Changes in Fatigue, Psychological Distress after Chemotherapy

Article Critique
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Introduction
The objective of this research was to find out the changes in fatigue, psychological distress, and quality of life after chemotherapy in women with breast cancer. The researchers used a prospective research design. The research article was authored by two Registered Nurses (one of them holds a Ph.D. in nursing), but they are both affiliated with the Department of Nursing at Sahmyook University in South Korea. The researchers submitted their work to Wolters Kluwer Health in 2018 and subsequently published it in Cancer Nursing Journal in 2020. Therefore, the article is a peer-reviewed research project into the fatigue-depression- anxiety symptom of breast cancer patients in Korea. The research project was funded by Sahmyook University Fund in 2017, but the researchers declared no conflict of interest.
Review of Introduction
The researchers sought to identify the changes in fatigue-depression-anxiety symptom clusters during the cancer care trajectory for women suffering from breast cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. However, the title they chose for the article is misleading. It fails to mention that the study was localized to Seoul, South Korea. That key detail gives a socio-economic perspective of the study population and informs the reader if the findings are generalizable to all cancer patients. The title is too general and does not account for other notable exclusions that are misleading. Notably, the research was only on Korean women, which should be included in the title. The socio-economic factors pertinent to Korean women with cancer are immutable. Additionally, the results from the study are not generalizable to all women, i.e., black American, Caucasian, etc. therefore, a better title for the article would include Korea in the title.
Secondly, the researchers did not outline clear objectives, problem statements, purpose, research questions, and hypotheses for the study. They bundled all these important elements in any research study into one section: introduction. The problem statement is not clearly shown in the introduction, but it is discernible after reading it. The purpose and aim of the study are also bundled together. However, the research questions and hypotheses are missing.
Review of Literature
The authors of the article did not include a literature review section. However, they have a bibliography section of 37 entries. Each of the bibliographic entries coincides with an intext citation in the article. Thus, the researchers acknowledged the information they used from other publications. They have included footnotes for every statement they drew from other sources and a corresponding bibliographic entry at the end of the article. Notably, all their sources are primary sources from peer-reviewed articles published by different journals. This means their research was drawn from credible sources. They have used the sources to bolster their arguments. However, the sources used in this research article are most outdated. This article was published in 2020, and most of the sources used went back as far as the 90s. Only two of the 37 sources in the bibliography have been published since 2015. In the medical field, any source older than five years is considered outdated. Currency is key in medical-related research projects, and on that front, this article falls short. Most of the articles featured in the bibliography were published in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Review of the Theoretical Framework
The researchers included a theoretical framework to guide their research. They used the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) and clearly explained why the theory was necessary for the research. Health complications affect the quality of life, and therefore the theoretical framework is relevant to the research project. After tying the research project to the theoretical framework, they criticized it because it is based on cross-sectional research while this one was prospective. However, the underlying principle of the theoretical framework is relevant to the research.
Review of Methodology
The methodology is a key step in each scientific research as it greatly affects the quality of data collected. The researchers’ choice of methodology was suitable for the objectives of the study. Since the study was prospective research, the researcher approached 60 patients. of the 60 patients, 55 agreed to participate. Of the 55 who agreed to participate, five did not participate for reasons not covered in the article. 50 (90.9%) participated in the study, but in the course of the study, two died, and three did not complete the questionnaire. Eventually, 45 (75...