Research article critique methodology and applications

¶ … Mental Health with Health Care Use and Cost: A Population Study" published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry written by Cawthorpe, Guyn, Li and Lu (2011).

Cawthorpe, Guyn, Li and Lu (2011) report a study with the goals of comparing the health costs of two groups: (1) those with psychiatric diagnoses; and (2) those without psychiatric diagnoses. Nine years of billing data from physicians was used in the study. The methodology reported is that the dataset that contained registration data for the patients who were in receipt of public mental health service was "constructed and subsequently matched" according to sex and age. (p.490)

Sampling in the Study

It is reported that three groups emerged: (1) a comparison patient PD group; (2) comparison patients with psychiatric disorders in physicians only; and (3) patients without PDs treated in specialized care that was publicly funded or by their physicians. (Cawthorpe, Guyn, Li and Lu, 2011, paraphrased)

Group Comparison

Comparison was conducted of 42 million records for billing and then the average number of visits compared with average health billing cost per patient during the nine years across all groups. The results stated include that the health costs were higher for patients with PD group and the comparison patient PD group when compared with the patient non-PD group. The study concludes that mental health problems indicate that that the health expenditures for individuals will be higher than for patients with no mental health problem. (Cawthorpe, Guyn, Li and Lu, 2011, paraphrased)

Analysis

The study utilized a quantitative methodology which is a viable methodology to utilize in the area of health care costs and one that renders results that are serviceable and that inform the health care process. The work of Curry, Nembhard and Bradley (2009) reports "Qualitative methods should be considered when the research aim is 1 or more of the following