Introduction: – This article was written by Linda Bern, Monica Brandt, Nwanneka Mubela, Uzanma Asoyne, Tracey Fisher, Yolanda Shaver and Carla Serrill. It has been peer reviewed being written for scholarship. The copyright is assigned to MEDSURG Nursing: Journal of Adult Health. It is the Property of Janniette Publications Inc.
Article focus: – The focus of this article is to inform an audience about a research conducted to determine the accuracy of a contemporary automated device, noninvasive blood pressure device in hospitalized medial patients (Bern et.al, 2007)
Methodology: – The researchers adopted a scientific research technique by retrieving a sample form the potential population of patients. A comparative analysis approach was applied to explain findings.
Instruments and Materials: – For this study the researchers employed physical material as the instruments. They were the manual Sphynomanometer and Automatic BP.
Procedure and Data collection techniques: – Data were collected by first dividing the sample into two groups. The first group had their BP taken with the manual BP apparatus then the automated. Subsequently, the second group had theirs taken by the automated BP apparatus, first. After that the manual device was used. There were a total of 126 patients selected with seven trained staff assigned to taking the blood pressure over a period of six months.
Interpretation and data analysis: – The researchers choose to interpret, summarize and display their findings using descriptive statistics as a quantitative measurement and comparative analysis in the qualitative capacity. Tables were also used in assisting of the display of data.
Results-Clinical implications: – It was revealed that there were significant differences in systolic values between Blood Pressure taken by the automated device and ones conducted manually.
Critique
Once the aims, methodology, procedures, instrumentation, data collection techniques, interpretation and results have been completed there are now questions to be asked form a scientific methodology perspective.
The sampled population: – When carefully examined, the selection can create some degree of bias to the study and conclusions drawn. The focus was to determine accuracy of measurements between two devices used among inpatients. Accuracy of measurement has then become the independent variable. The two devices and the inpatients have become the dependant variables. Why is the study then limited to inpatients? There could be a great difference in the degree of accuracy among inpatients and out patients as well. What good it does to diagnosis and medicine if there is information available only on inpatients? A bias exists in this sense of arriving at a valid conclusion.
Data collection technique: – Seven trained nurses were used to take the readings on 126 in patients over a six month period. Patients had to qualify having had some specific arm circumference measurements. This then means that significant numbers of the population were excluded using this data collection technique.
What about the patients who were not hospitalized at that time with the arm measurement criteria? They again have been excluded from the assessment. Why the inpatient population then was divided? That was not fully explained because scientific studies which carry controls do not utilize identical populations. Here is where the control of out patients would have bee applicable.
Conclusions: – When utilizing descriptive statistics it has been concluded that there were differences in systolic measurements. This was observed from among the groups that were sampled for the study. These conclusions were arrived at after the devices had been applied. There were no significant changes in the diastolic pressure. It is still left to be explained where the determination in accuracy of measurement utilizing these two devices lay.
Reference
Bern et.al (2007). Differences in Blood Pressure values obtained with Automated and Manual Methods in Medical inpatients. MEDSURG Nursing: Journal of Adult Health, 4(1), 31-45.