Biomedical subjects

Vanora Hundley

Publications and source records attributed to Vanora Hundley.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Maternity satisfaction studies and their limitations: "What is, must still be best".

BACKGROUND: Health policymakers throughout the developed world are paying close attention to factors in maternity care that may influence women's satisfaction. This paper examines some of these factors in the light of observations from previous studies of satisfaction with health services. METHODS: The Scottish Birth Study, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey, sought the views of all women in Scotland delivering during a 10-day period in 1998. A total of 1,137 women completed and returned questionnaires (response rate = 69%). RESULTS: Women were overwhelmingly satisfied with their prenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal care. As is common in this type of study, reports of dissatisfaction were relatively low. However, differences occurred in satisfaction levels between subgroups; for example, the fewer the number of caregivers the woman had during childbirth, the more likely she was to be satisfied with the care received. A range of factors appeared to influence reported satisfaction levels, such as characteristics of the care provided and the woman's psychosocial circumstances. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to the inherent limitations of satisfaction studies found in the literature, problems may arise if such surveys are used uncritically to shape the future provision of maternity services, because service users tend to value the status quo over innovations of which they have no experience. Therefore, although satisfaction surveys have a role to play, we argue that they should only be used with caution, and preferably as part of an array of tools.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Getting your paper to the right journal: a case study of an academic paper.

BACKGROUND: The scientific community views the publication of academic papers as a means of disseminating information, ensuring transparency and good practice in terms of research utilization. However, the choice of journal in which to publish is frequently influenced by other, less obvious, factors. This paper describes the lengthy route taken to get a methodological paper about pilot studies into print. AIM AND METHOD: This paper shares some of our experiences and discusses the lessons that we learned about the process of getting into print. A case study approach is adopted to help the reader understand the different influences on this process. FINDINGS: Our methodological paper was submitted to six different academic journals before it was finally accepted for publication. The choice of journal was influenced by the need to reach an appropriate academic audience, the estimated turn around time (the time taken between submission of a paper and its subsequent publication) and the level of academic credibility of the journal (often assessed by the journal's Impact Factor). Publishing in 'high impact' academic journals assumed considerable importance for us in view of the UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). However, the consequence of going down the journal status hierarchy was that we lost about 1 year through submitting, rewriting according to each of the journal's specific requirements and resubmitting. The case study also demonstrates that getting into print often depends on a range of factors, not just the quality of the written text. CONCLUSIONS: Getting a paper published may depend not only on the intrinsic quality of the paper, but also whether it is submitted to the 'right' academic journal. Moreover, if journals do not take certain papers (e.g. ones with negative findings or those reporting multi-disciplinary studies) then this can lead to publication bias.

Periodicals as Topic↗

PubMed2002

The role of pilot studies in midwifery research.

This second paper in a series on research emphasises the importance of conducting 'pilot' or 'feasibility' studies prior to embarking on more in-depth research. It focuses on piloting the two main data collection methods used by midwives in social or health research--quantitative questionnaires and qualitative interviews.

Data Collection↗

PubMed2002

Getting started in research.

This paper introduces the preliminary steps in taking a clinical question or observation from practice and turning it into a potential research project. Future papers in this series will look at aspects of the research process in more detail.

Data Collection↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The importance of pilot studies.

The term 'pilot studies' refers to mini versions of a full-scale study (also called 'feasibility' studies), as well as the specific pre-testing of a particular research instrument such as a questionnaire or interview schedule. Pilot studies are a crucial element of a good study design. Conducting a pilot study does not guarantee success in the main study, but it does increase the likelihood of success. Pilot studies fulfill a range of important functions and can provide valuable insights for other researchers. There is a need for more discussion among researchers of both the process and outcomes of pilot studies.

Bias↗