¶ … Telehealth Technology
Chronic obstructive pulmonary (COP) is one of the serious diseases in the United States that places a great burden on patients as well as healthcare systems based on its associated high rate of hospitalization, outpatients visit and readmissions. (Sarah et al. 2016). Over the years, the COP has become a major public health issue globally with more than 65 million cases. (Sarah et al. 2016). In 2010, the United States recorded a direct cost of $32.1 billion based on the prevalence of the COP disease. In the UK, 1.6% of the population is suffering from the COP contributing to the burden of over £800 million per annum with the direct medical costs of approximately £625 million annually. (Sarah et al. 2016). Despite its associated direct costs burden, the prevalence of the COP is likely to increase because of a rise in aging population.(Sarah et al. 2016).
The telehealth has been considered as an effective healthcare intervention to manage the COP disease. The telehealth is a workable and attractive solution capable of meeting the healthcare needs of people. Brewster, et al. (2013) define home telehealth as an exchange of health information from patients to healthcare professionals through electronic devices. (Brewster, et al. 2013). Typically, home telehealth can deliver significant benefits for patients suffering from COP disease that includes assisting in reducing mortality rates, department visits, and healthcare costs.(Sarah et al. 2016). Despite the associated benefits of the telehealth, Sarah et al. (2013) did not provide the data to support their assertion that home telehealth reduces the healthcare costs, departmental visit, and mortality rates.
Gorst, Armitage, Brownsell, & Hawley, (2014) argue that 20% of patients using the telehealth later abandon it and 32% of patients refuse to use it. Moreover, patients' involvement in the home telehealth's published research is still lacking. Patients also face technical problems representing a barrier to using the telehealth technology. Additionally, shortage of patients who have...
Moreover, several patients suffering from COP disease are unable to manipulate the telehealth equipment serving as a barrier in using COP patients for a research purpose. (Greenhalgh, Wherton, Sugarhood, et al. (2013).
This study provides a
critique of the research carried out by Sarah et al. (2016) titled "It's sort of a lifeline": Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients' experiences of home telehealth." (Sarah et al. 2016 p 60).
Method and Design
An identification of a method of data collection is very critical in an
empirical research. Typically, the qualitative and quantitative method are the major strategies used to collect and data. Although, Sarah et al. (2016) use a qualitative technique to collect data, however, the authors do not compare both the qualitative and
quantitative methods of data collection before choosing an appropriate data collection strategy. A
comparative analysis of both
research methods is essential to assist in identifying their shortcomings and benefits.
Compared to Brewster et al. (2013) who use the mixed method for the data collection and
data analysis, Sarah et al. (2016) may encounter several shortcomings by using the qualitative research. A data collection through qualitative technique is time-consuming and not cost-effective compared with
quantitative research. While Sarah et al. (2016) claim using the qualitative research to collect and analyze data, an overview of the author's research design reveals that the researchers use some elements of the quantitative technique in their research design. For example, the demographic data of the participants are presented in
numbers showing the age of the participants. Another shortcoming of the authors' research design is that the number of participants used to collect data are very small. The participants are only eight…
