Nursing Research Critique Provision of Acute Nursing

¶ … Nursing Research Critique

Provision of acute nursing care is impacted by complex needs of hospitalized patients suffering from dementia. Despite of the gains that have been made in the realms of medical care, older adults have had to contend with progressive cognitive decline, functional decline, and challenging behaviors that impact the quality of their lives. Quality of life of patients suffering from dementia is further eroded by suboptimal healthcare. Elderly patients suffering from dementia are at risk group because the healthcare providers lack understanding of the etiology of the cognitive impairment and misrepresentation of the condition (Joosse, Palmer & Lang, 2013).

The purpose for carrying out the research is explicitly stated. The research seeks to address the challenges in providing care to hospitalized patients suffering dementia and delirium superimposed on dementia. The research also seeks to outline nursing assessments, problem identification, and interventions for dementia and delirium that can promote quality of life and care of the elderly suffering from the condition (Joosse, Palmer & Lang, 2013). The study also outlines synthesized recommendations to guide clinical practice.

This study is relevant to the nursing practice in that nursing is all about care giving. By the virtue of the fact that elderly patients are normally taken to healthcare facilities where remedies for their condition are sought, it is imperative that an evidenced-based nursing practice is put in place. The nursing best practice should be one that helps in identifying, managing, and therapeutically responding the cognitive status and changes in older adult population suffering from dementia.

The study can be considered an eye opener with regard to caring for older patients suffering from dementia. There have been difficulties in recognizing challenges pertaining cognitive status and changes in older adult population. This study advocates for using best known evidence by nurses to guide assessments, interpretation of findings, and treatment plans in improving quality of life of patients suffering from dementia considering that most patients suffering from dementia are hospitalized, something that has added to the complexity and challenge of treatment. The care has focused on acute medical surgical reasons for admissions.

This study will increase nursing practice in the sense that it will enhance provision of optimal care to adult population with cognitive decline something that has been a concerning to all and sundry in the health profession reams and even policymakers.

The study was commissioned with a view to addressing the acute nursing care needs of hospitalized older adults struggling with progressive cognitive decline, functional decline, and challenging behaviors that impact their quality of life.

It is not explicitly stated the body that funded this study. However, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukie's Colleges of Nursing and Nursing Knowledge-Based Nursing-based research seemed to have funded the studies.

The research questions are not explicitly stated. However, from the introduction you can easily appreciate that the main question is whether suboptimal care erode the quality of life of hospitalized patients suffering from sequelae of dementia.

The objectives of the study are clearly stated in the introduction. The question and the objectives match the purpose of the study which is enhancing the quality of life of hospitalized older adults struggling with progressive cognitive decline, functional decline, and challenging behaviors. The objectives: describing challenges in providing care to hospitalized patients; nursing assessments, problem identification, and interventions; and synthesized recommendations all work towards realization of the purpose of the study.

The study had dependent and independent variables. Diagnosis with dementia was dependent on history of cognitive impairment, history of chronic cognitive decline, and signs and symptoms of confusion.

The study hypothesizes that cognitive impairment, dementia, and delirium are overlooked in diagnosis and treatment plans. This corroborates the study's purpose of enhancing quality of life and nursing care to hospitalized adults with progressive cognitive decline, functional decline, and challenging behavior.

The literature review was so comprehensive bearing in mind that 610 abstracts were reviewed. The literature review was current since materials published between 2002 and 2012 were used. The landmark publication mentioned in the literature review is the work of Hong. Majority of sources in the literature review section were primary because the study was interested in identifying best known evidence on the topic of dementia and how the practice can enhance quality of life and nursing care to hospitalized adults with progressive cognitive decline, functional decline, and challenging behavior.