Research in Healthcare

Research in Healthcare

• Charitable organizations, international agencies (e.g. UNICEF, WHO, UNAIDS), and independent researchers/consultants conduct research in healthcare.

Purpose and Role of Research

• To identify needs and gaps in service provision (e.g. determining the need for a new health center or services in a new housing estate).
• To further knowledge (e.g. PhD research on analyzing policies aimed at caring for the elderly, exploring innovations in healthcare).
• To plan for service provision (e.g. identifying the health needs of young people or other seldom heard groups).

Understanding the Research Process

• To write a research proposal (a group assignment).
• To complete a research report and present findings.
• To critically assess claims made about healthcare services.
• To consider employment opportunities involving research or research governance.

Purpose and Role of Research

• Informing and improving policy and practice (e.g. evaluating the effectiveness of a new service provision).
• Aiding reflection and allowing progress to be monitored.
• Evaluating service provision (e.g. student satisfaction surveys, course evaluation forms).
• Exploring topics of contemporary importance (e.g. migration and health, obesity, diabetes, or genetic disorders in Qatar).

Historical and Contemporary Research Projects

• First clinical research by Naval Surgeon James Lind (1747) on scurvy.
• Discovery of penicillin and antibiotics, revolutionizing medicine by reducing mortality rates due to infectious diseases.
• Contemporary research on antimicrobial resistance, drug discovery in chemotherapy, and mRNA vaccines.

Research Keywords

• Demographic data: data that describes population groups and their characteristics (e.g. race, religion, age, sex, gender).
• Peer-reviewed: articles scrutinized by specialists in the field before publication to ensure high-quality research.
• Sample: a group of research participants selected from the target population.

The PICO Framework

• Population: a specific group of people (e.g. children).
• Intervention: a specific action or treatment (e.g. using the Wii).
• Comparison: a control group or alternative treatment.
• Outcome: a specific result or effect (e.g. improvement in balance).

Databases and Resources

• British Nursing Index.
• CINAHL.
• Cochrane Library (Systematic reviews).
• PubMed/MEDLINE.
• PsycINFO (related to psychology).
• EBSCO (Educational literature).
• NICE.

Statistics in Healthcare

• Prevalence data: used to assess how often a specific disease occurs in different groups of people.
• Used to plan and evaluate strategies to prevent illness and manage patients.
• Statistics are used to assess if an issue is a major healthcare concern.

What Not to Write in Research

• Avoid subjective statements (e.g. "my aunt was recently diagnosed with depression").
• Avoid vague statements without supporting evidence (e.g. "many people were diagnosed with COVID in England last year").
• Avoid presenting figures without supporting evidence (e.g. "many children in Doha were referred to Al Rumelia dermatology services").

Primary Research: Methods of Data Collection

• Scientific experiments.
• Interviews (face-to-face, phone, or Skype).
• Questionnaires/surveys.
• Observations.
• Focus group discussions.

Advantages of Primary Research

• Researchers gather up-to-date information.
• Researchers can address specific questions.
• Data can be obtained quickly.
• Researchers have control over the research study and data collection.

Disadvantages of Primary Research

• Costly.
• Slow or difficult to gain ethical approval and access research participants.
• Targeted people may be reluctant to participate.
• Time-consuming.
• May produce misleading results due to researcher bias.

Key Points to Remember

• Secondary research: ease of access, low cost, and less intrusive on people's lives.
• Primary research: easier to address specific questions, up-to-date information, and researcher control.

Processes to Consider for Quantitative Research

• Experimental research: hypothesis testing, control groups, experimental groups, and independent and dependent variables.
• Randomized controlled trials: often used in medicine.