Quantitative Research Critique of Buprenorphine Induction in Primary Care Research Paper

Buprenorphine Induction in Primary Care

Abstract of the study provides a clear overview of the study. It introduces the uses of the buprenorphine in the primary care settings and the study grouped in the case. It provides the methodology used to study and analyze the topic. For example, it uses different methods of collecting data such as assessment, follow-ups, urine toxicology testing, and measurement of the primary outcomes associated with opioid withdrawal. The study fails to include the population size in the methodology section. It does not provide the inclusion and exclusion criteria used in the study relating to the delimitations of the study. Besides, the study does not provide the age limit of the participants in the abstract section. This information is essential as it provides objective information about the study. The study provides concise information on the study findings. This is useful in predicting the results of the study and the relevance of the conclusions made.

Methods

The problem statement of the study is not overtly stated. Buprenorphine is one of the most effective drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for managing office-based opioid dependence. The high receptor binding to the opioid receptors makes the buprenorphine the most effective drug for managing opioid dependence. However, the recent past has witnessed the introduction of the home induction technique of managing the opioid dependence. The patient is evaluated before the treatment, receive treatment, and have the option to discontinue opioid misuse to initiate the withdrawal. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of home based induction of the buprenorphine used by approximately 42% of the physicians of the Massachusetts. The title of the study does not suggest the key variables and the study group. As such, it provides an overview that does not give an idea of the objectives of the study alongside the targeted population. The title should have included a group of people the study targeted and the problem investigated.

The study aimed at determining the feasibility, safety and early effects associated with the use of buprenorphine as a home-based treatment for managing opioid dependence. In addition, the study aimed at to determine the advantages linked with the use of buprenorphine in home induction therapy. The study does not state its hypothesis. The study sought to evaluate the feasibility and safety of the home-induced therapy in managing opioid-dependence used by the physicians of the Bellevue Hospital Center's Adult Primary Care Clinic. However, basing on the way in which the research question is formulated, one could infer the positive relationship between safety and feasibility of a home-induced therapy in the management of opioid dependence. The readers infer from the statistical analysis and result in a positive relationship between the two variables. The inferred hypothesis is constant throughout the literature review. For example, the authors state that home-induced therapy has potential advantages such as time saving safe and uncomplicated nature that are proven at the end of the study as evidenced by the results obtained. Therefore, this implies that buprenorphine use in home-induced therapy is more effective in improving the health and health outcomes of the opioid dependent patients.

There is a strong and concise review of the literature used by the authors of the study. The study uses 30 references to illuminate a light on the effectiveness of the home-induced therapy in the management of opioid dependence. Out of the 30 references, six were published within the last six years like 6 (2008), 7 (2007), 3 (2006), 3 (2005), 2 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2000), 1 (1999), 1 (1998), 1 (1992), 1 (1990). The rest comprising of the online articles were obtained from websites of different organizations involved in the provision of treatment of opioid dependence. In addition, of the 30 references used in the literature review, 27 were primary research.The references used in the literature review in the study provided a theoretical underpinning for the study, hence its significance. The literature review provided shows that the strict adherence to the given guidelines such as restraining the patient from opioid use for them to enter into a withdrawal state influences the outcomes of the therapy adopted to manage opioid dependence. The reviews also show that there is a minimal difference between the feasibility and safety associated with office induced and home-based management of opioid dependence. In addition, studies on the feasibility and safety of buprenorphine home-induced therapy showed that best practices such as improving access of the participants to group counseling and the in-clinic counseling reduced the opioid use significantly among the participants. A gap in the study was found in that feasibility and safety of the home-induced therapy has not been studied alongside the office-based therapy of managing opioid dependence. Generalizability resulting from involvement of the physicians certified to practice in addiction medicine and induction were directly observed as limitations of the study.

Buprenorphine is defined as a drug of choice for managing opioid dependence in the primary health care settings. It is further defined in the article basing on its mechanisms of action. Observed induction/home induction method of managing opioid dependence is described in the first page of the article. However, the study does not use any nursing or medical model to provide a theoretical underpinning for the study. The authors ensured safety by employing an effective selection of the participants. The study used opioid dependent patients seeking treatment and consenting to the opioid abstinence. Pregnant patients and those with disabling psychiatric and medical conditions and those with co-occurring substance abuse were excluded to ensure their safety. The authors reported that all the participants consented to the study and provided with questionnaires with the written purpose and consent of the student to ensure adherence to research ethics. The design of the study minimized the risks and maximized the benefits to the participants. It involved performing medical tests and maintaining a regular contact with the participants to ensure the safety of their health and management of emergencies.

Results

A quantitative study was used as it aimed at collecting information related to the feelings of the participants. The study does not provide the data analysis method used in obtaining the results. The study did not compare the results across different genders. It compared the response of opioid dependent male and ethnic/racial minorities to the observation induction method. The physician or coordinator collected the baseline and follow up information. The data were collected at the patients' home when they failed to turn up and at the health care facility. The study provided inclusion and exclusion criteria to reduce threats to internal and external validity of the study. There is a good description of the sample as it used opioid dependent men seeking for opioid treatment and not pregnant or mental and physical disabling condition. A sample size of 103 participants is sufficient for the study. The decision to use patients referred for treatment of opioid dependence provided study with the desired convenience. The variables of the study were defined and explicated from five previous researches. The data collection methods are concise. It provides information on the individuals who collected the data and all the participants received the treatment. Data analysis was performed using the Stat IC/10.0 to determine the influence of observation induction in managing opioid dependence. The information is presented in tables 1, 2, and 3 and figures 1, and 2 in a descriptive manner.

Discussion

It is apparently clear that the problem of the study provides a persuasive argument for a new study into the topic. It begins by providing the usual uses of buprenorphine an office-based pharmacology in managing the opioid dependence.....