The Effects of a Web-Based Supplementary Program for Facilitating Nursing Students' Basic Nursing Skills

Development and effectiveness of online teaching on practical skills among nursing students: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess the effects of online education for practical skills among nursing students.

METHODS

This research was done by searching PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and Web of Science electronic databases from inception to August 18, 2023, to identify English-language articles. Data extraction, quality assessment, and literature screening were carried out independently by two researchers. The Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Methodological Items for Nonrandomized Studies (MINORS) tool were used to assess the risk of bias of the included studies. Meta-analysis was carried out using Review Manager (RevMan) version 5.3 software.

RESULTS

Eighteen studies involving 2274 nursing students met the inclusion criteria. Nursing students' skills (SMD = 0.43, 95 % CI [0.33, 0.54], P<0.00001), knowledge (SMD = 0.16, 95 % CI (0.02, 0.30], P = 0.02), satisfaction (SMD = 0.29, 95 % CI (0.10, 0.47], P < 0.01), and confidence (SMD = 0.56, 95 % CI [0.29, 0.83], P < 0.0001) were all significantly improved by the online teaching intervention compared with traditional face-to-face instruction. Self-efficacy (SMD = 0.1, 95 % CI [-0.13, 0.33], P = 0.41) was also improved, but the difference was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

Online learning is a novel and efficient approach to teaching practical skills to nursing students. Online education can enhance students' knowledge, skills, confidence, and learning satisfaction, and it is superior to traditional classroom instruction. The findings of this study can serve as a basis for the development of standardized online teaching techniques and assessment metrics.

Impact of the peer education model on nursing students' anxiety and psychomotor skill performance: A quasi-experimental study

Background

Peer-assisted education (PAE) is a collaborative and active learning strategy in which another student or another student group teaches one group of students. This model is quite widely used in social and health science vocational education.

Aim

This study was carried out to determine the effect of peer education on clinical skill learning and anxiety in nursing students. A quasi-experimental and a single-blinded design were used.

Subjects and Methods

This study was conducted using experimental (n = 45) and control groups (n = 47) in a university in the Central Anatolia Region, Turkey. A total of 92 students were included. The experimental group received peer education nursing skills. The control group also received education in the traditional model. An Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) pretest and posttest were used to assess student performance.

Results

It was found that the total scores of posttraining exam success in both experimental and control groups increased (35.20 ± 4.63; 36.70 ± 5.36, respectively) and there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.264). The posttest scores of anxiety in the experimental group were less than the control group (30.18 ± 2.25; 41.21 ± 4.20, respectively).

Conclusions

The use of the peer education model in nursing education has been found to reduce the level of learning anxiety and positively affect psycho-motor skill acquisition. It is proposed to be used as an alternative method in vocational skills training within this context in this area.

Challenges in a Technology-Based Cancer Pain Management Program Among Asian American Breast Cancer Survivors

This paper aims to discuss the challenges faced during a pilot study that tested a technology-based cancer pain management program among Asian American survivors of breast cancer and provide directions for future technology-based interventions for racial and ethnic minorities. Data consisting of research diaries and meeting minutes underwent content analysis to extract themes that reflected the challenges. The challenges included those related to (1) diversities within the population of Asian American survivors of breast cancer; (2) survivors' treatment and healing process; (3) Internet resources from the participants' countries of origin; (4) building trust between researchers and participants/gatekeepers; (5) fidelity of the intervention; and (6) cultural sensitivity. Future design and implementation of technology-based programs for racial and ethnic minorities must consider these challenges.

Effects of a skill demonstration video delivered by smartphone on facilitating nursing students' skill competencies and self-confidence: A randomized controlled trial study

BACKGROUND

The correct and appropriate performance of nursing skills by students can ensure patient safety and care quality. However, developing appropriate teaching and learning strategies to enhance nursing students' nursing skills and knowledge are challenging tasks for nursing faculty members. Nowadays, smartphones are popular mobile devices that are used on campuses by students and could be considered a potential tool to deliver learning materials to nursing students.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to examine the effects of a skill demonstration video delivered by smartphone on facilitating nursing students' nursing skill competency and confidence.

DESIGN

A randomized controlled trial study design was used.

SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS

A convenience sample of nursing students at a university was recruited.

METHODS

After receiving a regular nursing skills lab demonstration, pre-test data were collected from nursing students in an intervention group (n = 44) and a comparison group (n = 43). Then, students in the intervention group downloaded the skill demonstration video onto their smartphones, while the comparison group did not. Post-test data were collected at 2 weeks after the intervention.

RESULTS

There were significant differences in students' urinary catheterization knowledge (F = 4.219, p = 0.04) and skills (F = 6.739, p = 0.013), but there was no difference in students' confidence level (F = 2.201, p = 0.142) between the two groups after the intervention. Furthermore, the average score of the satisfaction level regarding the intervention was 4.46 (SD = 0.43) on a scale of 1-5.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that delivering learning materials through smartphones to nursing students is suitable. Although there was no significant difference in students' self-confidence level, students' knowledge and skills were improved by the intervention. Smartphones can serve as a supplemental tool for learning nursing skills.

Practical guidelines for development of web-based interventions

Despite a recent high funding priority on technological aspects of research and a high potential impact of Web-based interventions on health, few guidelines for the development of Web-based interventions are currently available. In this article, we propose practical guidelines for development of Web-based interventions based on an empirical study and an integrative literature review. The empirical study aimed at development of a Web-based physical activity promotion program that was specifically tailored to Korean American midlife women. The literature review included a total of 202 articles that were retrieved through multiple databases. On the basis of the findings of the study and the literature review, we propose directions for development of Web-based interventions in the following steps: (1) meaningfulness and effectiveness, (2) target population, (3) theoretical basis/program theory, (4) focus and objectives, (5) components, (6) technological aspects, and (7) logistics for users. The guidelines could help promote further development of Web-based interventions at this early stage of Web-based interventions in nursing.

Web-based interventions in nursing

With recent advances in computer and Internet technologies and high funding priority on technological aspects of nursing research, researchers at the field level began to develop, use, and test various types of Web-based interventions. Despite high potential impacts of Web-based interventions, little is still known about Web-based interventions in nursing. In this article, to identify strengths and weaknesses of Web-based nursing interventions, a literature review was conducted using multiple databases with combined keywords of "online," "Internet" or "Web," "intervention," and "nursing." A total of 95 articles were retrieved through the databases and sorted by research topics. These articles were then analyzed to identify strengths and weaknesses of Web-based interventions in nursing. A strength of the Web-based interventions was their coverage of various content areas. In addition, many of them were theory-driven. They had advantages in their flexibility and comfort. They could provide consistency in interventions and require less cost in the intervention implementation. However, Web-based intervention studies had selected participants. They lacked controllability and had high dropouts. They required technical expertise and high development costs. Based on these findings, directions for future Web-based intervention research were provided.

Attitudes of women in midlife to web-based interventions for promoting physical activity

We explored the attitudes of women at midlife to web-based interventions for promoting physical activity. 145 women volunteered to participate in one of four online forums. The forums were for four major racial/ethnic groups. 90 volunteers were recruited for the online forums (29 Whites, 23 Hispanics, 21 African Americans, and 17 Asians). Two sets of topics on attitudes to physical activity and racial/ethnic contexts were used. Each topic had some introductory questions and related prompts, and these were posted on the online forum sites in a serial fashion during the six-month period. We used a thematic analysis. Four major themes emerged: (1) ‘a matter of the source of the information’; (2) ‘I can pace myself’; (3) ‘lack of interpersonal interactions’; and (4) ‘culture-specificity and low cost.’ The women in all ethnic groups thought that the source of the information was much more important than the medium of the information (e.g. web-based, booklet or face-to-face). They liked the self-controllability in web-based interventions. They preferred web-based interventions to other types of interventions because of easy accessibility, but they were concerned about lack of interpersonal interaction. None of the White or African American women indicated the need for culture-specificity in web-based interventions, but Hispanic and Asian women indicated that culture-specific interventions should be provided. Web-based interventions appear to have several advantages over conventional approaches to promoting physical activity.