CONTENT:
Research criticName:Course:Institution:Date:Summary of the articleThis study aims at establishing the relationship between patient to nurse ratio and the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The authors of the article rely on secondary data collected from 27 ICU units in nine European countries. Six of such units did not provide adequate information regarding nurse staffing hence being deemed irrelevant in the study. Therefore, it means that the research was based on 21 ICU units in the actual sense. The fact that the article relies entirely on secondary data raises questions of the reliability of the information used as the baseline of the study. This means that if the findings of the secondary data are wrong, then the entire study loses its significance.The conclusion of the report is that lack of qualified nurses in ICU is the main contributory factor to the increased cases of ventilation-associated pneumonia (VAP). However, going through the report establishes that there are other causes of VAP such as trauma, which the report seems to overlook yet its impact on the study, cannot be underestimated. Contrary to what is stated in the conclusion and the discussion part of the study, one can easily identify that no relationship exists between the patient to nurse ratio and the risk of contracting VAP. These contradictory statements make it extremely hard for the hypothesis of the study to be tested. For instance, conclusion supports the hypothesis that high staffing levels in ICU reduced the risk of Ventilation Associated pneumonia while the findings negate that.Descriptive VividnessThe purpose of the study was to establish the relationship between patient to nurse ratio and the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). However, the significance was not adequately addressed. The author states how risk of VAP has increased over the years but does not clearly state how the study will help in addressing this issue. This should come very clearly in the objectives of the study. Concerning the purpose, the report is aimed at establishing the relationship between staffing in ICU and risk of VAP. The interpretations were not presented in a manner that can be easily comprehended and the question of how some of the statistical figures were arrived at remains unanswered. Documentation of ParticipantsThe participants included 27 ICU units` from9 European countries. The study involved a sample of 593 patients out of a total of 1658 patients. The research does not how the participants of the study were chosen to asc...