Research is vital to nursing because it is mainly used to come up with improved methods of caring for patients in what is commonly known as evidence-based practice (EBP) nursing in the contemporary society. Research refers to a systematic inquiry that adopts scientific methodologies to answer the inquiry. This paper aims at critiquing an article, “Biologic measures as epidemiological indicators of risk for development of hypertension in an African American Adolescent Population” by Covelli, Wood & Yarandi (2012) to help understand the dimensions and use of research in nursing practice.
The problem under investigation in the article under review is to determine the prevalence of biological measures of risk of hypertension among the African American adolescent population. This issue is relevant to nursing practice because it helps nurses to understand the risk factors of hypertension, which is a silent killer, better. The problem under investigation focuses on the young adults, who are mainly left out in research and health. Understanding the prevalence and gender variation in relation to the risk factors informs nurses when targeting populations and developing preventive programs. Getting accurate and current scientific information helps the nurses to be well informed of the risk factors specific to the adolescent population; therefore, any intervention that the nurses develop is specific and targets the adolescent population as per its needs.
This study adopts a nonexperimental quantitative research that passively studies the existence of phenomena. It aims at collecting quantitative data, such as blood pressure, saliva cortisol and height measurements, which can be used for statistical analysis. The study is deductive and adopts a positivist approach that believes in antecedent causes of natural phenomena, and this is what this study aims at doing (Polit & Beck, 2013, p. 7). This research does not utilize the perceptions and opinions of participants to define variables, whose values are in numerical form in this study, because they have already been delineated by the researchers.
This article by Covelli, Wood & Yarandi (2012) aims at identifying, describing and exploring the risk factors of hypertension in a population that is given miniscule significance in research. The study merely describes the problem statement while trying to establish gender differences in relation to the variables. The study describes the frequencies, and it does not try to attribute the frequencies to anything. The study has used an exploratory, descriptive design that describes the nature of variables being investigated as they occur in their natural setting, and it does not try to derive relationships among these variables. The exploratory study forms the basis for more intensive quantitative studies, precisely correlational studies that may later lead to experimental quantitative studies (Polit & Beck 2013). This study corresponds to EBP because it aims at understanding the etiological factors of hypertension within a specific population. Insight into these etiological factors is important in the planning for interventions.
This study by Covelli, Wood & Yarandi (2012) provides an overview of the occurring risk factors within the adolescent population. Unfortunately, the results of this study cannot be generalized to the entire adolescent population because the sampling methods used did not take the entire adolescent population in Florida into account. Therefore, the results can only be generalized to 9th and 10th graders of the chosen high school as per the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results of this study are useful in clinical practice because they help to link treatment to risk factors. In addition, nurses can educate their patients about useful preventive measures in relation to those factors that can be prevented, such as stress.
The results of this study are relevant to clinical practice. The indicators that have been highlighted as markers for hypertension in this study have been shown to be risk factors of hypertension in other populations that I have encountered during my practice as a nurse. Seemingly, as Covelli, Wood and Yarandi (2012) suggest, underlying factors for hypertension during late adulthood stem from their existence during adolescence.
References
Covelli, M. M., Wood, C. E., & Yarandi, H. N. (2012). Biologic measures as epidemiological indicators of risk for the development of hypertension in an African American Adolescent Population. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 27(6), 476-484.
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2014). Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice (8th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/ Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.