1 RESEARCH ARTICLE APPRAISAL, PART ONE
Research Article Appraisal, Part One
University of Texas at Arlington
NURS 5366
10/9/2020
1
, 1 RESEARCH ARTICLE APPRAISAL, PART ONE
Introduction
The article that will be appraised in this paper will be: Reflective Debriefing: A Social
Work Intervention Addressing Moral Distress among ICU Nurses by Emily D. Browning and
Jourdan S. Cruz (Browning & Cruz, 2018). The topics that will be discussed in this paper include
a literature review, research problem, purpose, research question, theoretical framework,
variables, as well as the research design of the article. The authors of this article are both in the
palliative care department and seem to have adequate qualifications to conduct this study. The
article does not reference the educational backgrounds or clinical experience of the authors. The
title of this article conveys that the authors will discuss the relationship between moral distress
and its affects among ICU nurses that participate in reflective debriefing. The population
identified within the title of the article are ICU nurses.
The abstract within this article is not very descriptive. The abstract indicates that the
purpose of the article is to show how moral distress is alleviated through regular debriefing
within the nursing staff on the ICU unit (Browning & Cruz, 2018). The design of this study is not
clarified within the abstract. The abstract describes the intervention as being the completion ofthe
Moral Distress Scale Revised and the population sample states that the participants are 42 ICU
nurses. The results presented in the abstract conveyed that moral distress within ICU nurses can
be decreased with continued reflective debriefing. The abstract did not go into much detail to
describe the demographics of the sample size or if consent was obtained.
Literature Review (ROL)
There have been several studies that show the cause of moral distress however little
research done has been done on interventions that can be used to alleviate moral distress found
2
Research Article Appraisal, Part One
University of Texas at Arlington
NURS 5366
10/9/2020
1
, 1 RESEARCH ARTICLE APPRAISAL, PART ONE
Introduction
The article that will be appraised in this paper will be: Reflective Debriefing: A Social
Work Intervention Addressing Moral Distress among ICU Nurses by Emily D. Browning and
Jourdan S. Cruz (Browning & Cruz, 2018). The topics that will be discussed in this paper include
a literature review, research problem, purpose, research question, theoretical framework,
variables, as well as the research design of the article. The authors of this article are both in the
palliative care department and seem to have adequate qualifications to conduct this study. The
article does not reference the educational backgrounds or clinical experience of the authors. The
title of this article conveys that the authors will discuss the relationship between moral distress
and its affects among ICU nurses that participate in reflective debriefing. The population
identified within the title of the article are ICU nurses.
The abstract within this article is not very descriptive. The abstract indicates that the
purpose of the article is to show how moral distress is alleviated through regular debriefing
within the nursing staff on the ICU unit (Browning & Cruz, 2018). The design of this study is not
clarified within the abstract. The abstract describes the intervention as being the completion ofthe
Moral Distress Scale Revised and the population sample states that the participants are 42 ICU
nurses. The results presented in the abstract conveyed that moral distress within ICU nurses can
be decreased with continued reflective debriefing. The abstract did not go into much detail to
describe the demographics of the sample size or if consent was obtained.
Literature Review (ROL)
There have been several studies that show the cause of moral distress however little
research done has been done on interventions that can be used to alleviate moral distress found
2
