Synopsis
The instant peer reviewed article relates to the problem of high adolescent pregnancy in spite of the availability of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC). It reports on a qualitative study made to assess why adolescents do not use LARC yet it is available and subsidized or free with 82% of all adolescent pregnancies being unwanted. The research process reported entailed interviews of professional nurses in fertility related healthcare institutions. An analysis of the results of the interviews revealed a general unawareness and mythology relating to the legality, safety and comfort of LARC more so among adolescents. Finally, the study recommends sensitization and enlightenment as the solution to the problem.
Where did you find this article?
I found this article at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database. It is peer reviewed.
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Does the article have a stated research question?
The research question is not expressly stated but a careful analysis of the introduction and discussion shows the research question is how different factors affects the use of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) on adolescents and in what proportions (Murphy, Stoffel, Nolan, & Haider, 2016).
Describe the data collection process.
The data collection method involved structured interviews with audio recordings, conducted on duty staff in healthcare based institutions who had an experience in the concept of qualitative methods. The two primary qualifications were that the individuals must be a registered nurse and also one who had not interacted with the team conducting the study in an earlier kindred study. The interviews were 23-47 minutes long with the average duration being 37 minutes. Generally, the interview involved a personal opinion which was not necessarily a professional opinion (Murphy et al, 2016) .
Qualitative or quantitative?
The research was qualitative in nature as it sought the opinion of the sample members and did not focus on any quantifiable values (Murphy et al., 2016) .
Was the article easy to understand and well organized?
The article was very well organized and easy to understand despite the topic canvassed being relatively complex. Among the unique features that made it easy to understand was the abstract. Whereas most articles have an abstract in prose, this article was a well outlined abstract complete with subheadings. The discussion part was brief and concise yet completely canvassed the issues raised in the introduction. The arrangement of the body of the article followed each step of the study from the preparation, the practical part of the study through to the discussion and conclusion (Murphy et al., 2016) .
Does the article have a section where the author describes other research done on the topic?
The introductory part of the article indicates that an earlier qualitative study had been undertaken on the same subject with a sample of Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs,) family physicians and pediatricians. It was the findings of this earlier study that made the instant study necessary and also informed its parameters (Murphy et al., 2016) .
Did the author fully explain what they did in their research?
Under the main heading ‘results’ the author goes into definitive particulars of exactly how the interviews were conducted. These particulars include both what exact questions were asked and what the interviewers were seeking to establish from the answers given. For example, the 4 th question asked was how patients respond when the nurse being interviewed brings up the topic of LARC. By asking this question, the interviewer was seeking for fears, interests, level of knowledge, and the misconceptions relating to the topic of LARC use among adolescents. It would however, be impossible to duplicate the data since it is qualitative in nature and based on opinion. However, the inferences made can be duplicated by a similar research (Murphy et al., 2016) .
Did the article explain how the data was analyzed?
The means of data analysis is well outlined in the article and shows how the entire research topic was divided into three main components to wit “Provider Confidence in LARC” (Murphy et al, 2016, pp.339) , Patient-Centered Counseling (Murphy et al., 2016, pp.440) and “ Instrumental Supports for LARC Insertion” (Murphy et al, 2016, pp.440) . The different opinions and inferences of each of the nurses interviewed were analyzed based on the three main components (Murphy et al., 2016) .
Do you agree with the results?
I do agree with the results of the study on all the studied issues but specifically on the issue of misconceptions about LARC use in adolescents among both healthcare providers and the adolescents themselves. The issue of teenage pregnancy is endemic in America yet enough resources are available to curb it through LARC. This solution is however, underused because most stakeholders are not aware of its availability, validity, comfort and legality among adolescents (Murphy et al., 2016) .
What did you feel were the strengths and weaknesses of the article?
The main strength of the articles lay in the nature of the sample used as related with the topic in question. Asking healthcare providers with direct patient access for opinions about healthcare issues from a patient’s perspective is an ideal way to get informed insights about the subject. Another strength lay in the short duration and low cost of the study occasioned by the unique method used. The main weakness however, lay in the scientific validity and reliability value of the research since it was purely premised on opinion not observation (Murphy et al, 2016) .
How does this article relate to your Capstone project?
My Capstone project relates to how patient education bears on the subject of LARC use. The article directly relates to the subject as lack of education about LARC among adolescents has been shown by the study conducted to be a basic reason for low LARC usage among adolescents. This is an article I shall remember and also share with others as it explains an unfortunate American phenomenon where in spite of availability of resources, runaway teenage pregnancy still prevails. Sharing the information that misconception and lack of knowledge is among the key factors causing his problem is a good way of assisting in extenuating it (Murphy et al, 2016) .
References
Murphy, M. K., Stoffel, C., Nolan, M., & Haider, S. (2016). Interdependent barriers to providing adolescents with long-acting reversible contraception: Qualitative insights from providers. Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology , 29 (5), 436–442. doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2016.01.125
