Improved quality of care is one of the major issues that has characterized modern healthcare practices. Ferreri et al. (2016) conducted a study to examine enhanced quality of life and decrease of traditional drugs in homeopathy treatment of allergic patients. The study was carried out in the Centre for Integrated Medicine in Pitigliano, Tuscany. These researchers conducted their study in this healthcare facility because its an innovative hospital that provides homeopathy and acupuncture in combination with conventional clinical care. Therefore, this facility provides integrated medical care for patient treatment, which makes it ideal for examining enhanced quality of life and decrease in conventional drugs. This paper examines the study conducted by these researchers in relation to establishing the reliability of its findings and conclusions as well as the suitability of the research process.

Brief Summary of the Research

Ferreri et al. (2016) conducted a research in which the examined the issue of improved quality of life and decrease of conventional medicine in homeopathy treatment of allergic patients. The research was carried out on the premise that complementary medicine is not sanctioned by conventional medicine in several Western countries such as Italy. This is despite the increased recognition of the significance of complementary medicine in the modern healthcare setting to address the ever-changing needs of patients. The research was conducted in the Centre for Integrated Medicine in Pitigliano, Tuscany after the Italian Regional Government granted permission for the facility to provide integrated healthcare to in-patients and out-patients. The facility provides a wide range of integrated care approaches such as acupuncture, homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, and conventional clinical care.

To achieve the goals of the study, these researchers conducted a 4-year evaluation of healthcare services provided to the hospital's patients. During the observation period between 2011 and 2014, the researchers examined 430 allergic patients who were treated with homeopathy. While most of the patients were referred to the hospital through word of mouth, only 28% of them knew that homeopathy was a complementary medical discipline. These patients were from different age groups i.e. between 3 and 78 years and other varying demographics. During the observation, the researchers collected four kinds of data that were crucial towards achieving the study's objectives. First, the researchers examined compliance with treatment through several follow-up appointments within a 2-year period. Secondly, the researchers examined the patients' allergic system through the use of Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale. The third kind of data was quality of life, which was assessed using a quality of life questionnaire (SF-12). The final kind of data was changes or improvements in traditional medicine usage to address allergic symptoms (Ferreri et al., 2016).

Based on the observations, patients demonstrated very high clinical compliance with treatment since 89% of patients returned regularly whereas 11% dropped out. The major reason for drop out was significant improvement while other patients dropped out because of adverse side effects and challenges in geographical location. Secondly, most of the patients experienced improvements in their allergic symptoms within the 2-year follow-up period. Third, patients reported improvements in quality of life from the first follow-up to the entire 2-year period of follow-up. Finally, the study showed a significant reduction in the usage of conventional drugs among patients by between 85% and 100%. The researchers concluded that an integrated homeopathy treatment approach is effective in treatment of allergic patients. Given these findings, the researchers demonstrated that patients experience significant clinical benefits from homeopathy and value the treatment. While these study provides significant... The researchers only affirmed the benefit and value of treating allergic patients using homeopathy as complementary medicine, which helps improve quality of life and reduces the use of conventional medicine.

Research Question

One of the most important aspect of conducting a research is stating the research question, which guides the research process and help determine research objectives. In this study, the researcher did not state the research question but simply highlighted the purpose of the study. The researchers' failure to state the research question can be attributable to the use of observation as the premise for conducting the research. In this case, the researchers did not seek to test any hypothesis and/or conduct an exploratory research, but make observations relating to the specific issues under investigation. The observations were adequate to provide insights on the issues under investigation, which demonstrates the lack of a research question in the study.

Relevant Evidence, Experiences and/or Information

High-quality researches usually entail citing relevant evidence, experiences and/or information that is essential to the issue or phenomenon under investigation. Consequently, in most studies, researchers include a literature review section and/or cite sources that help in understanding the specific issue. The inclusion of literature review section provides a background for understanding the research issue/topic based on existing evidence or prior studies that have been carried out about it. The citing of relevant evidence, experiences and/or information is also crucial towards understanding the researcher's reasoning when conducting the study and arriving at his/her conclusions.

This study does not include a literature review section through the authors highlight relevant statements regarding the recognition of complementary medicine in several Western countries in the introduction section. Despite the lack of a literature review section, the researchers cite two sources that provide essential background information regarding the issue under investigation. First, the researchers cite a study on the integration of conventional medicine, acupuncture, and homeopathy. This source provides relevant information to the study because it demonstrates how homeopathy is utilized as a complementary treatment approach as part of integrated medicine. Secondly, the researchers cite a study on Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, which was one of the tools utilized to collect data relating to allergic symptoms of patients. This helps in understanding the processes utilized in data collection and contribute towards generating reliable findings and conclusions.

Relevant Assumptions

When conducting a study, researchers tend to make several assumptions during the research process and generating credible research findings. According to Simon (2011) research assumptions are some of the basic elements that must be present in order for a research problem to exist. Given the significance of assumptions, it is not only important for a researcher to state his/her assumptions but also provide justifications for the assumptions. The justifications of assumptions made when conducting a research helps in enhancing the reader's understanding of the issues raised in the research and its conclusions. Therefore, justification of assumptions is crucial, especially when those assumptions might be reasonably questioned by readers.

Even though the researchers make some assumptions, the study does not clearly state these assumptions and fails to provide the justifications for the assumptions. In this regard, the researchers have failed…