The establishment of an academic nursing faculty: action research in Israel

A National Scoping Study on Barriers to Conducting and Using Research Among Nurses in the United Arab Emirates

It is important that nurses fully engage with the development and use of evidence-based practice so they can influence policy and improve patient care. There are significant challenges in developing nursing research and evidence-based practice in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Therefore, the UAE Nursing and Midwifery Council formed a Scientific Research Subcommittee to lead the development of nursing research. Following a literature review to assess the status of nursing research in the UAE, the Subcommittee initiated a study to clarify UAE nurses' perceptions of barriers to implementing research. The results were expected to enable comparisons with other countries and establish a baseline on which to build and prioritize initiatives to address identified barriers. A cross-sectional design with convenience sampling was used to survey 606 nurses from across the UAE. The survey included the BARRIERS questionnaire and was administered online and in paper-based formats. The top three nurse-perceived barriers that affected nurses' use of research in the UAE (in descending order) were as follows: lack of authority to change patient care procedures, insufficient time to read research, and insufficient time on the job to implement new ideas. The highest ranked barriers to nurses conducting research in the UAE were lack of time and competing demands for time. The findings of this survey and a published literature review informed development of a strategy to address identified barriers to nurses in the UAE using and conducting research. This multifaceted strategy includes initiatives to reform policy and practice at local and national levels.

Developing nursing research in the United Arab Emirates: a narrative review

AIM

This article identified, critically analysed and synthesized the literature on international nursing and midwifery research capacity building and standards.

BACKGROUND

The United Arab Emirates is heavily dependent up on expatriate nurses. Only 4% of nurses working within the country are Emirati. The nation is therefore committed to developing nurses and nursing as a profession.

INTRODUCTION

The United Arab Emirates' Nursing and Midwifery Council was formed in 2009 and initially focused on regulation, education and specialization. This review was undertaken to inform the work of the Council's newly established Scientific Research Sub-Committee.

METHODS

A rapid narrative review was conducted using the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature database, key words, Boolean operators, parameters and a journal-specific search. An inclusion/exclusion criterion was identified.

RESULTS

The search provided 332 articles with 45 included in the final review. The literature on nursing research 'standards' and 'capacity building' is diverse and inconsistent across continents and in approaches.

DISCUSSION

Nursing research has evolved to varying degrees across the globe. Nevertheless, irrespective of the locale, there are similar problems encountered in growing research, for example nursing faculty shortage, lack of collaborative research, funding. There are also specific challenges in the Middle East and North Africa region.

LIMITATIONS

The review was constrained by time and access.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY

There are specific challenges for the United Arab Emirates. However, the country is well placed to learn from the experiences of colleagues elsewhere. Time and commitment is required to build the solid foundations necessary to ensure robust, sustained growth. Identifying research capacity as both a process and outcome at the outset may also assist. Further, it may be prudent to consider initiating a Gulf Coast Countries' collaborative approach to building research capacity to harness scare resources and create a larger critical mass.

Use of Action Research in Nursing Education

Purpose. The purpose of this article is to describe action research in nursing education and to propose a definition of action research for providing guidelines for research proposals and criteria for assessing potential publications for nursing higher education. Methods. The first part of this project involved a search of the literature on action research in nursing higher education from 1994 to 2013. Searches were conducted in the CINAHL and MEDLINE databases. Applying the criteria identified, 80 publications were reviewed. The second part of the project involved a literature review of action research methodology from several disciplines to assist in assessing articles in this review. Results. This article summarizes the nursing higher education literature reviewed and provides processes and content related to four topic areas in nursing higher education. The descriptions assist researchers in learning more about the complexity of both the action research process and the varied outcomes. The literature review of action research in many disciplines along with the review of action research in higher education provided a framework for developing a nursing-education-centric definition of action research. Conclusions. Although guidelines for developing action research and criteria for publication are suggested, continued development of methods for synthesizing action research is recommended.

Negotiating Reality

This article develops theory to address a dilemma experienced as “resistance” to a conflict transformation process among Jewish and Arab nursing students in Israel. This dilemma is analyzed from two theoretical perspectives: (a) the “postcolonial approach,” which applies ideas of critical conflict theory and group dynamics to generate change in intergroup relationships, and (b) the “negotiating reality approach,” which applies ideas of social constructionism and action science to enable participants to jointly shape a space in which they feel free to express their complex individual and group identities. We propose that the postcolonial approach offers a powerful interpretive framework but would likely engender greater resistance. We present a negotiating reality intervention model designed to offer a way out of the dilemma and increase cooperation in critical reflection, learning, and change. The discussion compares the implications of the two approaches, setting forth propositions for guiding further research and practice.

Nursing and midwifery education, practice, and issues in Israel

Nurses deliver most of Israel's healthcare services, yet its nurse per population ratio is only 5.9 per 1000, one of the lowest in the developed world. For several years, the managers of the profession have been pushing to upgrade nursing and to move it into the academic sphere. The semiskilled qualification of the practical nurse has been eliminated and training programs for registered nurses are being transformed from diploma training to academic degree programs. A midwifery license is accessible only to registered nurses who take a further 1 year of advanced training and sit the State Midwifery Licensing Examination. Most deliveries in Israel are carried out by midwives. Alongside the Western-standard hospital system there operates both a well-developed community nursing network and a strong mother-and-child clinic system. The acute shortage of nurses in Israel is now coinciding with a rising number of academic job-seekers, which has encouraged the Ministry of Health to offer university graduates a career-change program. Special scholarships are on offer in return for a 4 year commitment to work in nursing after completing an accelerated training curriculum (2.5 years instead of the usual 3 years), plus a starting monthly wage that is higher than the national average wage.