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Topic: Research Critique Appraisal.

 Author:

Introduction

            Empathy an interpersonal skill basically means potential to comprehend and appreciate emotions of one another in that one is able to understand the experiences of an individual though they are not in the same situation. For many nurses this is a key element in the therapeutic relationship that occurs during the period of hospitalization of the patient and contributes significantly to a better outcome. However most nurses lack this key interpersonal skill due to the nature of the training and practice they undergo that heavily relies on science to base its arguments. This development has led to many researchers to seek ways to promote empathy in the bedside area as most of them tend to think that nurses who practice empathy on their patients are more likely to develop better outcomes than those who do not. Nevertheless some theories are more likely to be valid than others.

 Background of study

Alhadidi, Abdalrahim & Al-Hussami, (2016) sought to find out the degree of empathy and caring among nurses in the psychiatric units and its influence in the patients’ wellbeing. In the study they posit that empathy is a key determinant to a patient’s wellbeing and its utilization on psychiatric patients would realize better health outcomes. This was not far from another study conducted bySternke, Abrahamson & Bair, (2016), where they purposed to deduce that patients suffering long term pain and depression who felt cared for achieved better health outcomes. In both studies the researchers explain that empathy being an interpersonal skill that leans on caring, contributes to better health outcomes and seems to alleviate emotional suffering in patients mostly those with chronic pain and depression.

In the study conducted by Alhadidi, Abdalrahim & Al-Hussami, (2016), they pursued to answer the following research questions; how many nurses perform empathetic care in the psychiatric unit? How does empathetic care influence the well being of the patient in the psychiatric unit? This was in relation to the study conducted by Sternke, Abrahamson &Bair, (2016), where they sought to answer the following research questions; Do patients who experience chronic pain or depression feel cared for when empathetic care is perceived? Does empathetic care encourage the patients toward better health outcomes? In both studies the studies the researchers aimed at evaluating whether practicing empathy would lead to a better health outcome which was outlined in the research questions that were in perfect correlation with the picot question.

                                    Method of study

In the study conducted by Alhadidi, Abdalrahim & Al-Hussami, (2016), a cross-sectional survey was done in order to gather data among nurses attending to patients in the psychiatric units in three Jordanian hospitals. The survey was well suited to achieve the primary goal of answering the specific research questions in that it involved nurses and was done on different hospitals same as the study by Sternke, Abrahamson &Bair, (2016), where a focused group discussion took place among participants experiencing long term pain and depression in hospitals in order to explain the association of expression of empathetic care to patients suffering from long term pain and depression feeling cared for and achievement of better health outcomes.

Sternke, Abrahamson &Bair, (2016), incorporated relevant studies conducted by Ballew, Hannum, Gaines, Marx, & Parrish, (2012), where the function of emotional activities such as empathy in the relationship between long term illness and mental well-being was evaluated and another study conducted by Banja, (2008), where the researcher sought to explain the effect of an empathetic relationship in pain medicine. In the excerpt Sternke, Abrahamson &Bair, (2016), outlined that research which zeroed-in on patients’ thoughts about empathy in the masses was limited making the basis for an argument to conduct the research.  On the other hand, Alhadidi, Abdalrahim & Al-Hussami, (2016) included a study conducted by Hogan, Beverly, and Edited by Shattell &Cleary (2013) where expression of a caring attitude among nurses  was evaluated in the scope of mental health to firmly support the study. In-order to form the basis of the argument Abdalrahim & Al-Hussami, (2016) outlined insufficient evidence from previous studies as the shortcomings in the research problem.

Sternke, Abrahamson &Bair, (2016), extensively expounded on the research problems through the literature reviews that sufficiently formed a basis for his logical argument which was in similarity to the study conducted by Alhadidi, Abdalrahim & Al-Hussami, (2016), where past studies that correlated to the study were evaluated in order to form a strong basis for his argument. In-order to discuss their findings Sternke, Abrahamson &Bair, (2016), utilized a framework to discuss his findings in the research where empathic actions together with listening were outlined.

                                    Results of the study

Sternke, Abrahamson &Bair, (2016), outlined that patients who received empathetic care claimed that their periods of hospitalization became more bearable despite the chronic conditions as compared to those who lacked empathetic care. Furthermore lack of empathetic listening together with empathetic action was associated with a perception of an uncaring attitude and frustration. These findings were in line to the study conducted by Alhadidi, Abdalrahim & Al-Hussami, (2016), where psychiatric patients who received empathetic care got off depression quite easily as compared to patients who did not. Moreover they outlined that empathetic care from the nurses was a critical tool towards boosting the morale of the patient and increasing adherence to medication.

These findings seemed to imply that nurses should emulate empathetic care into their curriculum as it contributes to better outcomes and leads to emotional wellness which is a core contributor to therapeutic healing. In the studies the researchers deduced that when empathetic care is incorporated into bedside care the patients would achieve better outcomes and the nurses would gain satisfaction even though it requires a lot of attention and commitment.

                                    Ethical considerations

The study conducted by Sternke, Abrahamson &Bair, (2016) was consented to by the institutional review boards (IRBS) of Indiana University and the research and development committee of Roudebush medical center which was similar to the research performed by Alhadidi, Abdalrahim & Al-Hussami, (2016), which was approved by The Qasid Institute. In both studies privacy was upheld in that participant information was not divulged to external sources. Nevertheless no ethical issues were raised concerning the studies as no invasions that proved to be of threat to the integrity of the participants were performed.

                                    Conclusion

Empathy has a clear and concise positive impact on the health outcome of the patient both therapeutically and emotionally which is basically the most important aim of any nurse attending to a patient in any setting. Moreover these two studies seem to cement the idea that for nurses to attain higher rates of better patient outcomes, empathy should be incorporated into the curriculum as well as practice so that the nursing profession would encompass a caring attitude resulting into an improvement of the image.

                                                References

Alhadidi, M. M., Abdalrahim, M. S., & Al‐Hussami, M. (2016). Nurses’ caring and empathy in     Jordanian psychiatric hospitals: A national survey. International journal of mental health        nursing, 25(4), 337-345.

Ballew, S. H., Hannum, S. M., Gaines, J. M., Marx, K. A., & Parrish, J. M. (2012). The role of      spiritual experiences and activities in the relationship between chronic illness and     psychological well-being. Journal of Religion and Health,          51(4), 1386–1396.

Banja, J. D. (2008). Toward a more empathic relationship in pain medicine. Pain Medicine, 9,       1125–1129.

Kay Hogan, B., & Cleary, E. B. M. S. P. R. A. M. (2013). Caring as a scripted discourse versus    caring as an expression of an authentic relationship between self and other. Issues in      mental health nursing, 34(5), 375-379.

Sternke, E. A., Abrahamson, K., & Bair, M. J. (2016). Comorbid chronic pain and depression:      patient perspectives on empathy. Pain management nursing, 17(6), 363-371.

Mother tongue

Amy Tan’s story about the mother tongue is an interesting one. The story highlights how language is not only used as a tool of communication, but also used as a sociological tool. In most cases, we perceive language as a tool that is used to pass information from one individual or a group of people to another. However, we rarely look at it from a sociological point of view. For instance, a person who has been socialized in a Chinese set up may learn English as a second language. This makes the difference between a person who speaks English as the first language and that individual who learnt it as a second language. While one will speak ‘broken language, the other one will speak the standard language. Use of either standard or broken English gives an individual a social tag. Speaking broken English in a standard-speaking-audience makes one be perceived from either a racial or ethnic viewpoint.

Thrift stores are thriving

Thrift stores were once disregarded by potential buyers on account of selling products that have been used. For instance, buying donated clothes from thrift stores was once affected by the notion that they may contain germs. These germs may be difficult to remove from the clothes and to some extent, may cause skin irritation. However, the perception of the consumers towards thrift stores is changing. Most consumers prefer purchasing their products from thrift stores because they usually sell valuable goods at a low price. Secondly, purchasing goods from thrift stores is preferred on account of the notion that the money collected is channeled to non-governmental organizations, which embarks on supporting humanitarian courses. Supporting humanitarian courses gives a perception that one buys not only for him or herself, but to support a certain initiative. Lastly, thrift stores are thriving because goods are sold at a relatively low cost compared to other stores.

The constant battle

J C Kurtis, in his book, the constant battle is a reflection of the hard situations that we are faced within our lives. He highlights the extent to which people may find themselves in the middle of the battle, which affects them to the point of considering suicide. He also highlights the experience that he was faced with when he lost some of his best friends and an account of the broken marriage. The constant battle paints a picture of human life. In most cases, we find ourselves in the middle of the battle, where we do not know what action to take and what to disregard. It also paints a picture of how we deal with the hard situations that face us in our lives. In my view, committing suicide should never be a consideration as it only leaves those who care about us in deep trouble that they are when we are alive.

Our fear

Our fear is a piece that was written to reflect the normal life of human beings, which is described by many worries, which we are in the struggle of overcoming. While in some cases these fears appear to be too overwhelming for us the deal with, we must devise a way of overcoming them. When we fail to overcome these fears, we find ourselves at the point where we cannot achieve our goals or ambitions. Therefore. One of the critical aspects that we learn from overcoming we fear that we should have a way of overcoming these fears. This is to ensure that we have achieved whatever we dream about achieving. Equally, our worries have a positive aspect that is rarely looked at, which is the aspect of motivating us. Most of these fears are not what we feel or what we think. They are about what other people would think about us. Therefore, we should feel motivated to go past what people will say.

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