Self-Regulation Model
- Does the study involve a conceptual or theoretical framework? What is it called?
The study involves a conceptual framework, which is called a Self-Regulation Model.
- Is this framework one of the models of nursing cited in the textbook? Is it related to one of those models?
The model relates to Leventhal & Johnson’s Theory of Self-Regulation.
- Does the report include a schematic model?
The report includes a schematic model depicting the self-regulation model of illness.
- According to the framework, what factors directly affect the decision to seek care?
The factors that affect the decision are a person’s perceptions of his/her illness or symptoms, abstract knowledge or semantic memory regarding the disease, previous experience, and beliefs regarding the effects of the condition.
- According to the framework, what factors indirectly affect the decision to seek care?
Factors that indirectly affect the decision include early symptoms, such as fatigue and dyspnea.
- Did the report present conceptual definitions of key concepts?
The conceptual framework included the definition of critical concepts such as Self-care, response to illness, and Illness perceptions.
- Did the report explicitly present hypotheses deduced from the framework?
Yes, “We propose that delay in seeking care is due to the difficulty that HF patients experience in discerning the quality and meaning of their symptoms” (p. 276).
- Do you think any aspects of the research would have been different without the framework?
Yes, without the conceptual framework, the study would lack an adequate definition of key concepts and the framework to create the basis for the study.
- Could the study have been undertaken using Pender’s Health Promotion Model as its framework (see Figure 6.1 in the textbook)? Why or why not?
The study would have been conducted using the Pender’s Health Promotion Model but from the perspective of creating awareness among the elderly on how to understand HF symptoms and seek timely care.
- Would you describe this study as a model-testing inquiry or do you think the model was used more as an organizing framework?
The model was used as an organizing framework to understand the factors that affect the decision to seek care.
Chapter 7
Below are brief descriptions of several research studies. Suggest some ethical dilemmas that are likely to emerge for each.
- A study of coping behaviors among rape victims
The dilemma would be whether to disclose the identity of the rape perpetrator in an ongoing clinical case.
- An unobtrusive observational study of fathers’ behaviors in the delivery room
The ethical dilemma would be whether to allow fathers to be present in the delivery room upon the wife’s request.
- An interview study of the determinants of heroin addiction
The dilemma would be whether to divulge information regarding the source of heroin to the police.
- A study of dependence among mentally retarded children
The ethical dilemma would be whether to allow a guardian to make a medical decision that would potentially harm the patient, such as the refusal of treatment.
- An investigation of verbal interactions among schizophrenic patients
The ethical dilemma would be whether to impose a course of treatment to a non-cooperating patient.
- A study of the effects of a new drug on humans
The ethical dilemma would be whether to use human or non-human subjects to test the effect of the drug.
- A study of the relationship between sleeping patterns and acting-out behaviors in hospitalized psychiatric patients.
The ethical dilemma would be whether to induce sleep through medications to reduce acting-out behaviors in hospitalized psychiatric patients.
