Respiration is the process of taking in and using oxygen. Diseases are any harmful change that interferes with the normal appearance, structure, or function of the body or any of its parts (Crisp & Taylor 2009). The content of this topic will outline important issues that concern oxygen and respiratory disease. Respiratory disease is the term used for defining diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema and asthma. Common signs and symptoms of respiratory disease are coughing, wheezing, dyspnoea and production of abnormal secretions like sputum and haemoptysis (Jenkins et al 2008).
Respiratory disease accounted for 8. 4% of the registered deaths in Australia in 2007. There was an estimated 6. 6% increase in deaths caused by respiratory disease from 2006. For that reason it is fairly important to have knowledge concerning people’s respiratory system and how to prevent related diseases (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007). In relation to nursing, it is important to monitor and record a full set of vital signs to be able to get the accurate results in order to prevent respiratory diseases.
However, the implementation of this simple disease prevention method has been neglected in Hospitals around Australia and is thus the major cause of the rise in registered deaths in Australia due to respiratory diseases. The importance of this disease prevention method mentioned above will be discussed below in more detail due to it’s importance to the reduction of the death rate in Australia and the prevention of avoidable deaths. RESPIRATORY RATE: THE NEGLECTED VITAL SIGN
This article targets nurses with the intention of letting them know that respiratory rate is important and is considered a standard for observing and monitoring the patients on acute hospital wards, particularly with patients who have a respiratory condition. It outlines that the level of documentation of respiratory rate of the patients in many hospitals is extremely poor. This is a research article that believes that respiratory rate is an indicator of serious illness.
One point of view that this article is stating is that nurses and doctors need to be more aware of the importance of an abnormal respiratory rate as a maker of a serious illness. It’s research findings states that “an adult that has the respiratory rate of over 24beats/minute is likely to be critically ill” (Cretikos et al 2008). This article has presented a good point outlining the importance of the respiratory rate in recording a full set of vital signs.
This article is easy to read and understand its point of view from the definition of respiration rate to the solutions and recommendations on how it will systematically improve the frequency of improving the respiratory rate.
However, having said all the strength of the article, it is too short that it could have had more information about statistical findings on death rate of people caused by respiratory disease. In summary, respiratory rate is important to monitor the full set of vital signs as it helps nurses to provide more quality care for the patient. The health care system needs to improve its knowledge about the purpose of respiratory rate and pulse oximetry in regards to the early indication of serious respiratory illness in patients in acute wards.
Article 2 This article is a qualitative research article as it discusses in depth the administration and the complications with the delivery of oxygen therapy to patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The article however does not present statistical findings, which is seen as a weakness of this article in relation to the other articles presented in this analysis. The intention of the article is to bring awareness to nurses of the safe application of oxygen therapy.
The target readers of this article are nurses in order to help increase awareness and knowledge of the proper application of oxygen therapy to COPD patients. The article stresses the need for a change in the practice of oxygen therapy in order for nurses to provide safer administration of the oxygen therapy to their patients. The research findings of this article state that even though oxygen is a life saving therapy, it is a drug and if it is not prescribed accurately it could diminish the chances of curing hypoxaemia, hypercapnia and oxygen toxicity.
In order to accurately supply oxygen to the patients, The theory or the purpose of the article is to provide the required flow rates for oxygen therapy for patients in different circumstances or stages of respiratory disease as well as the implications of over or under supplying patients undertaking this therapy with oxygen. This article is of high value to nurses as it details the procedures of safe application of oxygen therapy to COPD patients. Article 3.
COPD exacerbations is a qualitative article even though it presents quantitative research methodologies with the large amount of statistical findings noted in the article. It is qualitative in that it defines an exacerbation of COPD thoroughly as well as detailing in depth the causes, effects and prevention methods of exacerbations of COPD. Statistical findings including graphs are constantly presented throughout the article, which strengthens the point of the article to a much larger extent.
However the research findings concluded in the article merely state that the “although many pharmacological and non pharmacological interventions prevent exacerbations, the degree of reduction in exacerbation frequency is still restricted and we now need new interventions to be urgently developed and studied in well designed and adequately powered randomised trials. ” As mentioned before, this article is considered qualitative due to the wealth of information provided as well as quantitative due to the amount of statistical findings.
The wealth of information provided is one of the strengths of this article. However the research findings (conclusion) are very weak as the author could have used the wealth of information gathered and written in order to provide a more academic article worthy conclusion that could benefit the medical community rather than an opinion that states the eventual next step that the medical community will take to attempt to reduce the frequency of exacerbations in COPD patients and improve their quality of life.
The target readers of this article are any members of the medical community that require insight into the exacerbations of COPD patients and researchers attempting to fight this disease through the testing of new interventions to prevent or reduce the frequency of exacerbations. From the conclusion of the article, we can deduce that the intention of the article was to bring attention to the next step of researching the therapy for COPD exacerbations. Conclusion.
The three articles analysed above have provided useful and plentiful information on the treatment of respiratory diseases such as COPD, exacerbations in COPD as well as detailed information on the safe implementation and use of oxygen therapy in reducing the frequency of exacerbations in COPD patients. The wealth of information provided in all three articles will help current and future nurses in using safer procedures when dealing with COPD patients and giving them awareness of the causes and effect of exacerbations of COPD.
Simply, the articles provide necessary and detailed information for nurses when administrating treatments for respiratory diseases. The end game is for nurses to provide quality care to patients suffering from respiratory diseases, which has been lacking in Australian hospitals. To achieve this, it should be mandated that nurses keep up to date with the latest research and information on the treatment of these diseases through medical research articles such as those analysed above.
The aim of increasing the knowledge of nurses regarding the care of patients with respiratory diseases is to ultimately reduce the death rate due to respiratory diseases, which have increased in 2007 by more than 100% from 2006 levels. To conclude, it is necessary and important to update Australian nurses education constantly through medical articles and journals related to respiratory diseases in order to reduce or prevent the effects of these diseases on patients in Australian hospitals.
REFERENCES:
Cretikos, MA, Bellomo, R, Hillman, K, Chen, J, Finfer, S & Flabouris, A 2008, ‘Respiratory rate: the neglected vital sign’, Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 188, no. 11, pp. 657-659, viewed 10 August 2010, http://www. mja. com. au. ezproxy. uow. edu. au/public/issues/188_11_020608/cre11027_fm. pdf Crisp, J & Taylor, C 2009, Potter & Perry’s Fundamentals of Nursing, Mosby Elsevier Australia, NSW, Australia. Holland, K, Jenkins, J, Solomon, J & Whittam, S 2008, Applying the Roper-Logan-Tierney Model in Practice, Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, Sydney. Jadwiga, AW &.