Paper Sample: Qualitative Research Proposal in Public Health

Exploring the Perception of Key Stakeholders in Public Health and Preventive Medicine on the Utility of Simulation in Public Health during Residency Training.

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Currently, there is an increase in the use of clinical simulation across the globe. The increase in its increase is influenced by the fact that it increases the security of different patients and also because it is able to meet current medical training needs. It also ensures that learners are able to get education which can meet the current needs of different patients (Motola et al, 2013). The use of clinical simulation is also important in current health education because it is able to provide sufficient skills and expertise to learners so that they can meet the current job demand. There are also other needs for the use of clinical simulation as recommended by most medical researchers (Johns, 2004). They asserts that its use increase the validity and efficiency of healthcare education in public health and preventive medicine. Application of clinical simulation in healthcare learning does not depend on its availability but also depends on its application in learning and therefore it should only be used as additional aid in learning. It works more effectively when it is well planned in the curriculum and also practically applied so that the student can practically know its application (Okuda et al, 2009). The introduction of simulation in medical education is to close the gap in medical students and also to bridge the gap left between clinical environment and classroom environment. The application of simulation in public health also provides learners with opportunities to acquire practical knowledge which they can use to manage public health events like pandemics and disaster management. There are also few medical researches which have been done to explain the importance of simulation in public health training. Researchers such as Stein ML et al concluded that the use of simulation in public health is a very difficult activity which calls for the use of predictive model to assess the effect of feedback of the strategies used in public health planning. The AsiaFluCap Simulator in his research suggests that simulation is a mix of different resource models with 28 other medical resources and epidemiological model. He added that simulation is a tool which is user friendly and gives public health officers an opportunity to choose pandemic conditions, alter some parameters and simulate data of different regions (Green & Thorogood, 2013). In the same research, it is concluded that simulation is able to provide epidemiological estimates as it is able to generate shortages or surpluses of public health services in different places. The implementation of simulation in public health training requires the exploration of how different stakeholders understand the usefulness of simulation such as helping in the development of simulation ideas in relation to public health practices.

Goals of the study

The primary goals of this study are to explore the perception of key stakeholders in public health and preventive medicine on the utility of simulation in public health during residency training. It is also to determine whether key public health stakeholders have negative or positive opinion about the use of simulation in public health.

Research objectives

- To determine the perception of key stakeholders in public health and preventive medicine about the use of clinical simulation

- To determine the benefits of simulation in public health and preventive medicine

- Research questions

- What is the perception of key public health stakeholders concerning the use of simulation in learning?

- What is the contribution of public health officers on the use of clinical simulation?

- How can simulation are incorporated in public health and preventive medicine education?

Research Methods

Since this research is limited, there is need to explore qualitative and quantitative research methods. I will also use both primary and secondary data collection methods so that I will have sufficient data necessary for my analysis (Marshall & Manus, 2007). The primary data will be collected directly from public health stakeholders through interviews so that their opinion can be collected about the use of simulation in public health and preventive medicine. The stakeholders such as residents, residency program director and other medical officers will also be asked to fill in questionnaires containing questions that relates to the use of simulation in public health and preventive medicine (Green & Thorogood, 2013). Being a part of this residency program, I have the advantage of well- established rapport with the interviewees. Moreover, the study will take place at Community Health Department, University of Calgary. Interviews will be either at the TRW building after academic half days on Fridays or at other specific scheduled times at Southport. Due to the relatively small number of stakeholders, all 16 residents will be included in the study as well as the program director and some of the medical officers of health. Although the majority of stakeholders will be available in Calgary, a few of them may be doing rotations outside the city. For those stakeholders, phone or Skype interviews will be conducted. Of course, interviews will be recorded using an iPhone recording app.

Second, interviews will be transcribed. For analysis, a thematic analysis approach will be used [3]. Third, the studys validity will be insured by consulting experts and using Johnsons strategies; including continuous validation of data. Due to the uniqueness of the stakeholders in their respective fields, they will be purposefully chosen. A pilot study will be done through the use of unstructured interviews where the participants will be asked both open and closed questions about their individual opinion about the use of simulation in public health and preventive medicine (Cook, 2014). Before the interview, I will request the stakeholders to sign the consent form so that I will have confidence that he or she has agreed to participate in the study. Additionally, some information regarding the residency program may be sensitive and may affect the relationship between the residents and the program director. Therefore, extracted data will be confidential and will be presented anonymously.

Data Analysis

During my data analysis, I will start by transcribing all the data collected through interviews so that I will find out the overall overview of the information collected from the stakeholders (Marshall & Manus, 2007). The second stage will involve the extraction of important information and phrases from the transcript about the area of study. The meaning of the information collected from transcript is then formulated before they are categorized into themes. Finally the information and phrases which has been converted into themes are then regrouped to form clusters and converted into theme categories (Green & Thorogood, 2013). I will then use color coded system when highlighting each category of themes so that I can conduct preliminary analysis. I will then document detailed practical information experienced during the study (Mojtaba, 2013). This will help me formulate the structure of the event which reflects the perception of stakeholders concerning the purpose of the study.

I will validate the accuracy and correctness of my research by conducting comparison analysis between the results I obtained during analysis and the information obtained from the public health stakeholders (Marshall & Manus, 2007). I will also conduct triangulation in various sources of data to develop sound justification about the themes created. Once the validation shall have been completed, the descriptive result will be kept as research findings.

Ethical Considerations

In any research study, it is important to anticipate for any ethical issues concerning your research. During data collection, I will ensure that I develop trust and keep high level confidentiality to improve integrity. I will also ensure that there is no misconduct during research and try as much as possible to eliminate any impropriety that may taint our profession. In addition, I will ensure that I respect the rights and values of participants so that they can give me the most reliable information which I will need in my research analysis.

Limitation of this Study

One of the studys limitations is having residents and other stakeholders perceptions from a single university. Hence, it would be useful to conduct a broader research that includes multiple universities in different provinces and even different countries. Another limitation is that public health simulation is not implemented in the current University of Calgarys Public Health and Preventive Medicine residency program. Consequently, it would be hard for the residents to understand this concept and how it might be developed and implemented without prior experience. Therefore, future studies should explore further the perceptions of residency stakeholders who had an experience using simulation in public health. Furthermore, residents perceptions on the benefits and ways to implement simulation may not be very clear as some of them may not have that experience. That is why; getting the perceptions and inputs of more experts in the field such as medical officers of health would give us more extensive information.

Time Line

TIME LINEN. Actions Months of the Year

1 2 3 4

1 Conducting pre- visit 2 Designing research plan 3 Writing literature Review 4 Developing research design 5 Determining sampling frame 6 Designing interview questions 7 Conducting interviews 8 Grouping and coding of data, entering data into a computer 9 Data analysis 10 Report up findings 11 Validation 12 Presentation of final report Budget

Items Cost

Travel $500.00

Staffs salaries $400.00

Purchase of equipment $1,000.00

Printing $300.00

Designing research questions $200.00

Conducting Interviews $3,000.00

Total $5,400.00

References

Brydges R & Cook DA (2015). Linking simulation-based educational assessments and patient-related outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Acad Med. 2015 Feb;90(2):246-56.

Cook DA (2014). How much evidence does it take? A cumulative meta-analysis of outcomes of simulation-based education. Med Educ.48 (8):750-60. doi: 10.1111/medu.12473

Green J, & Thorogood N. (2013). Qualitative Methods for Health Research. 3rd Edition. Los Angeles: Sage.

Johns, C. (2004). Becoming a reflective practitioner. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing. Marshall, D. A., & Manus, D. A. (2007). A team training program using human factors to enhance patient safety. AORN Journal, 86(6), 994 1011.

Mojtaba V. Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study, Nursing and Health Sciences (2013), 15, 398405

Motola I,et al, (2013). Simulation in healthcare education: a best evidence practical guide. AMEE Guide No. 82. Med Teach. (10):e1511-30.

Okuda Y, et al, (2009).The utility of simulation in medical education: what is the evidence? Mt Sinai J Med.76 (4):330-43.