North America's Overdose Epidemic, Its Driving Forces, And Its Notable Points of Impact

Qualitative Critique
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Qualitative Critique
The research article titled "Gendered violence and overdose prevention sites: a rapid ethnographic study during an overdose epidemic in Vancouver, Canada," written by Boyd, Collins, Mayer, Maher, Kerr & McNeil (2018), focuses on North America's overdose epidemic, its driving forces, and its notable points of impact specifically gendered violence and harm among women who use drugs.
1 Statement of the Phenomenon of Interest
What is the phenomenon of interest, and is it stated to the reader? What is the justification for using a qualitative method? What are the philosophical underpinnings of the research method?
With the study, Boyd et al. (2018) seek to study further the nuances and complexities of the experiences of women who use drugs in overdose prevention sites in Vancouver. These nuances, Boyd et al. (2018) posits, are brought about by a confluence of different factors, including interpersonal (such as gendered violence), structural (such as criminalization and poverty), and socio-cultural (such as racializing discourse and gendered norms).
Boyd et al. (2018) utilized a qualitative analysis through rapid ethnographic fieldwork. Data was collected through 185 hours of naturalistic observation and in-depth interview methods. The researcher describes ethnographic research as involving ongoing engagement with the social worlds of participants and a critical method for capturing lived experienced such as the complexities of embodied vulnerability. Boyd et al. (2018) state that rapid ethnography draws is a pragmatic strategy used to address urgent situations and is a methodological tool proven to be valuable and essential, especially in public health emergencies. Boyd et al. (2018) further explain that rapid ethnography has a status of long-standing use in drug-related research. Thus, with the reasons provided, the researchers seem to submit a two-prong justification for qualitative analysis through rapid ethnographic fieldwork: tradition in their specific context of the study and necessity in light of the emergencies being experienced in overdose prevention sites.
2 Purpose - What is the purpose of the study? What is the projected significance of the work to nursing?
Boyd et al. (2018) seek to fill in gaps in the body of knowledge regarding the safety of women who use drugs in overdose prevention sites. They point out that despite the availability of evidence that the experiences of women who use drugs in these sites are markedly different from men, little response has been made in the public health sector to address these issues. By shedding light on the issue, public health reform and intervention opportunities arise to integrate nursing theory and practice in overdose prevention sites as related to gendered violence during overdose epidemics.
Since the research delves into the issues in a critical area of public health and health in general, nurses may adopt strategies and ways to better cater to patients in this area by better understanding the realities of women using drugs in overdose prevention sites demographic. Qualitative research employing a rapid ethnographic study may thus improve establis...