Concept analysis of nursing activism

Occupational health nursing and political action

BACKGROUND

Occupational health and safety are central elements of work. Throughout its history as a speciality, occupational health nursing (OHN) has been expanding the development of academic competencies and the improvement of clinical skills.

SOURCES OF EVIDENCE

The literature highlights that OHN is more involved in the application of policies with a public health perspective focused on the well-being of the worker than in their design and development. REFLECTIONS FROM A SOCIO-OCCUPATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSING: From this premise, the current reality contributes to establishing priorities for action, generates consensus as a discipline, induces self-criticism and favours development as a profession. The article points out the strategies that favour political participation in companies, the factors that limit public representation and some of the benefits of establishing this type of initiative in organisations.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY

The OHN is a key agent of change in the design and development of health policies in the workplace. From a panoramic view of how health strategies can influence companies, and the care of the working population, political awareness and civic participation in its different aspects are part of the commitment to this nursing speciality.

First-year nursing students' perceptions of health activism and social responsibility - A cross sectional study

BACKGROUND

Social responsibility and health activism both represent key concepts and professional values in nursing practice. Nevertheless, definitions in the nursing literature remain inconsistent, and little is known regarding nursing students' perceptions of these concepts or about the associations between these perceptions.

OBJECTIVES

This research explores: a) the associations between nursing students' perceptions of social responsibility and health activism; and b) the differences in nursing students' perceptions of social responsibility and health activism according to their personal characteristics.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Across-sectional survey design was conducted with a sample of 173 Israeli first-year undergraduate nursing students. Questions were uploaded in the format provided by a commercial Internet survey provider (Qualtrics.com) and distributed through social media groups.

RESULTS

Positive correlations were found between health activism and social responsibility and between health activism and philanthropic and environmental responsibility. Significant differences were found in the research variables according to the students' cultural group and voluntary service. Cultural group and social responsibility explained 25 % of students' variance in health activism.

CONCLUSIONS

Faculty and nurse educators should promote and develop nursing students' knowledge acquisition in health activism and social responsibility throughout all their years of study. It is recommended that nursing students be given meaningful opportunities to discuss, integrate, and apply health activism, guided by role models in clinical practice. Academic settings should also promote the value of social responsibility and support nursing students in taking active roles in social organizations in order to further develop and integrate the social component of their professional role.

The role of mental health nurses in planetary health

This article will critically explore the concept of planetary health and locate the role and identity of the mental health nurse (MHN) within it. Like humans, our planet thrives in optimum conditions, finding the delicate balance between health and ill-health. Human activity is now negatively impacting the homeostasis of the planet and this imbalance creates external stressors that adversely impact upon human physical and mental health at the cellular level. The value and understanding of this intrinsic relationship between human health and the planet is in danger of being lost within a society that views itself as being separate and superior to nature. The Period of Enlightenment witnessed some human groups viewing the natural world and its resources as something to exploit. White colonialism and industrialization destroyed the innate symbiotic relationship between humans and the planet beyond recognition and in particular, overlooking the essential therapeutic role nature and the land facilitated within the well-being of individuals and communities. This prolonged loss of respect for the natural world continues to breed human disconnection on a global scale. The healing properties of nature have effectively been abandoned within healthcare planning and infrastructure, which continue to be driven principally by the medical model. Under the theory of holism, mental health nursing values the restorative capabilities of connection and belonging, employing skills to support the healing of suffering, trauma and distress, through relationships and education. This suggests MHNs are well situated to provide the advocacy the planet requires, through the active promotion of connecting communities to the natural world around them, both healing the other.

Moving towards social dentistry: How do dentists perceive the Montreal-Toulouse model?

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to understand the perspectives of dentists towards the Montreal-Toulouse model, an innovative approach that encompasses person-centredness and social dentistry. This model invites dentists to take three types of actions (understanding, decision-making, intervening) on three overlapping levels (individual, community, societal). This study aimed to understand (a) How dentists perceived the Montreal-Toulouse model as a framework for the practice of dentistry and (b) What parts of this model they were ready to adopt in their own practice.

METHODS

A qualitative descriptive study was conducted based on semi-structured interviews with a sample of dentists in the Province of Quebec, Canada. A combination of maximum variation and snowball sampling strategies was employed and 14 information-rich participants were recruited. The interviews were conducted and audio-recorded through Zoom and lasted approximately 1 h and a half. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed through a combination of inductive and deductive coding.

RESULTS

The participants explained they valued person-centred care and tried to put the individual level of the Montreal-Toulouse model into practice. However, they expressed little interest in the social dentistry aspects of the model. They acknowledged not knowing how to organize and conduct upstream interventions and were not comfortable with social and political activism. According to them, advocating for better health-related policies, while a noble act, 'was not their job'. They also highlighted the structural challenges that dentists face in fostering biopsychosocial approaches such as the Montreal-Toulouse model.

CONCLUSIONS

To promote the Montreal-Toulouse model and empower dentists to address social determinants of health, an educational and organizational 'paradigm shift' towards social accountability might be necessary. Such a shift requires curricular modifications and reconsidering traditional teaching approaches in dental schools. Moreover, dentistry's professional organization could facilitate dentists' upstream actions through proper resource allocation and openness to collaboration with them.

Exploring the social accountability challenges of nursing education system in Iran

BACKGROUND

Nursing education in Iran is one of the disciplines of medical sciences and it needs a design tailored to the community needs in terms of theoretical and clinical approaches. This system is currently faced with various challenges. This study aims to explore the challenges of Iranian nursing education system to address community needs.

METHODS

A study was carried out through an exploratory descriptive qualitative design with content analysis method. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 participants from the nursing society, selected through purposive sampling. The interviews were continued until data saturation. Data analysis was performed simultaneous with data collection by using Graneheim & Lundman approach.

RESULTS

Based on the interviews and simultaneous analyses, a total of 471 codes, 14 subcategories, six main categories, and two themes were extracted. The first theme, "system structure," consisted of three categories: "the need for ongoing revision of curriculum," "the need to recruit qualified students," and "the need for a proportionate educational environment." The second theme was "the education process" with three categories "the need for purposive educational design," "the need for purposive monitoring and feedback," and "the need for appropriate and early interaction with the community." The participants emphasized the continuous revision of the educational curriculum based on the current needs of the community and community-based nursing education.

CONCLUSIONS

In general, the results showed that Iranian nursing education system is faced with many challenges in the educational system structure and processes. It is necessary to make appropriate plans to enhance the status of the educational system structure and develop educational designs to address community needs using a hospital/community-based approach.

Nursing, Social Justice, and Health Inequities: A Critical Analysis of the Theory of Emancipatory Nursing Praxis

Walter's theory of emancipatory nursing praxis (ENP) was created to explore nurses' social justice-related transformational learning process. We analyzed the theory within the context of stigma-related health inequities faced by transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people. The theory of ENP provides a theoretical framework to incorporate social justice in nursing practice, research, education, and policy. We also determined the theory bridges the gap in understanding the role of nurses in advancing social justice through embodied actions and social activism. The theory of ENP underscores the moral, ethical, and professional obligations for nurses to abolish health inequities for TGD people.

Health activism as nursing practice: A scoping review

AIMS

The aim was to assess the current literature investigating health activism within nursing practice.

DESIGN

This was a scoping review of the literature utilizing the updated Levac et al.'s framework.

DATA SOURCE/REVIEW METHODS

A search of the CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus and Allied Health databases was conducted for peer-reviewed, English research published between January 2000 and April 2021.

RESULTS

Thirty-one articles met the criteria for inclusion in this study. The included research in nursing and health activism was heterogeneous in topic and method and primarily conducted in North America. Four themes resulted from the inductive thematic analysis: (1) Doing Health Activism, (2) Facilitators to Engaging in Health Activism, (3) Barriers to Health Activism Engagement and (4) Limited Education. Activism was not consistently defined and the term was used interchangeably with advocacy.

CONCLUSION

There is a gap between nursing scope of practice, and education and skills in health activism. There is limited research regarding health activism and what constitutes as health activism. There is an opportunity to improve health activism awareness and skills within the nursing profession and undergraduate education and to produce nursing research on health activism.

IMPACT

Health activism is integral to the nursing role, however, evidence suggests nurses lack confidence to engage in activism as practice. This is important for nurses across the world and in all care specialities.

The Relationship Between Nurses' Professional Values and Their Attitudes Towards Care Giving Roles: A Structural Equation Model

Objective: The study was carried out to examine the relationship between nurses' professional values and caregiver roles. Methods: This study is based on a descriptive correlational research design using a structural equation model. 366 nurses participated in the study. It was gathered using Nurse Promotion Form the Professional Values Scale of Nurses and the Attitude Scale for Their Caregiver Roles. Results: The total mean score of the Nurses' Professional Values Scale was determined as 94.73±17.87. Nurses' Perceptions of Caregiving Roles Attitude Scale total score mean was determined as 62.41±9.22. According to the Structural Equation model, professional values of nurses explain 39% of the change in the value of the attitude towards caregiver roles (R2 =0.39). Conclusion: Nurses' professional values and attitudes towards caregiver roles are at a good level and professional values of nurses partially affect the attitude towards caregiver roles.

Let it not be that nursing that asks for silence: participation in social movements and sociopolitical-emancipatory knowledge

ABSTRACT Objectives: to analyze the expression of sociopolitical-emancipatory knowledge, based on the participation of women-nurses in social movements, and the implications for nursing care. Methods: a research-interference, whose data were obtained from narrative interviews with six women-nurses inserted in social movements and with political representation. Data were submitted to discourse analysis, based on Michel Foucault. Results: women-nurses’ social and political involvement is driven by the contexts of life and work, marked by gender inequalities. Ability to criticize oneself, the profession and health policies and practices are presented as expressions of sociopolitical-emancipatory knowledge. Nursing care is conceived as a political practice that, influenced by learning from social movements, must go through a denial of the historically performed form. Final Considerations: participation in social movements triggers sociopolitical-emancipatory knowledge, resulting in differentiated care, a way of acting oriented towards reducing inequalities.

The Environment as a Patient: A Content Analysis of Canadian Nursing Organizations and Regulatory Bodies Policies on Environmental Health

BACKGROUND

Individual, community, and societal health is impacted by the environment, specifically by air, water and soil pollution, and climate change. Poor environmental conditions have been associated with many illness exacerbations. Although global nursing organizations have increased their environmental health focus, evidence is lacking that Canadian nurse leaders and organizations are similarly invested.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this analysis was to explore the policies of Canadian nursing regulatory bodies and associations on nursing practice specific to environmental health.

METHODS

A content analysis of nursing focused position statements and competency documents was conducted to assess Canadian nursing policies in environmental health. Publicly available position statements and competency documents regarding health and the environment were retrieved from Canadian nursing regulatory colleges and nursing associations, the Canadian Nursing Associations, and the International Council of Nurses. All documents were coded inductively and thematically analyzed.

RESULTS

In total, 22 documents were retrieved which consisted of 11 policy statements from nursing associations and 11 competency documents from nursing regulators and national associations. Four themes were generated: collaboration, language of engagement, nursing actions, and social justice.

CONCLUSION

There is a gap between nursing policies and competencies directing nursing action related to the health of the environment across Canada. There is an opportunity to improve eco-literacy within the nursing profession, undergraduate education and to produce nursing research on environmental health.