Leadership Principles and Management

I. Statement of the Phenomenon of Interest
1. Is the phenomenon of interest clearly identified?
In the article, Steiner et al., (2009) explained how web-based strategies influence the decisions by stroke survivors to use healthcare services in their first year of recovery. The authors used an experimental design to sample the caregivers and in the investigation of the effects of web-based interventions that the patients sought.
2. Has the researcher identified why the phenomenon requires a qualitative format?
The study undertaking by the researchers was qualitative because it required the collection of data from secondary sources of selected participants and further analysis before conclusions could be drawn.
3. Are the philosophical underpinnings of the research described?
The need to undertake the research was premised on the fact that over 80% of the stroke survivors within the first year after surgery while the remaining 20% percent needed first attention from caregivers. The use of web-based interventions during this period vs. non-use influenced the research.
II. Purpose
1. Is the purpose of conducting the research made explicit?
 The purpose of conducting was clearly specified as two-pronged. The first research question sought to find the reasons and motivations behind stroke survivors in using healthcare services during their first year of recovery. The second question sought to identify the existence of any difference between patients that used web-based interventions and those who did not.
2. Does the researcher describe the projected significance of the work to nursing?
The researchers have shown how the study is significant to the nursing field. For instance, through the study, nurses will appreciate the reasons why stroke survivors use healthcare services, learn ways of dealing with post-stroke complications and learn how to relate and educate the survivors on dealing with the challenges related to recovery. With the knowledge, the nurses can be able to develop appropriate educational programs to help stroke survivors when dealing with the challenges. The role of web-based interventions is emphasized.
III. Method
1. Is the method used to collect data compatible with the purpose of the research?
The purposive descriptive design was appropriate to the research purpose because it enabled the researchers to choose their samples in their preferred healthcare settings. Moreover, the focus on the one-year recovery period enabled the researchers to focus on the efficiency of web-based interventions vs. nonuse among the individuals recovering from a stroke.
2. Is the method adequate to address the phenomenon of interest?
Given the conclusions drawn, I believe that the method is adequate in addressing the phenomenon. However, improvements can be made by increasing the sample size and the area under study. As seen from the study, only 73 people participated in the study from Michigan and Ohio. Perhaps increasing the sample size can help in enhancing the reliability of the conclusions drawn.
IV. Sampling
The researchers described clearly how they selected their samples. The participants had to be victims of stroke within the first year of recovery. The description also shows that they focused they research to Northern Ohio and Southern Michigan between 2002 and 2004. The sampling has categorically been stated as purposive and descriptive.
The informants used in the research were appropriate because they were stroke survivors and seeking web-based healthcare interventions from caregivers.
V. Data Collection
 The data collection procedures focused on human experience as it focused on the interventions adopted by caregivers of the stroke survivors. The data collection strategy involved the use of bi-monthly telephone interviews in stroke survivors on the reasons for visiting the hospitals and why they would stay overnight in the facilities. The 1999 NHIS survey questions were adapted for this study.
The issue of protecting the subjects or data saturation has not been addressed.  Nonetheless, the data collection methods are explicit.
VI. Data analysis
The main strength of this article lies in the fact that the authors have used an experimental approach to demonstrating the main message. The method is invaluable as it enhances the credibility of findings and the conclusions made. Moreover, it presents facts that have been tested and proven thereby reliable. In must be pointed out that the authors carried out a parallel control experiment to authenticate the variations that the study would bring (Steiner et al., 2009). Without the control experiment, it would have been hard to prove whether the observed reasons relating to the use of web-based interventions could occur.
However, the major weakness in the article relates to the sample size used in demonstrating the point. For instance, the authors used 36 random caregivers who had used web-based interventions and a control experiment of 37 caregivers who had not used the strategy (Steiner et al., 2009). In the circumstances presented, The sample size is small compared to the study population. Therefore, it is not wholly representative of the study population of all caregivers. Perhaps a larger sample size of about 1000 caregivers could have given different results. The researchers made several assumptions that could substantially affect the validity of the observations and the conclusions drawn. For instance, they assumed that all the stroke survivors in given healthcare facility would seek healthcare services from the same facility and the same caregivers. However, the assumption fails to recognize that stroke survivors from one health care facility could seek further healthcare from another facility and a different caregiver. Most importantly, the article fails to factor in the possibility that a survivor under a caregiver who does not use web-based interventions may seek subsequent help from caregivers using the web. Overall, this assumption compromises the validity of the findings, the observations, and conclusions made.
VII. Findings
Whereas the findings point to a specific pattern, the pattern may not be sustained over a large population size. Therefore, the observation drawn from such a small sample size could be misleading and hence could lead to a false conclusion about the use of web-based interventions by stroke survivors.

VIII. Conclusions, Implications, and Recommendations
The article’s main strength is its use of an experimental approach and a control experiment in authenticating the observation and the conclusion it makes. However, the article fails validity test based on the small sample size as well as the assumptions that the experiment makes. Perhaps, future studies should consider such factors as a strategy for strengthening the knowledge in this field.

Section 2 of this assignment
Pick 2 of the articles listed for this semester on caregivers that are similar in content [these articles may be different than the article chosen for Section 1 of the assignment]. 

(a) analyze the content of these articles in a few sentences, e.g., give a brief overview of the article.
In the article “Coherence in the Urban Family Caregiver Role with African American Stroke Survivors” Linda Pierce discusses how coherence among family members in urban families assist in enhancing caregiving to patients of stoke in the context of their families (Pierce, 2001). In contrast, the article “Problems Reported by Adult Daughters in the First Year Caring for Parents with Stroke” examines the problems that adult daughters face when they transition from being innocent young children to being their parents’ caregivers. In this article, Sommer et al. analyzed secondary data about the challenges that such daughters encounter in caregiving of their parents.

(b) compare and contrast between the 2 articles in paragraph format:  
1) discuss what is similar and what is different between these articles for the literature reviews, methods used, samples, and findings.
The articles are similar in some ways. Firstly, both studies take samples among caregivers from a home setting. However, the two studies use different sample sizes. Whereas Pierce used 24 participants of caregivers (Pierce, 2001), Sommer’s article uses a sample size of 73 caregivers (Steiner et al., 2016). Secondly, both articles have reviewed sufficient literature to demonstrate the existing body of knowledge about the topic besides showing the gap existing in the body of knowledge relating to caregivers and the challenges they face. Both studies used interviews as a method of the study that involved the use of open-ended questions. However, some distinction can be drawn from the two articles. For instance, whereas Sommer’s research involved further bimonthly follow-up telephone calls on the participants, Pierce did not involve any follow-up the only study undertaken was conclusive.
Overall, both studies are similar from the literature review dimension and methods of the study. The main difference in the two studies lies in the sample size that each study employees as well as in the use of telephone calls as a follow-up to the study. Nonetheless, the researchers have done well in addressing the topic of caregiving and challenges faced.

References
Steiner, V., Pierce, L., Windnagel, F., Martincin, K., Pawlak, R., & Salvador, D. (2009). The impact of a web-based caregiver intervention on the reasons stroke survivors use health care services during the first year post-treatment. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, 16(2), 122-132
Pierce, L. (2001). Coherence in the urban family caregiver role with African American stroke survivors. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, 8(3), 64-72. 
Sommer, L., Gies, C., Hefflinger, K., Skrzyniecki, C., Pierce, L. (2016). Problems reported by daughters in caring for parents with stroke. Journal of Women’s Health, Issues & Care, 5(6), 1-5