CTU Online Aspects of Healthcare Case Study Discussion Response

Response Guidelines

Student post down below:(Nykeba)

Investigated Issue:

Following a hospital stay, older women are experiencing the following problems:

Not having the capacity to cook meals

Perform routine household task

Care for other family members (e.g. older spouse) (Stringer 2013).

Context of Case Study:

Mackay has experienced a 12% increase in their elder population.  Based off their 143,578 of permanent residents, 69,800 are females, and 11, 935 are over the age of 65. The area is serviced by three hospitals including Mackay Base Hospital, Mater Misericordiae Hospital, and Pioneer Valley Private Hospital. There has been some concerns regarding the lack of human resources, a shortage of appropriately trained medical specialists, a need of community confidence in its services, declining workplace morale, and workplace bullying within Mackay Base Hospital (Springer 2013). 

• The Stakeholders:
• The primary stakeholders include older women (Older Women’s Network) that have transitioned from a hospital stay to home, men and women from organizations, and friends and acquaintances of current primary stakeholders (Stinger 2013). Other stakeholders include hospital representatives, community services providers, and other community members (Stinger 2013).
• How the Data was Gathered:

Participation in OWN meetings

Identification of approached participants

Data-gathering activities (e.g. Note taking, focus groups, artifacts)

How the Data was Analyzed:

“The data was analyzed according to the interpretive interactionist methodology of identifying and analyzing epiphanies and illuminative experiences” (Stringer 2013)

Ethical Issues:

• “Maintaining ethical principles of MRCSD
• Maintaining the confidentiality of interactions with participants, particularly with respect to any comments they provide about local services
• Ensuring appropriate storage of confidential information at MRCSD

Obtaining permission from participants to share with others information they provide and how it will be shared (e.g., verbally in general references, in written brochures)” (Stringer 2013).

Outcome of Study:

Key issues have been identified. They have a plan of action of discovering and continual research of transitional improvements. They will keep OWN informed of progress.

Case Study Review

The issue investigated in the case study was the lack of effective substance abuse treatment for veterans living in Waco, Texas. According to the author, there was increased substance use among veterans in the region, although treatment services were lacking (Peterson, 2017). Therefore, the study context involved the veterans in central Texas who suffered from substance and alcohol use disorders. The research question for the case study was, “What are the unique substance abuse treatment considerations and challenges for military-based social workers living in central Texas” (Peterson, 2017)? The main stakeholders in this study were the substance abuse treatment administrators and veteran health advocates. These individuals were essential for the research since they helped identify the affected veterans and provide the necessary treatment. Similarly, the veterans with substance use disorders and their families were among the stakeholders in the study since they were the main participants who would receive the required interventions (Peterson, 2017). The social workers also helped in mobilization and community education during the project.

The author selected the participants for the study based on their availability and knowledge of substance use among the veterans. The author elected social workers based on their experience working with veterans with SUDs in central Texas (Peterson, 2017). The data from the veterans was collected using a semi-structured qualitative interview consisting of 7 items. Additionally, the author analyzed qualitative data by coding and identifying common themes present in the data.

The author did not report any ethical concerns since they sought informed consent from the participants. Moreover, the author kept all the information confidential and nor harm as noted on the participants (Peterson, 2017). The study also received approval from the Institutional Review Board since it involved human participants (Peterson, 2017). Consequently, the study’s outcomes involved identifying factors that challenged substance abuse treatment among veterans in Waco, Texas. Thus, the findings provided recommendations for treatment strategies among veterans with substance and alcohol use disorders.