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... professionals from the communities. The researcher developed intervention strategy, the outcomes of which were evaluated by all study participants. The participatory action research (PAR) approach used in this study leads to meaningful discoveries and insights into the problems of cervical screening among minority ethnic women and allows the problem to be examined in a social context and to be addressed with appropriate considered actions.
Was there a clear statement of the aims of the research? When appraising the study, various significant aspects were taken into consideration. The present study conducted by Chiu L. F. did not ask a clearly focused question. Instead, the researcher has focused on a number of questions that will be discussed below.
The question of the study was relatively focused in terms of the population studies, the intervention given and the outcomes considered. The research study has used a research framework based on Lewins steps of planning, acting, observing and evaluating (Chiu L. , 2004). The study comprised of three major stages: identification of the problem, solution generation, and fieldwork and evaluation (Ahmad, 1994; Banton, 1987; Chaturvedi & Mckeigue, 1994). According to the researcher, there were three research objectives initially defined to manage change for each stage: to examine issues related to promoting cervical screening among minority ethnic women in primary care; based upon the results of the stage 1, the participants of the study had to construct an appropriate intervention strategy and a program of necessary activities to address the issues identified; finally, to implement intervention strategy and to assess its relative successes and limitations. The research questions were as follows.
The study was aimed to find out what are the experiences and perceptions of cervical screening on the part of ethnic minority women and smear takers; to answer the question how are problems in screening setting defined by different parties involved; are these views supported by all concerned parties; what solutions are generated by the participants of the study; are there common themes among these solutions; how effective generated solutions are when they are put into practice; what issues may arise when they are put into practice; what pragmatic intervention strategy can be formulated through the study to enhance cervical screening experiences for minority ethnic women, to mention a few (Chiu L. , 2004; Cornwall & Jewkes, 1995; Freire, 1992). Is a qualitative methodology appropriate? While examining the study, it appears that qualitative methodology was appropriate as the researcher has used a pluralistic evaluation method to define the key qualitative outcomes from different perspectives. From the smear takers perspective, the study identified the need for personal and organizational change to enhance uptake among minority ethnic women.
They found out that the ability to establish legitimate and equal relationships between CHEs and general practices was the key success factor. Womens reflections on their experiences in the research study have found out that women did not pay particular attention to the importance of cervical screening and smear test procedures. Therefore, the main results of the study have shown that communication support and health professionals behavior could have significant influence on minority ethnic womens experience with cervical screening service. Is it worth continuing? The researchers have conducted a thorough study that approached the problem of cervical screening among minority ethnic women. The study has helped to gain more information for understanding local conditions, and this helped to pose questions to various theoretical concepts such as cultural deficits, information, ethnicity, health beliefs, and their impact on uptake that underpinned much of the previous research; however, more in-depth research is required to facilitate the improvement of uptake in cancer screening and access and quality of service experienced by women; thus; the study is worth continuing.
Was the research design appropriate to the aims of the research? Although the researchers did not justify the research design and provided no explanation how they decided which method to use, the research design appears to be appropriate to address the aims of the research. Was the recruitment strategy appropriate to the aims of the research? The recruitment strategy was appropriate to the aims of the research. In the present study, women from 6 language groups across 3 health districts in South Yorkshire (Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield) were allocated as participants of the study (Chiu L. , 2004). Women were of different ethnic origin: African Carribean (English and Black English speaking women), Pakistani (Urdu and Mirputi speaking), Chinese (Cantonese speaking), Bengali (Syhleti speaking), and Vietnamese (Cantonese and Vietnamese speaking).
Were the data collected in a way that addressed the research issue? The data were collected in a way that appropriately addressed the research issue. The main vehicle for the systematic data collection was the focus group method. In addition, the study used data from individual interviews, collective reflections and observations.
The participants were appropriately allocated to focus groups; however, the researcher did not describe the method of allocation. Instead, it was only mentioned that the focus groups were compiled taking into consideration ethnic origin of the participants. Has the relationship between researcher and participants been adequately considered? The relationship between the researcher and participants has been adequately considered. The researcher critically examined their own roles, potential bias and influence during formulation of the research questions and data collection. During the study the researchers also considered the implications of any changes in the research design.
Have ethical issues been taken into consideration? It appears that although the researchers have taken ethical issues into consideration, they have not described them appropriately in the study. There were no sufficient details of how the research was explained to the participants for the reader to assess whether ethical standards were maintained. The researcher did not discuss issues raised by the study, if any. Was the data analysis sufficiently rigorous?
Data analysis was sufficiently rigorous. There was an in-depth description of the analysis process. The researcher has succeeded to present sufficient data to support the findings. Contradictory data, however, was not taken into consideration and the researcher did not critically examine his own role, potential bias and influence during the analysis and selection of data for presentation. Is there a clear statement of findings? The results of the study were explicitly presented and were quite meaningful.
During the stage 1, bilingual women from the language communities were recruited to take part as co-researchers. They were expected to act as focus group moderators and their roles included facilitating focus groups, carrying out individual interviews with minority ethnic women, and helping the researcher to complete data analysis (Chiu L. , 2004). The focus group comprised of six smear takers who were expected to explore their own perceptions of the problems of low uptake of cervical screening and ethnic minority women. These initial focus group discussions were aimed to identify the gaps in perceptions between health professionals and women from communities.
The findings in the first stage were as follows: smear takers judged ethnic minority women as cultural stereotypes, who have little or no interest in preventive medicine. At the same time, the vast majority of ethnic minority women claimed they have never received any explanation concerning the importance of cervical screening or smear test. Womens past experiences with smear test were mostly negative. Finally, the participants generated solutions of both language and professional group were mostly related to cultural awareness, community education and support. Based on these findings the participants of the study generated a two-pronged intervention strategy. Smear takers offered a workshop program aimed to enhance the levels of cultural awareness and intercultural communication skills (Chiu L. , 2004).
Second, all participants have approved the Community Health Educator Model. Bilingual women who were taking part in the stage 1 as moderators of the focus group were offered to be trained as community health educators and were expected to provide an informed link between health practices and their communities (Chiu L. , 2004). This strategy was aimed to enhance informed access of minority ethnic women to cervical screening services. During the stage 2 all participants of the study took active part in strategy development. The bilingual women were transformed into CHEs via an intensive developmental program (Chiu L. , 2004). During the stage 3 (in a period of six months) six CHEs made 221 prescreening visits to minority ethnic women in their communities.
At the end of the study 2 out of 6 practices reported a 66 % improvement in the rates of uptake of cervical screening after CHEs visits (Chiu L. , 2004). The results of the study were precise enough to make a decision. All important outcomes were considered so the results can be applied. The people included in the trial were not different from our population in ways that would produce different results, as the researcher had enrolled women of different ethnic origin.
Local setting does not differ much from that of the trial and the same intervention strategy can be provided in any other setting. How valuable is the research? In conclusion it can be said that the outcomes of the study is valuable for individuals, policy makers and professionals, family and carers and winder community. The benefits reported outweigh potential harm or cost, if any. Although this information was not provided, it can be easily filled in from similar studies or field experiments.
Finally, the policy and practice may be changed as a result of the evidence contained in this trial. References Adair-Bischoff, C. , & Sauve, R. (1988). Environmental tobacco smoke and middle ear disease in preschool age children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, 152, 127 - 33. Ahmad, W. (1994).
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Chaturvedi, N. , & Mckeigue, P. (1994). Methods for epidemiological surveys of ethnic minority groups. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 48, 107 - 11. Cornwall, A. , & Jewkes, R. (1995). What is participatory research? Social Science Medicine, 41, 1667 - 76.
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Research essay sample on Put Into Practice Ethnic Minority
