N4325 Nursing Research
Answers:
1. Why was this study done? What is the PICOT question?
The study was conducted to see how the activity or exercise of muscle relaxation and guided imagery helps in reducing the impact of anxiety, depression along with the quality of life for patients suffering from cancer.
The PICOT question of the research is “How relaxation and guided imagery have a positive impact or helps in reducing depression and anxiety for patients who are suffering from advanced cancer within the community”.
2. What was the sample size and characteristics?
The sample size of the research was 56 people who were suffering from advanced cancer and were being offered service in the region of Sydney. The sample comprised of 26 women and 30 men with a mean age of 54 years with an age range of 27-79 years.
A randomized sampling technique was selected, where participants were divided into three treatment groups and a control group.
The subjects were chosen who were not receiving any type of medical treatment like chemotherapy, surgery, or radiology. Every participant was receiving palliative care at home and was being offered pain medication.
Among the 56 participants who were chosen for the research, 21 were suffering from primary cancer, while the other 35 were diagnosed with the issue of metastases.
3. What was the study design? What were the independent and dependent variables?
The study design was based on a pretest as well as protest control group clinical trial, where there were three treatment groups- group 1 was being given training on muscle relaxation, group 2 were being given training on guided imagery, group 3 were receiving both the above treatments while the fourth group was defined as a control group.
Reduction of advanced cancer being suffered by individuals is considered to be a dependent variable while the independent variables are techniques of muscle relaxation as well as guided imagery.
In other words, it should be noted that the reduction of cancer is dependent on muscle relaxation and guided imagery since the latter techniques will help in reducing the severity of cancer.
4. How did the researchers collect their data?
The researchers conducted date effectively, where participants were assigned randomly to groups where they were visited at home by community nurses who were trained in relaxation and imagery techniques. Tape recorder and cassette were given to subjects where they were asked to conduct the technique twice daily.
The first three groups were offered with the chosen techniques while control groups were not offered any techniques.
After the initial sessions, for post-testing, all the participants were offered two questionnaires that were conducted after 3 weeks.
5. Were the study results significant or not? What does this study mean for clinical practice? How are the results useful for nurses?
The results of the study proved to be quite significant as it clearly indicated how the three initial treatment was not effective for reducing anxiety but proved to be quite significant for patients since they helped in showing positive results for depression.
The research was also significant since it helped in encouraging cancer patients to make use of techniques of guided imagery and relaxation.
Therefore, the study is quite beneficial for clinical practice, where clinicians can promote the use of the above techniques with cancer patients that will lead to improved mental well-being for patients.
The results will be useful for the nurses since they will be able to understand the impact of anxiety on the health and well-being of cancer patients and understand the factors which lead to anxiety in cancer patients that will motivate nurses to provide holistic treatment and care to reduce the impact of cancer. Nurses will also be able to use relaxation and guided imagery techniques to help patients deal with depression.
References
Sloman, R., 2002. Relaxation and imagery for anxiety and depression control in community patients with advanced cancer. Cancer nursing, 25(6), pp.432-435.
N4325 Nursing Research
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