Sickle Cell

Introduction

Sickle-cell disease is associated with serious co-morbidity that results in serious problems such as shortened lifespan and lowered life quality as compared to other diseases. Many patients with Sickle Cell (SC) suffer from frequent pain episodes mostly on a daily basis. Available research shows that health care providers perceive patients with SC to be addicted to opioids, and such patients are often subjected to negative attitudes from health care workers. Many people suffering from sickle-cell disease have learnt to successfully manage this condition, mostly in the outpatient setting without frequent utilization of health care facilities, frequent hospitalization or emergency visits. This group of patients is deemed productive; however, little research points out to the specific procedures that are used for maintaining good health of such people. This is why this study seeks to describe specific strategies that adult patients with Sickle Cell use to achieve the best physical health and live a quality life.

Question 1

Research Problem

Sickle Cell (SC) is a genetic blood-related disorder associated with chronic morbidity, unpredictable and unrelenting pain as well as increased risk of infections (Ballas, 2010). The people suffering from it are prescribed different medications. Available documentation shows that many adults with SC have cognitive deficiencies ranging from ischemia to brain damages. However, there is no clarity on how these factors affect the understanding of treatment, instructions of follow-ups and adherence to medication. Moreover, since SC patients have now outgrown health care professionals, they often find themselves managing multiple medications as well as self-care intervention. Thus, without a clear understanding of self-medication practices among adults with SC, there is little that can be done to identify and adequately meet their needs.

Research Questions

Patients with SC frequently lack self-efficacy as well as self-care management skills. Since those suffering from SC have longer lives, and they usually experience transition from pediatric to adult care without SC, there is a great need of identifying self-medication practices in order to accommodate the vulnerable population’s needs. Thus, the current research seeks to address the following research questions:

1. What self-medication prescription practices are usually used among patients with SC?

2. What adverse self-medication behaviors are evident in adults living with SC?

Research Sampling Techniques

Random sampling is the simplest technique in which participants are selected from the population without an order. The technique is easy to adopt although it is not accurate. Probability sampling technique is the most accurate one; however, it is sometimes difficult or complicated to employ. This method also utilizes some random selection procedures in defining the units of the population to choose with equal probabilities.

Sampling Process

Data will be collected through questionnaires where participants will be selected randomly and subjected to an initial interview, which will be followed by a telephone call. In this case, random sampling will be the best method since it will provide secure and fair assembling of participants in such a large and mixed population. The samples selected will also represent the entire patient population. However, this method will require the team to provide a complete and up-to-date list of the participants.

Ethical Standards

To ensure adherence to the ethical standards, the participants will be notified about the purpose of the study in order for them to make an informed decision. The information will be collected and reported honestly besides being well secured to protect the participants’ privacy. It will also be coded to ensure security and privacy of the content. The coded data will then be analyzed across all variables arranged by race and age.

Question 2

Quantitative Research

This type of research employs numbers to collect data. This method is useful since it enables the researcher to generalize the findings about the population under consideration. It is also possible to select and study a sample of the population as a representation of the entire population. However, it should be noted that many kinds of data are difficult to study using structured instruments of data collection.

Qualitative Research

For the study, an exploratory descriptive study design will be used. A qualitative approach will be utilized to inform the involved research theories (Jenerette, 2008). The study will take place in a health center that provides medical care to over 400 SC patients. Adult patients who consent to participating in the study will be taken to a private room. The research will utilize a clinical entry version to enter the self-reported information. Dependent variables will include self-medication variable and adverse medication behaviors. Homogeneity will be the control strategy. This will have one sample of adults who are living with SC. The study limitation will be the number of patients who may not be suitable for representation of the general population of adults living with SC.

Data Collection

Collection of data will occur via questionnaires where participants will be selected randomly and interviewed; this will be followed by a telephone call. Random sampling will be the most appropriate method in this case since it will provide secure and fair assembling of participants in such a large and mixed population, and it will represent the entire patient population. However, this method will require the team to provide a complete and up-to-date list of the participants. The calls will be used to ask the participants questions regarding the actions taken after obtaining the survey results. There will be the analysis of the frequency distribution of the scores of the adverse self-medication behavior.  Since this will be a small feasibility study, there is no conclusion that will be made on the basis of race or age.