Key Advantages of Effective Communication in an Oncology Setting

Benefits of Effective Communication in an Oncology Setting
Source: Banerjee, S., Manna, R., Coyle, N., Shen, M., Pehrson, C., Zaider, T, . . . Bylund, C. (2016). Oncology nurses’ communication challenges with patients and families: A qualitative study. Nurse Educ Pract, 16(1), 193-201. doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2015.07.007.
The current research article is qualitative in nature. It is primarily exploratory research. The main purpose of qualitative research is to understand underlying opinion and reasons. It provides a deeper understanding of a phenomenon. Whereas, quantitative research is basically a research where the problem is quantified. Numeral data is generated which is analyzed to get comprehensive results. Data collection methods in qualitative research consist of unstructured or semi-structured techniques. A few common methods are interview method, focus groups and observation method. The sample size is usually small to get a better insight into the targeted phenomenon. However, in quantitative research, the sample size is relatively large. It makes use of survey method. The survey method can include any kind of survey whether paper, online, mobile and kiosk surveys. It also includes interviews, systematic observation and longitudinal studies (DeFranzo, 2011).
Identifying the Phenomenon
The current research in focus was conducted in hospital setting. The main purpose of the study was to understand the challenges faced by oncology nurses in effective communication with their patients having cancer in discussing death, dying and EOL goals of care. It focused on human experiences in natural setting and the phenomenon is relevant to nursing and health. 121 inpatient nurses working at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in United States participated in the study.
Structuring the Study
Research question
Yes, the research question specifies the need to study the challenges faced by oncology nurses in effective communication in large cancer hospital. The study mainly focused on challenges relevant to empathic communication and EOL care issues. Yes, there is a clear indication of the participant group and place in the research question. The participants group is oncology nurses working at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in United States.
The research method used in the study was survey method. The nurses were asked to fill an anonymous online pre-training survey. The main focus of the survey was to gain understanding of the challenges faced by inpatient oncology nurses. Potential nurse participants were selected by nurse leaders to participate in one of 13 communication skills trainings. Two weeks before the training, all nurse participants received invitation and were asked to complete an online survey. Quantitative and qualitative questions were included in the measures. Two –open ended questions were asked from the nurses to gain understating about the specific communication challenges they face. The questions were “What are the challenges in communicating empathically with your patients?” and “What is the most difficult aspect of discussing death, dying and EOL goals of care with patients?” Inclusion of open-ended questions was a good decision at end of the researcher as open-ended questions provide a greater margin to participant to express their thoughts openly. However, an in-depth qualitative interview would have been better.
Researcher’s perspective
The biases of the researcher have not been reported. The researchers provide structure of ideas that reflect their beliefs in literature review section.
Sample selection
It is very much clear that the selected sample is living the phenomenon of interest as the sample consists of inpatient oncology nurses working in a cancer hospital. The nurses face challenges in effective communication with their patients and this is the main focus of the study.
Data collection
The data sources and methods for gathering data have been mentioned in the method section. Survey method was used which included both quantitative and qualitative questions. However, the research lacks any evidence related to participant informed consent. It has not been mentioned in the method section that informed consent was taken from the participants. However, it has been mentioned that this educational study and the publication of this data was approved by Institutional Review Board.
Data Analysis
The responses to quantitative questions were computed using descriptive analysis and mean scores were calculated for self-confidence ratings in communicating empathically with patients and in discussing death, dying and EOL goals of care. For qualitative responses, thematic text analyses approach was used which involved in-depth review and interpretation of data. The researchers paint a picture of the participants’ reality as the original verbatim of the participants has been mentioned under every theme and themes identified by the researcher. The researchers further provide literature evidence in the discussion section for every theme and subtheme identified.
Describing the Findings
The process of thematic analysis along with coding method has been explained by the researchers in the data analysis section. So, it is easy for the readers to grab step by step guide from raw data to synthesis of results. The researchers linked their findings i.e. the challenges faced by oncology nurses in effective communication to existing literature only. No new theory was generated.
Which type of study do you prefer to read? Why do you like it?
I like to read studies which incorporate a mixed method where both quantitative and qualitative methods are used. Quantitative method can be used to gain breadth and more generalizability and qualitative method can be used to gain an in depth analysis of the phenomenon of interest. So, it is always a better idea to mix both together. However, it also depends on the gap in the literature and how it can be filled.
References
DeFranzo, S. E. (2011). What’s the difference between qualitative and quantitative research? Retrieved from https://www.snapsurveys.com/blog/qualitative-vs-quantitative-research/