Interviews vs. Questionnaires in BPD diagnosis

Interviews vs. Questionnaires in BPD diagnosis

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to determine how efficient questionnaires can be used for earlier diagnosis of BPD illness in patients. Many patients who are diagnosed with BPD illness happen to occur after ten years since seeking treatment. A large sample will be used to ensure that the results of the study are reliable and valid. Ethical standards will are also to be upheld in the research. Generally there are four cardinal principles that are considered in biomedical research. These principles are nonmaleficence, autonomy, justice and beneficence. For this research, ethical issues to be considered will be based upon; Informed consent, confidentiality, exploitation, and autonomy on the participants. Participants will avail themselves at their own free will. A declaration is to be issued for the participants to sign which will subject their consent. participants will be identified through the use of alphabetical letters. Participants however, they will be required provide their other specific details such as age and sex. Data that will be analyzed from the research will be presented in terms of tables, pie-charts and graphs. The age group for the participants will be categorized into three (young, adult, and old). The research will be conducted over a long period of time and all the three sexes (male, female and intersex) will participate in the research. Young would range from the age of 14-17yrs.Adult age group will range from 18-35yrs while old will consist of the age bracket 40-60yrs

Interview vs. Questionnaire in BPD Diagnosis

Theory and Hypothesis

Structured interview method is regarded as the standard method used in the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD).Questionnaire is also used in some occasions to diagnose BPD. Based on an earlier report by MIDAS, structured interview was found to be 35 times more efficient in the diagnosis of BPD however; this method is not efficient to give an earlier diagnosis in patients who suffer from BPD (Zimmerman, 2017). Most patients who suffer from BPD are diagnosed ten years later after they seek treatment. The purpose of this research is to determine how efficient questionnaires can be used to diagnose BPD illness especially in earlier cases. BPD patients do not function well mentally and socially and this depletes their quality of life. The quality of life for these patients however, can be improved if the disease can be diagnosed early so that it can be managed efficiently. Research has shown that the preponderance of BPD patients within the population in general ranges between 2-3% (Denaway, 2016).This means that in a country like America 3-6 million people are at a risk of suffering from BPD disorder annually. One of the appropriate measures that can be considered is to come up with efficient ways to diagnose and manage the disease. This number may increase as time goes by if appropriate measures are not put in place to curb the risk.

BPD is also mostly diagnosed in adults compared to children; this is because there is an assumption that as children grow the symptoms associated with the disease would go away (Hasler et al., et al, 2014). The common symptoms associated with BPD are anxiety and depression and this is why clinical officers are not keen in diagnosing BPD using direct interviews .The main limitation of using direct question is that the clinical officer would be treating the symptom rather than the disease itself. Despite the imitation provided questionnaires can be used as the questions included in the questionnaire are structured based on the background of the disease.BPD is a complicated disease based on its symptoms and that is why researches should be done on best ways for diagnosing and treating the disease. The hypothesis for the research is that “use of questionnaires leads to an earlier diagnosis of BPD.”

Ethical Standards

My research would ensure that there is utmost commitment in upholding the necessary ethical standards that is associated with psychiatric research. Generally there are four cardinal principles that are considered in biomedical research. These principles are nonmaleficence, autonomy, justice and beneficence (Jain et al., 2017). In the case of my research, ethical issues to be considered will be based upon; Informed consent, confidentiality, exploitation, and autonomy on the participants. All patients who are to participate in the research will be informed on what the study entails and all patients will be issued with a declaration on which they will put their signature to ensure that the research has their consent.

All the participants in the research will be sourced from the emergencies section in hospitals and mental health facilities through their handlers (i.e., psychiatrics, medical officers). Handlers from the institutions will be informed on what the research entails. Personally I will not select the handlers and patients who will be subjected to the research. All the handlers as well as the patients should avail themselves at their own free will. Autonomy for the patients will  be upheld at all times. Participants will be informed on some of the benefits the research will provide. It is through this that I hope will drive the patients to participate in the research fully so as to achieve better results.

Handlers will be informed that the confidentiality of all the participants will be upheld at all times during and after the research. For this to be upheld all the participants will not be identified by their own names rather, they will be identified through the use of alphabetical letters. Participants however, they will be required provide their other specific details such as age and sex. Data that will be analyzed from the research will be presented in terms of tables, pie-charts and graphs which are general features that do not pinpoint specific details.

Reliability and Validity

A larger pool of participants will be considered in the research. In a research the variable the data is the higher the rate of uncertainty. A larger sample will help in reducing such variables which in turn reduces the uncertainty in the research. Conclusions are made up based on the data provided. A larger sample will provide much information which will in turn provide appropriate means and data upon which conclusions will be based upon. The other critical component that influences validity and reliability is biasness of data. In the case of this research the handlers and participants do play vital roles in provision of information. To avoid biasness handlers will have to ensure that patients who will participate in the research will be on their own free will rather that choosing the participants as this may influence results directly or indirectly.

The research will also be conducted over a long period of time. The research will be conducted for a year; this is to ensure that the information provided is relatively distributed across the year. This will also be essential in providing enough data that will be used to draw conclusions. Both sexes will also participate in the research. Conclusion could also be given on both male and female participants. Age profile is also important for the research. Age profile for the participants will be categorized into three (young, adult, and old).Young would range from the age of 14-17yrs.Adult age group will range from 18-35yrs while old will consist of the age bracket 40-60yrs.

References

Denaway, R. (2016). Diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder in Adolescence: Issues and Practice. Retrieved from https://sophia.stkate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1697&context=msw_papers

Hasler, G., Hopwood, C. J., Jacob, G. A., Brändle, L. S., & Schulte-Vels, T. (2014). Patient-reported outcomes in borderline personality disorder. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 16(2), 255.

Jain, S., Kuppili, P. P., Pattanayak, R. D., & Sagar, R. (2017). Ethics in psychiatric research: Issues and recommendations. Indian journal of psychological medicine, 39(5), 558.Retrieved From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5688880/

Zimmerman, M. (2017). Improving the recognition of borderline personality disorder. Current Psychiatry, 16(10), 13-19.