Chaney - 2004 Flashcards
What was the aim?
to improve medical adherence in young asthmatics
What was the sample?
32 Australian children
- 10 males, 22 females
- aged 1.5 - 6
- currently receiving regular asthma treatment
What are the strengths of the sample?
both genders (boys and girls) tested
What are the weaknesses of the sample?
small & ethnocentric
- not representative or generalisable
- lacks population validity
What type of sampling technique was used?
opportunity - local clinics
What are the strengths of an opportunity sample?
easy to obtain
What are the weaknesses of an opportunity sample?
same type of person = lacks population validity
What is the method?
field experiment
Why is this a field experiment?
because it took place in the participants own homes
What is a strengths of the method?
natural environment and is likely to be representative and ecologically valid
What are the weaknesses of the method?
cannot control EVs e.g., other children, outside illnesses
What is the IV?
type of inhaler
What is the DV?
amount of adherence
What is the design?
repeated measures design
Why is this study a repeated measures design?
because participants already used the normal inhaler and then the funhaler
What are the weaknesses of the repeated measures design?
- order effects - practice and cannot be counterbalanced
What are the strengths of repeated measures design?
no individual differences
What was done before the study took place?
comparisons to ensure that the funhaler did not compromise drug delivery
What happened with parents before the study?
parents contacted by telephone and then visited their home for written informed consent that consisted of the tasks and the risks involved
How is this study self-report?
questionnaire that included fixed choice questions and then interviewed about attitudes toward current asthma device
Why is the interviews and questionnaire timings important?
before the funhaler introduced - to minimise recruitment effects as it may attract a specific type of person and would reduce the validity of the sample
What is the procedure?
- use funhaler for 2 weeks (only with adult supervision)
- parents contacted by 1 telephone call on an ad hoc basis - asked whether they had medicated their child the previous day
- visited at the end of the 2 week trial
What happened at the end of the 2 week period?
2nd questionnaire that was the same as the first one but about the funhaler and not the regular
What is the funhaler?
- attractive components that resemble a toy such as a spinner and whistle (can be switched out to avoid boredom)
- face-mask attachment for the pre-school age group
What are the key findings?
- funhaler improved compliance of parents and child
- when surveyed on ad hoc 81% of parents medicated their child the previous day (existing spacer = 59%) - significantly more parents reported ‘always’ successful in medicating child
What are the conclusions?
- funhaler is useful as medical adherence improved
- more research is recommended for long-term efficiency
What type of data is collected?
quantitative
How can the data be evaluated?
strengths:
- objective
- easy to analyse and compare
weaknesses:
- does not provide reasoning
Why is the data quantitative?
fixed choice questionnaire
What are the ethical issues?
lack informed consent - children BUT gained it from parents
How is this study reliable?
standardised procedure = internal reliability - same questionnaire for both conditions of the IV
Is this study reductionist or holistic and why?
Reductionist - does not take other factors into consideration - solely focuses on positive reinforcement and the funhaler
