Journal Article Research Critique
Journal Article Research Critique by C. O’Neal MBA 532 UA – Quantitative Business Analysis Instructor:Dr. Ed Ohlson
Cheryl O’Neal 3/8/2008
Journal Article Research Critique by C. O’Neal
Introduction
Cancer patients experience a variety of symptoms that are associated with the disease process itself and with the treatment regimens used to control or eradicate the disease. The authors (Bender, Engberg, Donovan, Cohen, Houze, Rosenzweig, Mallory, Dunbar-Jacob, & Sereika, 2008) in their study, Symptom clusters in adults with chronic health problems and cancer as a comorbidity, have attempted to discover symptom clusters that have may have been nestled in the data retrieved in two previous studies involving rheumatoid arthritis (RA) sufferers and individuals with urinary incontinence (UI). The Bender et al. (2008) stated their research purpose was:
…to identify and compare symptom clusters in individuals with chronic health problems with cancer versus individuals with chronic health problems who do not have cancer. The secondary aim was to compare the number and types of comorbid chronic health problems for individuals with and without a history of cancer and to explore the effect of symptoms on QOL. (p.E3)
Substantive Qualities
The above quoted statement is misleading. The sample that was examined had a history of cancer but the opening statement, “Patients with cancer frequently experience multiple symptoms concurrently.” (Bender et al., 2008, p.E1) indicates the patients had a current diagnosis of cancer and that the research would look at patients who currently had cancer in addition to another chronic health problem. This author realizes that this may seem like an insignificant issue, but in reality, the symptom clusters that would be expected in a cohort currently undergoing treatment for cancer could be expected to be significantly different than the symptom clusters found in cohorts that have
Cheryl O’Neal 3/8/2008
Journal Article Research Critique by C. O’Neal
Introduction
Cancer patients experience a variety of symptoms that are associated with the disease process itself and with the treatment regimens used to control or eradicate the disease. The authors (Bender, Engberg, Donovan, Cohen, Houze, Rosenzweig, Mallory, Dunbar-Jacob, & Sereika, 2008) in their study, Symptom clusters in adults with chronic health problems and cancer as a comorbidity, have attempted to discover symptom clusters that have may have been nestled in the data retrieved in two previous studies involving rheumatoid arthritis (RA) sufferers and individuals with urinary incontinence (UI). The Bender et al. (2008) stated their research purpose was:
…to identify and compare symptom clusters in individuals with chronic health problems with cancer versus individuals with chronic health problems who do not have cancer. The secondary aim was to compare the number and types of comorbid chronic health problems for individuals with and without a history of cancer and to explore the effect of symptoms on QOL. (p.E3)
Substantive Qualities
The above quoted statement is misleading. The sample that was examined had a history of cancer but the opening statement, “Patients with cancer frequently experience multiple symptoms concurrently.” (Bender et al., 2008, p.E1) indicates the patients had a current diagnosis of cancer and that the research would look at patients who currently had cancer in addition to another chronic health problem. This author realizes that this may seem like an insignificant issue, but in reality, the symptom clusters that would be expected in a cohort currently undergoing treatment for cancer could be expected to be significantly different than the symptom clusters found in cohorts that have
References: Easton, Valerie J., & McColl, John J. (1997, September). Statistics Glossary v1.1. Retrieved from: http://www.stats.gla.ac.uk/steps/glossary/nonparametric.html Neufeldt, Victoria, & Sparks, Andrew N. (Eds.) (1995). Webster’s New World™ dictionary. New York, NY: Prentice Hall/Macmillan. Reyes-Giggy, C.C., Aday, L.A., Anderson, K.O., Mendoza, T.R. & Cleeland, C.S. (2006). Pain, depression, and fatigue in community-dwelling adults with and without a history of cancer. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 32(2), 118-128. Weisstein, Eric W. (2008). Fisher 's exact test. MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. Retrieved March 7, 2008 from: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/FishersExactTest.html