Qualitative Research Analysis Paper
Haley Tappendorf, Joanna Kaufman, Erika Collins, Gregory Cahill, & Jessica Gragert
Lakeview College of Nursing
N302- Nursing Research
June 22, 2012

Qualitative Research Analysis Paper
Summary
This article studied physical activity in the retirement community. Its main focus was on barriers to physical activity, experienced by women living in retirement communities, and how exercise is facilitated for them. The study looked at how much physical activity being presently performed and compared it with each woman’s level of physical activity prior to residing in the retirement community. The study then detailed how certain factors affected physical activity such as social interactions, location and environmental factors. (Bjornsdottir, Arnadottir & Halldorsdottir, 2012). The study determined that things such as pleasant outdoor weather, indoor exercise facilities, social exercise experiences, and encouragement from staff and family were all facilitators of exercise. Barriers to exercising in the retirement community included poor, hazardous outdoor walking areas, low motivation, and care dependency (Bjornsdottir et al, 2012).
Problem/Purpose
The purpose of this article was clearly defined. With adequate exercise playing such an important role in the health of older adults, it was important to determine how factors such as retirement community living affected their physical activity (Bjornsdottir et, 2012).  This topic is very significant to nursing as when patients regularly exercise, overall physical and mental health is increased. This means overall healthier patients and faster recovery times for those that do wind up in the hospital. Determining how retirement communities affect physical activity is a study that could be researched empirically and data could show just how much exercise these older adults are getting while they are living in these communities. This study took these numbers a step further by determining what factors are facilitating or acting as barriers to physical exercise. 
Framework
The article did not clearly state that it was based on a framework but appeared to be based on a conceptual framework, considering the content described. The framework fit the problem as it stated the importance of physical activity in the prevention of disease and functional decline of the body (Bjornsdottir et al, 2012). The concepts and relationships of this framework were described throughout the article.
Literature Review
The review of literature was appropriate, thorough, and organized. According to the article, “Facilitators of and Barriers to Physical Activity in Retirement Communities: Experiences of Older Women in Urban Areas”, previous research supported the ideas that physical activity was positively influenced by self-efficacy, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, social support, and exercise companions. The research referenced by the authors was as current as 2010 and the article was published in 2012 (Bjornsdottir et al., 2012). The research was well critiqued by the authors as they stated the different results found in previous studies on this topic and compared the findings. The researchers reviewed the interviews repeatedly after they were conducted in order to get any crucial details. There was somewhat of a gap in knowledge as most of the research done was on men and women, with none done specifically on women living in retirement communities.
Research Question
The research hypotheses or question was clearly stated as finding the correlation between barriers and facilitators of PA for women in retirement communities (Bjornsdottir et al., 2012). It is researchable considering the many sources used for this article. However there was no prior research on women in retirement communities in particular and future researchers may need to do a lot of inferring because of the lack of research on this exact topic. The hypothesis related logically to the problem discussion, literature review, and framework. All of the previous research referenced compared to the problem being discussed and supported the hypothesis. 
Variables
The variables of the study were all clearly identified and were dependent of each other. The variables consisted of the women themselves (with their respective health conditions, characteristics of functioning, and other individual factors), the actual environment, and the social environment. The study was structured by a conceptual framework. The variables had a relationship with one another. The influences of the variables facilitated or hindered the physical activities of the women living in the retirement community and no irrelevant variables were identified. All variables correlated to the study produced an imperative insight into the older women’s experience of physical activities in the retirement communities.
Design
The study design was qualitative and directed by the Vancouver School of Doing Phenomenology.  The researchers prepared their findings as a construction and as a model or table. The design was appropriate for the study and the internal validity was addressed. The researchers focused on the factors that hindered or facilitated physical activity in the retirement community. 
Sample
The information obtained was expressed naturally by the older women that resided in the retirement homes. The researchers recruited women who were at least 70 years old and lived in a retirement community for at least 6 months. The women needed to have the ability of verbal expression to share their experiences. Those who participated in the study were given written information about the study and signed an informed consent before the interview. Researchers explained that choosing participants for the study likely caused a sampling bias, thus making it impossible to ensure that the sample completely represented the population. According to the researchers the study likely had an elite bias due to various reasons: some participants were more active or talkative than others, weather experiences, and effects of each participant’s culture. They also noted a limited diversity of the interviews as they took place in one geographic area.
Data Collection
	The first author conducted interviews with all 10 participants and interviewed 2 of the participants twice.  All participants were given written information about the study and signed consent forms before entering the interview.  The interviews took place at each woman’s home or in a service center within the retirement community, based on the women’s preference.  Interview questions were open and based on the main interview question (Bjornsdottir et al, 2012).  
Data Analysis
	The researchers used the 12 basic steps of the research process of the Vancouver School of Doing Phenomenology: sampling, setting aside preconceived ideas, conduct interviews, data analysis, coding, construction of analytic framework, verification of this framework, constructing the structure of the phenomenon, comparing this structure with the data, identifying overriding themes, verifying conclusions, and then writing up the findings (Bjornsdottir et al, 2012).  When all 3 researchers concluded that no new information was gained from the 2 last interviews, saturation was reached.
Findings
	The researchers identified 3 main themes that either facilitated or hindered physical activity (PA):  the physical environment, the woman herself, and the social environment.  In the physical environment: safe sidewalks, good outdoor areas, and indoor exercise facilities were facilitators of PA, while icy sidewalks, hills or stairs, poor outdoor areas and unfamiliar surroundings were barriers.  Individual factors that facilitated PA were a formerly physical lifestyle, motivation, self-efficacy and sociability while barriers included a physically passive lifestyle, low motivation, declining health and sociophobia.  In the social environment: encouragement from family or staff, low care responsibility, and offers of physical training promoted activity while the absence or opposite of these served as barriers.  
Conclusion
This research study conducted by Bjornsdottir et al. regarding the connection between an elder woman’s residence and her ability to remain physically active was sorely inadequate. Some of the findings are painfully obvious (i.e. icy sidewalks can be a barrier to activity while dry sidewalks promote it) and the lengthy research and literature reviewed would be better respected by a more thorough investigation than was conducted. It is not evident how the findings fully relate to the aging public at large as all subjects included in this study were women aged 70 or older, lived in retirement communities in one area, and were required to possess the ability of verbal expression to be included.  To adequately understand the effects that physical, individual, or social factors have on activity levels a more inclusive sample should be taken. Maintaining physical activity has been widely linked to higher levels of health and quality of life in the elderly. It is important that healthcare staff be able to understand and recognize factors that can positively or negatively affect this activity to ensure better patient outcomes.
References
Bjornsdottir, G., Arnadottir, S. A., & Halldorsdottir, S. (2012). Facilitators of and barriers to physical activity in retirement communities: Experiences of older women in urban areas. Physical Therapy, 92(4), 551-562. doi:10.2522/ptj.20110149