Research critique

Research Articles Critique
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Research Articles Critique
The two research studies aimed to investigate factors that influence patients’ adherence/non-adherence to the use of Continuous Positive Airways Pressure (CPAP) devices in the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), and explore ways of improving adherence. OSA is a health condition characterized by difficulties in breathing during sleep as a result of the upper airways getting blocked. The patient experiences sleep disruption, and they easily fall asleep during the day. CPAP is a treatment therapy that uses a device that prevents the airwaves from getting blocked.
The first study, “Predictors of continuous positive airway pressure use during the first week of treatment” by Ye, et al., (2012), investigated factors that could signal non-adherence to CPAP use in OSA patients during the first week of treatment. The authors identified race, treatment side effects related to sexual activity (intimacy) and higher residual apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) as the major factors that contributed to lower adherence. Being black, less intimate with partners and having a higher residual AHI were associated with reduced use of CPAP therapy.
In the other study, “Increasing CPAP Adherence Using Psychological Therapies” by Pelletier, Kameg & Barret (2012), the researchers investigated the potential of applying psychology to reinforce patient adherence to the use of CPAP in the treatment of OSA. Specifically, the researchers focused on the beneficial effect of combining usual care with enhanced educational and relaxation training interventions as ways of motivating patients to use CPAP devices consistently and for longer durations, compared to the use of usual care alone. The researchers also aimed to find out the patients’ satisfaction levels with regards to the use of enhanced educational and relaxation training interventions alongside usual care versus under usual care alone. The study findings indicated that enhanced education and relaxation training improves consistency in CPAP use, while it reduces patient satisfaction with the regimen. The authors attributed lower satisfaction to the inconveniences associated with enhanced education and relaxation training, such as spending more time listening to and watching audio-visual compact discs.
The problems addresses by the two research studies are critically significant and relevant. This is in light of the prevalence of OSA among the adult population in the U.S., where both studies were conducted. Ye et al., (2012), states that more than 4% of the male population and 2% of the female population in the U.S. are affected by OSA in the U.S., which costs the American economy 3.4 billion dollars annually in medical bills. Noting that these statistics are based on a 1993 study (Young et al., 1993), it suggests a more serious situation today. Indeed, Pelletier’s, Kame’s & Barret’s study refers to more recent figures, which pin OSA prevalence in the U.S. at between 5%-26% (Haynes, 2005). In a population of more than 300 million, these estimates represent a significant number of affected people. Moreover, Pelletier et al state that more than 50 percent of OSA patients fail to adhere to CPAP use throughout the prescribed period. This situation presents a serious problem to health care providers and the affected population with regards to the effective treatment of OSA cases. Equally important, both studies were published in the past one year (2012), indicating that they provide up-to-date information regarding the study of OSA. In this regard, the two research studies provide useful and relevant findings that would help healthcare providers and patients improve the treatment of OSA.
With regards to the qualification of the authors to do these studies, both sets of authors are qualified in different respects. The authors of “Predictors of continuous positive airway pressure use during the first week of treatment” are all scholars in nursing in leading American universities and institutions of higher learning. Their occupation (in academic teaching) qualifies them as individuals with relevant skills and experience in scholarly research on the issue. Most importantly, they are all associated with nursing educational centers, which provide relevant background in the topic under investigation.
The group led by Pelletier, and which authored the study on “Increasing CPAP Adherence Using Psychological Therapies” is qualified on the basis of the authors’ experience as nursing practitioners. Two of the authors, Pelletier and Kameg, are both doctors of nursing practice (DNP); the former in private practice and the latter an associate professor at Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Barret is a holder of a PhD degree and a research coordinator for nursing at St. Joseph Hospital, New Hampshire. Collectively, the authors represent vast experience in nursing practice, and therefore are authoritative voices in the study of OSA.
Both studies state the problem clearly, which justifies their relevance. Ye et al highlights the existing challenges in predicting factors that encourage non-adherence of to CPAP procedures. The authors state that successive treatment of OSA depends on CPAP adherence. However, poor adherence remains the biggest obstacle in the effective treatment of OSA. At the same time, there is little literature on the factors th...