1- Is the Phenomenon of interest clearly identified? If so, what is it? The Phenomenon of interest is clearly identified in the article by the researcher. According to the researcher, the Phenomenon of interest was to conduct a descriptive
Phenomenological study which will describe and enhance the understanding of what it is like to live with bipolar disorder and comorbid substance used disorder.
2- Has the researcher identified why the Phenomenon requires a qualitative format?
According to the article, the researcher has clearly identified why the Phenomenon requires a qualitative format. A qualitative, descriptive, Phenomenological design was selected to provide information on the lived experience of adults with bipolar disorder and comorbid substance use disorder because the world view of Phenomenology accepts that the truth can be revealed through the words of those that live the experience and that those words can describe the essence of that lived experience (Thomas & Pollio, 2002). Also, according to Wojnar & Swanson, 2007, descriptive Phenomenology has its emphasis on describing universal essences and called for the exploration of Phenomena through direct interaction between the researcher and the object of study.
3- What is the purpose of the study?
The purpose of this study according to the researcher was to understand and describe the lived experience of adult bipolar patients and comorbid substance use disorder. The study’s aim was to bring focus and attention to the concerns of these individuals. This patient population is at risk for untoward events such as increased hospitalizations and suicides that create an urgent need for intervention and treatment. Gaining a sense of each participant’s perspective of what it is like to live with bipolar disorder and comorbid substance use disorder is significant to knowledge development and policy development to meet the needs of these patients.
4- What is the projected significance of the study to nursing?
The study has a lot of projected significance to nursing as stipulated by McBride (2007) that mental health nurses should be able to assist in the development of self-management within the framework of individualized care plans, the study also suggest that a fuller exploration of the experiences of these individuals may allow nurses to create self-management plans to assist patients with symptom management and proper medication use because participants in this study were using substances to relieve symptoms of racing thoughts, mood swings, and restlessness that are associated with bipolar disorder. So Nurses can work with individuals to identify better alternatives than using substances for relieve of symptoms of bipolar. The study also projected a reinforcement of nurses to increase vigilance in screening patients for suicidal ideation and also to better identify high risk patients. Nurses will be able to educate the patients about medication compliances.
5- Does the researcher describe the strategies used to collect and analyze the data? Explain.
The researcher clearly describes the strategies used to collect and analyze the data. Here, data collection and data analysis occurred concurrently as Colaizzi’s (1978) method of data interpretation was used as the framework for data analysis. He spent time with the interview data until essence and themes of patients with bipolar disorder and comorbid substance use disorder were identified as he listens to audiotapes several times noting inflections in participants voices and matching field notes with the recordings and each transcript was