The article selected for the analysis describes an experimental study aimed to determine whether early physical therapy interventions in intensive care units are capable of improving health outcomes of patients suffering from acute respiratory failure as compared with a standard-of-care PT program. The experiment involved two groups of patients who required mechanical ventilation: the first group received PT in the standard-of-care manner (6.1 ± 3.8 sessions for 86 ± 63 minutes) whereas the second group participated in an intensive early mobilization program (12.4 ± 6.5 sessions for a total of 408 ± 261 minutes) (Moss et al., 2016). The experimental character of the study can be proven by the following arguments (Campbell & Stanley, 2015):
- it involves an intervention (as compared to the observation of naturally occurring events);
- the impact of the intervention is the main focus of the study;
- the research is prospective;
- it tests a hypothesis (not just describes the events);
- it seeks ways of improving real patients’ condition.
Thus, the appropriate representative will be: R (random sampling) O (data collection) X (intervention) O (data collection) for both groups as they both received PT but differently. Non-probability sampling was used as only those who received mechanical ventilation for at least 4 days were eligible to participate. The major advantage of this type of sampling is that it is purposive, which allows researchers to concentrate on a particular group of patients. One of the key disadvantages is that the results do not apply to other patients who do not correspond to the specified parameters.
The study involved a randomized trial as any patient meeting the requirements could become a member of the intervention group. This strengthens the study design by eliminating pre-judgment and reducing bias and spurious causality.
References
Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (2015). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Memphis, TN: Ravenio Books.
Moss, M., Nordon-Craft, A., Malone, D., Van Pelt, D., Frankel, S. K., Warner, M. L.,… Schenkman, M. (2016). A randomized trial of an intensive physical therapy program for patients with acute respiratory failure. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 193(10), 1101-1110. Web.