A virtual training program for improving cultural competence among academic nurse educators

Comparison of global nursing education and necessary supports for nurse educators between Japan and four English-speaking countries: An international cross-sectional study

AIM

This study aimed to compare characteristics of nurse educators, factors related to teaching global nursing, contents of global education and support and the level of burden of global education and factors related to the burden between nurse educators among top nursing universities in Japan and four English-speaking countries.

BACKGROUND

Intercultural sensitivity is the active desire to motivate oneself to understand, appreciate and accept different cultures. Nurse educators need to be culturally sensitive to teach cultural care to nursing students.

DESIGN

This is a cross-sectional exploratory international comparative study using an online survey.

METHODS

Participants were nurse educators with a nurse license in the top 20 in Japan and the top 10 universitiesin the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia (hereafter "English-speaking countries"), respectively. The questions in Google form selected participants by the inclusion criteria. Intercultural sensitivity was measured by the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale. Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman's correlation coefficients were used for the analyses. Data were collected from October 2023 to January 2024.

RESULTS

A total of 144 in Japan (response rate=29.0 %) and 106 educators in English-speaking countries (response rate=2.4 %) were included in the analysis. Nurse educators in Japan had less work experience in foreign countries, had fewer opportunities to take part in cross-cultural interactions and had significantly lower intercultural sensitivity. In both groups, those who had more experience in foreign countries with higher intercultural sensitivity taught global nursing. While in Japan nurse educators who had higher proficiency in non-native languages and those who had more frequently taken part in cross-cultural interactions taught global nursing, in English-speaking countries full-time workers who had attended international academic conferences taught. In Japan, global nursing was a more optional course and the number of contents taught was lower. While participants in Japan had international seminars at universities as support for global nursing education, those in English-speaking countries had faculty members with different cultural backgrounds. Participants in Japan felt more burden for global nursing education. In Japan, more proficient non-native language, more frequent cross-cultural interaction and higher intercultural sensitivities were associated with a lower burden, while teaching other than in their native language, contents taught and performance evaluation were associated with a higher burden in English-speaking countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher intercultural sensitivity, performance evaluation and proficiency in non-native language may be important for nurse educators to teach global nursing and support is necessary to enhance them.

Innovative cultural care training: the impact of flipped classroom methods on critical cultural competencies in psychiatric nursing: a quasi-experimental study

INTRODUCTION

Healthcare systems are encountering a growing number of diverse and multicultural clients due to globalization and migration. To effectively address the challenges associated with cross-cultural interactions, nurses require a comprehensive framework of critical cultural competencies. One potential approach to enhancing these competencies in mental health care settings is to use innovative methods such as the flipped classroom in cultural care training programs. This study evaluated the effect of using the flipped classroom method in cultural care training on the critical cultural competencies of nurses working in a psychiatric hospital.

METHODS

This quasi-experimental study involved 70 nurses working in a psychiatric hospital affiliated with the Kerman University of Medical Sciences in southeastern Iran. Through random sampling, the nurses were allocated into two groups of intervention (n = 35) and control (n = 35). The intervention group participated in a cultural care training program using the flipped classroom method, which consisted of four sessions conducted over a four-week period. To evaluate the nurses' critical cultural competence, the Almutairi's Critical Cultural Competence Scale was administered before the training and again one month later.

RESULTS

The study findings indicated no significant differences in the scores of critical cultural competencies between the intervention group (4.53 ± 0.64) and the control group (4.73 ± 0.42) during the pre-test stage (t = 1.53, p = 0.13). Both groups had a similar perception of critical cultural competencies, which was not particularly positive. However, in the posttest stage, the intervention group (5.33 ± 0.49) demonstrated a significant increase in critical cultural competencies compared to the control group (4.75 ± 0.44) (t = 5.14, p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The study results indicated that the use of the flipped classroom method in the cultural care training program effectively enhanced the critical cultural competencies of nurses. Given the importance of cultural care in both physical and psychiatric care settings for multicultural clients, it is crucial for nurses to receive ongoing in-service education that utilizes innovative and active methods such as the flipped classroom.

Designing, implementing, and evaluating a mobile app-based cultural care training program to improve the cultural capacity and humility of nursing students

BACKGROUND

Given the growing cultural diversity among healthcare clients, it is crucial for nursing education to have a clear mission: to effectively train future nurses by incorporating cultural care curricula. The goal is to equip them with the necessary cultural capacity and humility. This study focused on designing, developing, and evaluating a mobile app-based cultural care training program, with the aim of enhancing the cultural capacity and humility of nursing students.

METHODS

This experimental study utilized the five steps of the ADDIE instructional model (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation) to design a mobile app-based cultural care training program. The first three steps involved designing and developing the program, drawing upon Purnell's model for cultural competence and Foronda's rainbow model of cultural humility. In the fourth step, the cultural care training program was implemented in 16 modules among 80 internship nursing students. These students were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control groups, with 40 students in each group. Finally, in the fifth step, the effectiveness of the mobile app-based program was evaluated by administering the Cultural Capacity Scale, and the Foronda Cultural Humility Scale before and one month after the cultural care training. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS22, employing techniques such as paired t-test, chi-square test, and independent samples t-test.

RESULTS

A total of 76 students completed the study, with 39 students in the intervention group and 37 students in the control group. Prior to the mobile app-based cultural care training program, there were no significant differences in cultural capacity and humility scores between the two groups (p > 0.05). However, following the completion of the program, the intervention group exhibited higher scores in cultural capacity and humility compared to the control group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the mobile app-based cultural care training program had a positive impact on the cultural capacity and humility of undergraduate nursing students. These results indicate the importance of nurse educators designing comprehensive training programs that incorporate innovative approaches to enhance cultural capacity and humility among nursing students at all academic levels.

The development of cultural competences in nursing students and their significance in shaping the future work environment: a pilot study

BACKGROUND

Working in a culturally diverse environment entails a moral and professional responsibility to provide culturally competent care. This has been recognised as an important measure to reduce health inequalities, improve the quality of care and increase patient satisfaction. The aim of this study was to assess the level of cultural competence in nursing students a decade after the introduction of transcultural nursing content into the nursing curriculum in Slovenia.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional design with 180 s-year nursing students as a convenience sample was used. Cultural competence was assessed using the Cultural Competence Assessment Tool (CCATool) via an online survey. IBM SPSS facilitated statistical analysis, using descriptive statistics and inferential methods, including the chi-square test. Non-parametric tests (Mann Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis H and Wilcoxon signed-rank) were used for non-normally distributed data (Shapiro-Wilk test, p < 0.05). The significance was set at p ≤ 0.05.

RESULTS

The results indicate that students demonstrate a high level of cultural competence, although there is room for improvement in terms of cultural sensitivity, as determined by coding the CCATool. The results also show a remarkable contrast between their self-assessed scores and the objective scores obtained from CCATool coding of the statements in each subscale (p < 0.005). In addition, significant differences (p = 0.002) are found in subscale "Cultural Knowledge" particularly between students who have lived abroad for more than 6 months and those who have not. The latter group has a higher score in the CCATool, indicating greater cultural knowledge.

CONCLUSIONS

The study suggests that the presence of transcultural elements in the Slovenian nursing curriculum is associated with higher self-reported levels of cultural competence among nursing students, although the present research design does not allow for causal interpretations. This competence is of immense importance in preparing students for their future professional environment. However, it is crucial to further refine the nursing curriculum, especially through greater integration of transcultural content in all health disciplines. In addition, the introduction of innovative teaching and learning approaches can better prepare students to deal with the diverse cultural experiences they will encounter in their nursing careers.