Retrospective Medical Record Research: Reflections of A Unsponsored Researcher

Bature, Fidelia; Guinn, Barbara; Vseteckova, Jitka; Pang, Dong; Pappas, Yannis

Abstract

This article is a reflective narrative by the author following the successful completion of a doctoral thesis involving the analysis of primary care data. The aim of the study was to identify patterns in signs and symptoms preceding a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Here, we discuss the challenges of conducting research using the patient medical health records as a non-sponsored researcher. The narrative explores the experiences of undertaking practice recruitment, issues that arose around access to data and the requirement for stakeholder commitment, with proposals for other similar projects that attempt to undertake research using patients’ data. The Gibbs reflective cycle was adopted in this narrative. This model encourages a clear description of events, analysis of personal feelings, evaluation of the experience, conclusions as to the options that were considered and actions to take if faced with the same study methods (involving primary care practitioners and/or the review of patient records). It also allows a structured reflection while simultaneously discussing the barriers and facilitators to undertaking a retrospective medical record research. The researcher also proposes some recommendation(s) to overcoming barriers to recruitment in primary care.

Citation

Bature, F., Guinn, B., Vseteckova, J., Pang, D., & Pappas, Y. (2019). Retrospective Medical Record Research: Reflections of A Unsponsored Researcher. Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research, 21(4), 16080-16086. https://doi.org/10.26717/BJSTR.2019.21.003642

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 1, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Oct 1, 2019
• Publication Date: Nov 15, 2019
• Deposit Date: Dec 18, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 24, 2019
• Journal: Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research
• Print ISSN: 2574-1241
• Electronic ISSN: 2574-1241
• Publisher: Biomedical Research Network, LLC
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 16080-16086
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.26717/BJSTR.2019.21.003642
• Keywords: Retrospective Medical Record Review; Unsponsored Researcher; General Practice; Interview; Reflection
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3170121
• Publisher URL: https://biomedres.us/