In the present article, the way female patients with HIV follow the doctors’ instructions is addressed. The research question is to examine the relationships between antiretroviral medication adherence and a set of indexes, namely context, environment, and psychological factors, in order to help professionals, provide better care for HIV-positive women (Tyer‐Viola, Corless, Webel, Reid, Sullivan, & Nichols, 2014).
As the authors state, the research incorporates three groups of independent variables. Context variables include income, education, race, age, and so on; depression symptoms, stigma, a health care provider, and engagement form the environmental factors; psychological factors are constituted by sense-coherence, self-esteem, adherence self-efficacy, and self-compassion (Tyer‐Viola et al., 2014). There is only one dependent variable, the level of medication adherence.
While some of the variables are categorical (for instance, race), the majority of them are ordinal: the attributes may be ranked (for example, depression symptoms vary from the least to the most intense). As the medication adherence, context, and environmental variables can be characterized by the limited number of values. Although psychological issues are individual, they are assessed by means of the standardized measures. Consequently, all variables are discrete.
As for the statistical tests, the authors emphasize that descriptive and multivariate statistics were used, for instance, self-compassion scales and Berger stigma scale are mentioned among other measures, and t test was utilized.
The researchers arrive at the conclusion that adherence self-efficacy and depression symptoms determine the antiretroviral medication adherence in female patients living with HIV (Tyer‐Viola et al., 2014). In this context, the nurses’ task is to evaluate these factors. It is underlined that future research concerning adherence self-efficacy and depression is necessary.
Article Review
The article under consideration pertains to the topic of lung cancer stigma. The author presents the results of the study concerning barriers to medical help-seeking behavior objectively and proves that the results are reliable.
First and foremost, the rationale for the significance of the topic is given: it is properly explained that nurses should address this patient outcome issue because timely actions are of paramount importance. Further, the researcher describes the method: she not only provides the information about the design and setting but also includes the theoretical foundation (Carter‐Harris, 2015). This approach seems advantageous since the ground for the choice is present.
The section concentrating on the procedures is also accurate. As it is demonstrated, the study is appropriate: the Institutional Review Board approval and patients’ consent were obtained. Sampling, data collection, analysis, and protection are thoroughly described. Further, the author concisely presents the results of the study. She draws readers’ attention to the correlations, means, and standard deviations on subscale values and sheds light on the connections between the stigma and treatment delay.
One should also mention that the discussion section provides the valuable information: the author professionally analyzes the collected data and interprets the facts. Finally, the limitations and implications are remarkable. The fact that the researcher does not hide the truth and gives her perspective on how the study may be useful in future is also profitable.
While the contents of the article are good, the structure is a little confusing. The author places the conclusions before the discussion, limitations, and implications sections. This organization is not typical, and it may puzzle a reader.
Overall, the article is notable for the approach, the author’s accuracy, and the essential research results. Simultaneously, the article structure differs from that of similar papers, and it may be perplexing for readers.
References
Carter‐Harris, L. (2015). Lung cancer stigma as a barrier to medical help‐seeking behavior: Practice implications. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 27(5), 240-245.
Tyer‐Viola, L. A., Corless, I. B., Webel, A., Reid, P., Sullivan, K. M., & Nichols, P. (2014). Predictors of medication adherence among HIV‐positive women in North America. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 43(2), 168-178.