Dedication in a Difficult Context: Faith-Based Nursing in Haiti

ABSTRACT

Haitian nurses live in a precarious environment, with healthcare disparity and low wages. In the presence of significant politico-social-economic disparities, adverse effects of natural disasters, deleterious infrastructure, challenged self-boundaries, and the burden of caring for high-need patients, the authors sought a better understanding of nurses' perspective of the situation. During qualitative interviews, Haitian nurses in two faith-based hospitals (N = 17) reported feeling powerless yet exhibited resilience and dedication to nursing as a calling. These conditions cry out for support of nurses' self-care needs. Future interventions may help nurses identify better resources to care for themselves and guide their practice.

The creation and integration of a nurse educator position in two hospitals in Haiti

BACKGROUND

Continuing education is an integral part of nursing professional development and improving healthcare delivery, but literature on continuing education initiatives in low-resource settings is limited.

PURPOSE

To describe the creation and integration of a nurse educator (NE) position in two Haitian hospitals and highlight barriers and facilitators experienced by the NEs in their role.

METHODS

Four NEs and three support staff involved in the creation and integration of the NE positions were interviewed. Supplementary data were gathered through participant observation and document review. Data were compiled and summarized.

DISCUSSION

NEs were hired to assess learning needs, evaluate skills, train and mentor nurses, and provide ongoing support to assure application of new knowledge. Barriers included lack of specialized training and limited informational resources to develop education activities, role confusion and heavy workload, poor attendance and disparate education needs of nurses, and insufficient hospital resources and support to implement practice changes. Facilitators included previous management experience, peer support, and a perception of being valued by patients and colleagues and making a difference regarding nursing care and patient outcomes.

CONCLUSION

The NE is a leadership role and a promising, sustainable initiative for developing the nursing profession in Haiti.

Conducting research through cross national collaboration

AIM

To explore the collaborative nature of an international research project with other advanced practice nurse researchers and critically analyse the process.

BACKGROUND

Research within the nursing community is recognized internationally as important to ensure that nurses participate in cutting-edge health care and promote evidence-based practices, yet there is little detail found in literature on how a successful collaborative relationship is initiated and conducted in advanced practice research.

DESIGN

Discussion paper: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the process of collaboration on a research study among advanced practice nurses from four countries who are members of an international organization.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING

The collaborative process in international nursing research can be challenging and rewarding. It is important to remember that there is a relationship between the complexity of the study and the time required to complete it. Keys to success include following established guidelines.

CONCLUSION

This project was a valuable experience in developing collaborative relationships as well as creating partnerships for future research to build on the knowledge gained. The authors' linkages to universities facilitated their participation in the research and completion of the ethical review processes. The use of social media and university resources was indispensable.

Cross-cultural nursing research

BACKGROUND

International cross-cultural comparative nursing research is considered important for the advancement of nursing knowledge offering a global perspective for nursing. Although this is recognised in policy statements and quality standards, international comparative studies are rare in database citations.

OBJECTIVES

To highlight the need for cross-cultural comparative research in nursing and to share some of the insights gained after conducting three international/cross-cultural comparative studies. These are: an examination of patients' autonomy, privacy and informed consent in nursing interventions BIOMED 1998-2001, the ICProject International Patient Study 2002-2006 and the Ethical Codes in Nursing (ECN) project 2003-2005.

RESULTS

There are three critical issues raised here for discussion from the international cross-cultural studies. These are: the planning and formulating of an international study, the conduct of cross-cultural research including the implementation of rigorous data collection and analysis and the reporting and implementing the results.

CONCLUSION

International and cross-cultural nursing research is powerful tool for the improvement of clinical nursing practise, education and management and advancement of knowledge. Such studies should be carried out in order to improve European evidence based health care development in which the patients' perspective plays an important part in the evaluation and benchmarking of services.