Analyzing Importance of Health Care Research

¶ … Health Care Research

The definition of health care research has evolved over the last one hundred years or so. Many scholars and researchers define it differently. The University of Washington (2011) opines that the most detailed definition of health care is that given by the Academy for Health Service Research and Health Policy, which defines it as a branch of scientific inquiry that merges several fields looking into how factors such as access, cost individual mannerisms, financial systems, social factors, structures, processes and technologies affect the delivery of quality healthcare. The primary objective of this is to identify the best ways to organize, manage, finance and provide care that enhances patient safety and patient health outcomes (Ojo, 2014).

The objective of this paper is to highlight the importance of health care research in the modern day world. The idea of evidence-based practice and how it related to research is also discussed. Finally, a conclusion is given.

According to Jacobsen (2011), health care research is the process of scientifically looking into an aspect of social, mental, or physical well-being. Just from this definition, one can see the importance of research in healthcare; i.e. it is necessary for the safety and preservation of life. Research in health care guides physicians, specialists, scholars and authors in identifying, categorizing and helping find the treatment to both new and existing medical problems. There are several reasons why health care research is important for the modern day world. They include (Ojo, 2014):

Improved Medical Treatments and Cures

In the recent times many different drugs, medicines, treatment procedures and therapies have been discovered and documented through research. This is because for every one medicine discovered or released into the market, a lot of research and literature review has to be done to document its potency, intended effect and side effects. It is because of these medical discoveries that the average human life span has increased dramatically over the years. For instance, the average life span in the sixties was almost twice what it was in the thirties.

Knowledge Expansion

Knowledge is power. In health care, knowledge might be the difference between life and death. Over the last seven decades, hundreds of thousands of studies have been done that have increased the knowledge of health care practitioners. These studies have helped enhance the understanding of medical principles and issues. Most of the first medical practitioners in the past used to have some knowledge but a lot of what they did was guesswork. However, things have now changed. Through research, machines have been discovered and more accurate ways of diagnosis and treatment have been identified and documented. The side effects of certain drugs that physicians did not know about are now clear. Doctors can now treat people better and find out faster if there is anything wrong with a particular way of doing things in the hospital than they did in the past (Ojo, 2014).

Accuracy and Precision

Health care research has helped bring accuracy and precision into what physicians do as medical professionals. As they face new challenges and as old medical problems become further complicated by technology and other changes, the need for accuracy and precision is being increasingly felt by medical practitioners. Health care research and studies are, however, removing the need for guesswork. Decisions physicians make as medical practitioners are becoming less complicated. Research has given and is continuing to give the knowledge on various medical issues and how to identify and handle them more effectively (Ojo, 2014).

Healthcare Research in Relation to Its Impact on Evidence-Based Practices