Week 5 Discussion identified that the symptom management theory (SMT) could help manage pediatric oncology patients’ symptoms. However, it is reasonable to find additional scholarly and primary research articles that comment on using the proposed theoretical framework. Thus, the paper will locate four academic studies, one of them is a systematic review, that offers timely and credible evidence to support the merit of the SMT.
To begin with, one should introduce and describe the selected articles. Firstly, the research by Eckerblad et al. (2020) is a qualitative study that focuses on how older community-dwelling people with multimorbidity manage various symptoms. The authors demonstrate that the SMT promotes symptom self-management among the participants, leading to their positive experience (Eckerblad et al., 2020). Secondly, a quasi-experimental study by Khamboon and Pakanta (2021) demonstrates that the SMT is a basis for an intervention “to moderate the severity of symptom clusters” among adult patients with lung cancer (p. 267). This fact demonstrates that the theoretical framework leads to positive results when applied within an oncology setting. Thirdly, Torres et al. (2019) relied on the SMT to analyze how children and adults manage cancer symptoms and found that a difference was between experience and report rates. This conclusion means that the theoretical lens can be applied to a pediatric context. Finally, a systematic review by Schmid-Mohler et al. (2019) compares the SMT to other symptom management approaches and identifies that this theoretical framework has essential benefits. Sufficient evidence proves the advantages of relying on the SMT.
It is reasonable to critique the articles to determine whether they present high levels of evidence. In the beginning, one should mention that all the selected research pieces meet the general structure requirements. It is so because the four studies have the introduction, methodology, results, analysis, and conclusion sections that are necessary for high-quality scholarly studies. The Duke University Medical Center Library (2009) critique strategy will be used to investigate this issue since it is a hierarchy of evidence as per research designs. This guideline demonstrates that the systematic review by Schmid-Mohler et al. (2019) has a high level of evidence since it offers reviewed and synthesized data. The quasi-experimental study by Khamboon and Pakanta (2021) follows this research in the hierarchy based on its level of evidence. Even though this article does not imply randomization, it is still an experimental design, leading to relatively credible results. Since the two remaining articles are neither systematic reviews nor include any experiments, they are placed lower in the hierarchy of evidence. This information demonstrates that articles with various levels of data introduce the benefits of using the SMT.
In conclusion, the paper has offered essential data to claim that the symptom management theory can produce positive outcomes when applied to various populations and health conditions. The four primary research articles, including a systematic review, were located to understand how other scholars analyze the issue under investigation. It has been identified that these studies represent various hierarchies of evidence as seen from the selected guideline. It is so because a systematic review offers almost the highest level since it deals with reviewed and synthesized data, which allows one to generate valuable conclusions. Thus, the located articles bring valuable evidence of different levels to support the merit of the selected theoretical framework, leading to positive outcomes when applied to various groups and health conditions.
References
Duke University Medical Center Library. (2009). Evidence-based clinical practice resources: Hierarchy of evidence-based medicine (EBM) resources. Web.
Eckerblad, J. Waldréus, N., Stark, Å, J., & Jacobsson, L. R. (2020). Symptom management strategies used by older community-dwelling people with multimorbidity and a high symptom burden – A qualitative study. BMC Geriatrics, 20(210). Web.
Khamboon, T., & Pakanta, I. (2021). Intervention for symptom cluster management of fatigue, loss of appetite, and anxiety among patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing, 8(3), 267-275. Web.
Schmid-Mohler, G., Caress, A.-L., Spirig, R., & Yorke, J. (2019). Introducing a model for emotional distress in respiratory disease: A systematic review and synthesis of symptom management models. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75(9), 1854-1867. Web.
Torres, V., Nunes, M. D. R., Silva-Rodrigues, F. M., Bravo, L., Adlard, K., Secola, R., Fernandes, A. M., Nascimento, L. C., & Jacob, E. (2019). Frequency, severity and distress associated with physical and psychosocial symptoms at home in children and adolescents with cancer. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 33(4), 404-414. Web.