Chapter Iii

Chapter III METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the discussion of the research design, the locale of the study, the population and the sampling procedure, the data gathering instruments, the data gathering procedures, and the statistical treatment of data.

Research Design This study had used the descriptive – correlation method of research. Descriptive research design is a design which seeks to describe the nature of a situation as it exists at the time of the study, and to explore the causes of a phenomenon. Correlation research design is a design to determine and describe what relationship exists between the variables.

Locale of the Study The study was conducted at Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center (ITRMC), a 300-bed capacity tertiary hospital which is located at Barangay Parian San Fernando City, La Union. ITRMC is a "DOHCorporatized" health care facility in the Ilocos Region, providing a full range of health service, training and research activities. Services are

34 provided through a network of private and government clinics, hospitals and other related facilities. The institution is supported educationally through affiliations with a number of universities, medical schools, schools of Nursing and other allied medical professions. ITRMC has the mission to build a healthy constituency by serving as the focal center for health service, training and research activities in the Ilocos Region, and to provide health services that are responsive, acceptable, accessible and affordable,

encompassing

promotive,

preventive,

curative

and

rehabilitative.

Respondents of the Study The respondents of the study were the patients admitted in Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center (ITRMC) during the month of June to July 2006. The respondents were selected through purposive sampling wherein the respondents were carefully chosen based on the judgment of who best qualify the objectives of the research and who is thought to be the best to represent the phenomenon being studied. During the months of June and July 2006, there were sixty-eight (68) respondents objectively selected from the different wards of the hospital. Fifteen (15) patients from the obstetrics and gynecology ward, eight (8) patients from the male surgical ward and ten (10) patients from the female surgical ward, seventeen (17) patients from the medical and communicable disease wards, and six (6) patients each from the

35 neurology – urology ward, ophthalmology – EENT ward and orthopedic ward.

Data Gathering Tool and Procedure A questionnaire was the main tool for data gathering. Part I dealt on the profile of the respondents while Part II was the level of awareness of patients in Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center (ITRMC) on their rights. The questionnaire was constructed by the researchers and was reviewed and validated by selected instructors, chief nurse of Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center (ITRMC) and Bethany Hospital, who were expert in that discipline. The questionnaire was written in English and was further transcribed in Filipino to facilitate better understanding of the respondents on the questionnaire’s contents. It was explained also individually to the respondents as the need arose. The reliability of the questionnaire was tested by pre-testing it to patients of Bethany Hospital, a 300-bed capacity tertiary hospital located at Barangay II, Widdoes St. City of San Fernando, La Union. The Cronbach α and the software of the SPSS wire was used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire.

36 Data Analysis After the researchers gathered the necessary data and information needed for the study, the collected data were tallied and tabulated and the results were statistically treated in accordance with the objectives of the study. Frequency counts and percentages were used to determine the profile of the respondents; on the other hand, weighted mean was used to determine the level of awareness of patients admitted in Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center (ITRMC) on their rights. Formula (Weighted Mean) n X=

Σ

Xi Wi i=1 n

where: Wi – weight of each score Xi – item value X

– weighted mean

n

– total number of items in the sample

37 Pearson Product Moment Correlation was also used to determine the significant relationship between the profile and the level of awareness of patients in Ilocos training and Regional Medical Center with regards to their rights.

Formula (Pearson Product Moment Correlation) n (Σ xy ) – (Σ x) (Σ y) r=

[ n (Σ x2) – (Σ x)2] [ n (Σ y2) – (Σ y)2]

where: x – observed data for the independent variable y – observed data for the dependent variable n – sample size r – degree of relationship between x and y

Rating Scale The following rating scale was used in this study. Point Value 3 2 1

Statistical Range 2.4 – 3 1.7 – 2.3 1 – 1.6

Descriptive Equivalent Very much aware Aware Not aware