Nursing’s public image in the Republic of Georgia: A qualitative, exploratory study

How the public perceives the "good nurse" in China: A content analysis of national newspapers

INTRODUCTION

Newspapers are a predominant channel through which the Chinese public learns about nurses and the nursing profession. However, little nursing research has been performed in China to investigate the newspaper portrayal of nurses, and how the public perceives the role of nurses in the Chinese context is still an ambiguous phenomenon. This study aimed to clarify the public portrayals of nurses in China, and to analyze whether there are changes over time in news content related to nurses in the national newspapers.

DESIGN

A content analysis of the newspaper articles citing nurses that have been published since each newspaper was established.

METHOD

We selected two national daily newspapers as sources to systematically search for articles about nurses from 1949 to 2022. A coding instrument was developed to quantitatively extract the contents of the articles identified. Then, using a mixed methods approach, we analyzed newspaper content to show the roles of nurses presented to the public by the media.

RESULTS

A total of 317 articles were analyzed. Nurses have been depicted with heterogeneous images in both newspapers with positive wordings and up to 28 types of public images. More than half of the articles portrayed two, three, or more types of images. Among the images of nurses identified, "overworked" appeared the most frequently, followed by "dedicated," "philanthropic and benevolent," and "with a sense of responsibility," and then "technically skilled." By analyzing the image of nurses in both newspapers over time, we found that images related to virtue have largely increased with time, while images about professionalism have decreased.

CONCLUSION

Nursing continues to be depicted as a virtuous caregiving profession, often forgetting the wide need for knowledge, skill, and expertise required in the occupation. The public image of nurses portrayed in the national newspapers does not accurately match their actual roles.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The public image of nurses portrayed in the national newspapers does not accurately match their actual roles. To actualize a professional role and increase social status of nurses, intentional image management is needed. Nursing schools, nursing associations, and nursing professionals should be more proactive in overcoming the stereotypical image portrayed of them and use the news media as a tool to invite attention from and dialogue with the public about the value of nursing to reframe the public's understanding of the expert role of the professional nurse in health care and to create a new and more professional image for nursing.

Perception of the professional self-image by nurses and midwives. Psychometric adaptation of the Belimage questionnaire

BACKGROUND

The aim of this paper is to present the research results on the perception of the professional self-image by Polish nurses and midwives as well as the psychometric adaptation of the Belimage scale.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted from January to November 2018. The study group consisted of 670 clinical practice nurses and midwives. A diagnostic survey method was applied using the Belimage questionnaire after it obtained acceptable psychometric properties through an adaptation procedure.

RESULTS

In the group of respondents, the professional image of nurses and midwives is dominated by instrumental skills, documentation and organization of care, and communication skills. There is a statistically significant difference in the image of these two professions in terms of the ability to think and act creatively and critically, as well as innovation and evidence-based practice. The respondents' opinion regarding the perception of their image by themselves and society is statistically significant in each of the analyzed areas. In the professional image created by the public, nurses and midwives recognize that being a nurse/midwife is a vocation-277 (41.3%). However, in terms of their self-image, most nurses and midwives consider their work to be hard-442 (66%) and poorly paid-445 (66.4%). In the psychometric validation process, the Belimage questionnaire retained the original item structure, and the reliability of the subscales assessed with the Cronbach's alpha coefficient ranged from 0.845 to 0.730.

CONCLUSIONS

The professional image of nurses and midwives varies depending on the profession and the perspective of the assessment in relation to themselves and society. The study showed a particularly unfavorable social image of nurses and midwives, which significantly influences the outlook of nurses and midwives themselves on this issue.

Knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of cardiovascular disease prevention in young adults in the country of Georgia

INTRODUCTION

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for 46% of all mortality in the country of Georgia (former Soviet Union). Young adults in that country have not been studied regarding CVD and a need exists to understand lifestyle modifications to promote cardiovascular health.

DESIGN

An interpretive description qualitative design was used to explore Georgian young adults' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of CVD preventative practices and life experiences.

METHODS

A convenience sample of 19 ethnic Georgian participants (18-40 years old) who were fluent in either English, Georgian, or Russian from a local private university was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted via video conferencing utilizing an interpreter.

RESULTS

Four themes were identified: (1) CVD and risk factor knowledge, (2) prevention attitudes, beliefs, and gender differences, (3) health literacy influences, and (4) culture and societal impacts. CVD knowledge was limited and influenced by health literacy and the current healthcare system in Georgia.

CONCLUSION

Cultural and societal gender norms influence cardiovascular health behaviors.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Georgian nurses can play a key role in CVD education and screening for young adults in Georgia.

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the professional perception and image of nursing among nurses working in surgical units: An online study

BACKGROUND

Understanding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the perception and image of the profession are key factors in nurses' perceptions regarding their roles and their future.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the perception and image of the nursing profession among nurses working in surgical units.

METHODS

This cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted with 216 nurses using the random sampling method between 10 and 30 March, 2022. The study data were collected using an information form, the Perception of Nursing Professional Scale (PNPS), and the Scale for the Image of the Nursing Profession.

RESULTS

The nurses' mean age was 32.53±9.16 years (min 21, max 57) and their mean professional experience was 16.44±9.80 years (min 1, max 44). The mean PNPS score was 73.12±9.46, and the mean Scale for the Image of the Nursing Profession score was 171.11±11.16. Female nurses had significantly higher positive perceptions of nursing levels than male nurses. Gender, having a history of COVID-19, marginalization during the pandemic, and perception of the nursing profession significantly affected image perceptions of nursing at multiple linear regression analysis. These variables explained 43% of the total variance.

CONCLUSION

Nurses working in surgical units during the COVID-19 pandemic exhibited a good level of professionalism and image perception concerning nursing.

The image of nursing perceived by the society in the Covid-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Although nursing has made progress as a profession, there are still some negative myths to be dispelled.

PURPOSE

This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the nursing image perceived by the society during the Covid-19 pandemic.

METHODS

The research population consisted of 663 people who were not in the nursing profession in Turkey. The data were collected with a sociodemographic data form that was prepared by the researchers and a questionnaire that contained questions on the image of nursing. The McNemar Test was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Individuals have positive views towards the nursing profession compared to the prepandemic period. Nursing is accepted as a profession that is well known (82.8%), respected (69.8%) and difficult working conditions (88.2%) by individuals in the society (p < .05). However, nursing profession is still perceived as "doctors' assistant" (71.5%).

CONCLUSION

Although nurses are more visible during the pandemic period and there are positive changes in public perception of the nursing profession, some unfortunate traditional perceptions persist.

Discourse and manipulation: Nursing in question

The history of Brazilian nurses is marked by several challenges, in part resulting from discontinuous and fragile activity boundaries among the health professions that share the same work objective in care services. A field of constant disputes, the Brazilian health system, was the target of a lawsuit filed by the Federal Council of Medicine that temporarily suspended nurses' activities in primary care. This study aimed to demonstrate the manipulative discourse present in the text of the injunction request by medical doctors against legislation by the Brazilian Federal Government in 2017. This is a qualitative and documental study that used the theoretical-methodological framework of critical discourse studies based on Teun Van Dijk's analytical categories. The results pointed to manipulative discourse through a polarization between manipulators' good qualities and intentions and the bad qualities of nurses and Brazilian primary care policies; episodic manipulation by the presentation of documental and historical evidence of the submission of nursing roles; and social manipulation marked by strong emotional appeal. The study demonstrated that manipulative discourse extrapolated linguistic categories in the form of ideology and history.