distribution of each variable. It provides the mean and standard deviation, which are essential in determining the range of variables (Fahim & Bagheri, 2012). The questionnaire template has also been used to present the study results.
As stated in the methodology section, the questionnaires are divided into four sections. The first section gathers information on the nurses’ views about attitude, which is one of contributing factors towards handling the IPV cases. The second set of questions seeks information about the nurses’ preparedness to deal with the IPV cases among women (Sundborg et al., 2012). The third group of questions explores the nurses’ knowledge about IPV. The last set of questions seeks information about the nurses’ response approaches after detecting IPV cases. The multivariate logistic regression was used as a tool to compare variables, which ascertain the nurses’ preparedness in dealing with the identified cases.
Discussions
The organization of the discussion sections has effectively addressed the information obtained in the results section. It is organized into a summary, problems and suggested responses to curb the issues related to the nurses’ preparedness (Canuel et al., 2014). From the study results, the researchers discovered various shortcomings of the nurses’ preparedness to respond to IPV cases. In the discussion section, the researchers identify the problems and suggest solutions. The main issue that arises from the study is the lack of organizational policies to provide care services to IPV women. The health system lacks an established legal system that could provide the nurses with the mandate to treat the IPV victims. To provide solutions, the study revisits the existing literature and the manner in which they address the shortcomings.
They identified a lack of formal guidelines for appropriate nursing care and coordination with the relevant authorities. Based on the previous literature, the article suggests the need for organizational support as a way of improving care for women exposed to IPV. Education of nurses and other stakeholders based on the proposed guidelines would be essential in increasing the preparedness. The suggestions are based on the existing studies. The article has also linked the previous studies with the results from the study samples. Having only 5 percent of the respondents being aware of the existing guidelines supports the idea of the inaccessible guidelines (Sundborg et al., 2012). All nurses would access an elaborate guideline established by the relevant authority. The information from the results is also supported by the existing literature. Consequently, the study suggests the need for paying special attention to the issue in order to address the lack of knowledge and guidelines.
The attitude of women influences the intervention of nurses. From the study results, nurses are not free to ask the patients about their IPV experience because of their attitude. It is difficult for the nurses to ascertain the attitude of the patients. In this regard, the article recommends the establishment of training programs to deal with the problem. The training would have significant impacts on the decision-making process of nurses (Haggblom & Moller, 2009). Based on the previous studies, women exposed to IPV prefer to be interrogated directly by the nurses. To tie the information with the current study results, the article reveals that 50 percent of the participants always asked their patients when they suspected the cases of IPV (Sundborg et al., 2012). All these problems are pointed to the lack of appropriate guidelines and policies to deal with IPV cases.
Weaknesses of the Study
The first weakness of the study is the lack of an introduction section. The introduction provides a brief overview of the study, the problem of the statement, objectives, and hypotheses. The section sets the ground for the study rationale. Without this section, the study lacks specific objectives. Consequently, clarity of result, analysis, and conclusion might be lacking. In the methodology part, the article does not provide a control survey. Because it is investigative research, a control survey would improve the credibility of the research. The use of the chi-square test to determine the study’s significance lacks in the results section (Fahim & Bagheri, 2012). The researchers have not shown how they used the chi-square as one of the descriptive tools selected for the study. On the other hand, the flowchart used in the results section was not included in the methodology part. Although the study included recommendations for each problem in the discussion part, it would be more logical to have a recommendation part (Wilson et al., 2015).
Conclusion
Although the study has some weaknesses, it meets the requirement of a peer-reviewed article. The abstract has provided brief information on each section of the study. The background information includes a review of the existing literature on the topic. The methodology explains the methods of data collection and selected tools for data analysis. The study is credible because the relevant authority approved it. The results are also based on the selected analytic tools. The discussion section identifies the problems related to the nurses’ preparedness and proposes recommendations. The study has several limitations related to the response of the study sample. However, it has successfully addressed the problems facing the nurses’ preparedness to provide health care services to IPV patients. It also provides recommendations for each of the problems identified. The recommendations would help to cover the existing gaps and create an opportunity for future studies.
References
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Fahim, M., & Bagheri, B. (2012). Fostering critical thinking through Socrates’ questioning in Iranian language institutes. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 3(6), 1122-1127.
Haggblom, M., & Moller, R. (2009). Implementation of a government policy program on operation Kvinnofrid. Nursing Inquiries, 16(1), 43-52.
Sundborg, E., Saleh-Stattin, N., Wandell, P., & Tornkvist, L. (2012). Nurses’ preparedness to care for women exposed to intimate partner violence: A quantitative study in primary health care. BMC Nursing, 11(1), 1-12.
Wilson, M., Sleutel, M., Newcomb, P., Behan, D., Walsh, J., Wells, N., & Baldwin, M. (2015). Empowering nurses with evidence-based practice environments: Surveying magnet, the pathway to excellence, and non-magnet facilities in one healthcare system. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 12(1), 12-21.