Question

What is the importance of qualitative and quantitative research, and how does quantitative and qualitative research help improve nursing practice

Answer 1

Qualitative research has an important place in nursing science and is becoming increasingly recognized. Qualitative research in nursing mainly deals with the lived experiences of patients and nurses. In the field of chronic illness, qualitative research has brought to the open some of the processes chronically ill patients undergo and what it means living with chronic illness. In addition, new insights were gained about the processes involved in receiving and in giving care. Qualitative research about chronic illness provided nurses with understanding of the lived experience of patients. This understanding is essential for good nursing care. However, qualitative research is not the only method and for some aspects of nursing not the adequate one. Qualitative and quantitative research are complementary.

Qualitative research consists of many components such as systems, processes, best practices, observations and personal experiences that are put together to establish a useful resource. The knowledge garnered from qualitative research allows nurses to gain a new perspective about patient care or validate a proper course of action. The research explains unique and complicated information that is not proved quantitatively.

The factors that make up qualitative research may expose obstacles in healthcare as well as enlighten nurses about how patients perceive their quality of their care. Nurses may survey patients about:

• Service preferences.
• Attitude toward healthcare.
• Motivation for seeking treatment.
• Decision influences.
• Cultural sensitivity.

The function of quantitative data is to use an accurate approach to collect and analyze any data that has been measured. It is generally precise and based upon numbers. One of the purposes of quantitative research is to be deductive, rather than inductive.

Benefits

Quantitative research is numbers-based. This can make it very precise, which is important when you are doing research in the medical field. When used appropriately, the results of quantitative research can be generalized.

Quantitative evidence provides the empiric knowing necessary for practice, and qualitative evidence supports the personal and experiential knowing critical for practice. Qualitative research presents its findings through participants' words and stories, which are easily applied to nursing care practices.

• It can give us insight into somebody else’s perspective.
• It can demonstrate our capacity to be surprised by the other.
• It can raise questions that lead us to challenge our assumptions.
• It can change us.

Qualitative research can encourage us to be more thoughtful practitioners. Striving to truly know about our patients, not just about their bodies, can underpin quality care.

A good way that health care professionals conduct these studies is through surveys. Examples are:

• Patient satisfaction surveys
• Market studies
• Pain and discomfort surveys

With this information, health care professionals can find what their customers want and how they can improve. The pain and discomfort survey can give the doctor and idea how their patients are feeling. Health facilities can also learn their customer’s demographics that can help them structure their services more.

Improving healthcare facilities

Healthcare facility owners may want to know what their patients think about the furniture or equipment available in their healthcare facilities. For example, if multiple patients in a nursing home have trouble with the bars on their bed, research studies can help improve this issue or find whether replacing new beds will solve the problem. Improving healthcare facilities is a great way to get customer and employee satisfaction. Whether you use quantitative and/or qualitative research, New Perspectives can assist you with your next research goals.