Douglas Bebegu Yumba Campus, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
Faculty of Nursing, Medicine and Health Sciences, Kukum Hwy, Solomon Islands National University, Honiara, Solomon Islands.
Int Nurs Rev. 2024 Mar;71(1):35-43. doi: 10.1111/inr.12832. Epub 2023 Mar 3.
To explore graduates' perceptions of the impact on nursing practice of a new postgraduate course in child health, developed and implemented in the Solomon Islands in 2016.
The Bachelor of Nursing - Child Health was implemented in 2016 to develop nurses' knowledge and skills in child health and paediatric care with the intent to improve national child health outcomes.
A qualitative exploratory, descriptive design was used to evaluate the impact of the Bachelor of Nursing - Child Health on graduates' nursing practice.
Fourteen nurses who graduated from the first cohort of students enrolled in the child health course were purposively selected to participate. Participants engaged in individual semi-structured interviews, conducted between August and December 2018. A thematic analysis was undertaken following Braun and Clarke's six-phase process.
Findings from the study demonstrate positive impacts of the course on graduates' nursing practice. These include a perceived enhanced quality of care through their commitment to evidence-based practice, the ability to contribute to capacity building of colleagues, the reinforcement of provincial public health programmes and expanded participation in managerial activities. Following graduation, most alumni took on senior roles and greater responsibilities, felt more confident in managing unwell children, felt there was better access to and quality of child health care at the community and broader country levels and felt recognised by colleagues and communities. Some graduates faced resistance from colleagues to change practice and felt that despite being given greater responsibilities, nursing levels and salaries remained unchanged. This reflected a potential lack of recognition from hospital or provincial managers, the Nursing Council as the regulatory body for the nursing profession, and the Ministry of Health and Medical Services. A lack of human and material resources also impacted quality of care.
Findings from this study underline the need for the Solomon Islands National University, the Nursing Council, the Public Service and the Ministry of Health and Medical Services to concord and delineate formal accreditation standards for child health nurses. Overall, collaborative efforts and commitments at local, regional and global levels are required to support child health nurses in their ability and ambition to improve national child health outcomes.
Findings from this study demonstrate positive impacts of the course on graduates' nursing practice. The impact of increasing nurses' knowledge and skills on national child health outcomes could be significant. Ongoing implementation and recognition of this course in the Solomon Islands, as well as more broadly across the Pacific region, are recommended.
探索毕业生对 2016 年在所罗门群岛开设和实施的儿童健康研究生课程对护理实践影响的看法。
2016 年实施护理学学士-儿童健康课程，旨在培养护士在儿童健康和儿科护理方面的知识和技能，以改善国家儿童健康结果。
使用定性探索性描述性设计来评估护理学学士-儿童健康课程对毕业生护理实践的影响。
从第一届参加儿童健康课程的学生中选择了 14 名护士作为研究对象，采用目的抽样法参与研究。参与者于 2018 年 8 月至 12 月期间进行了单独的半结构化访谈。采用 Braun 和 Clarke 的六阶段方法进行主题分析。
研究结果表明，该课程对毕业生的护理实践产生了积极影响。这包括通过承诺循证实践，提高护理质量的能力；能够为同事的能力建设做出贡献；加强省级公共卫生计划；扩大参与管理活动。毕业后，大多数校友担任高级职务，承担更大的责任，对管理不适儿童更有信心；认为社区和更广泛的国家层面的儿童保健服务更便利、质量更高；并且得到同事和社区的认可。一些毕业生面临同事对改变实践的抵制，他们感到尽管承担了更大的责任，但护理水平和工资没有变化。这反映了医院或省级管理人员、护理专业监管机构护理委员会以及卫生部和医疗服务部对他们缺乏认可。人力和物质资源的缺乏也影响了护理质量。
本研究的结果强调了所罗门群岛国立大学、护理委员会、公共服务部和卫生部及医疗服务部需要协商并制定儿童保健护士的正式认证标准。总体而言，需要在地方、区域和全球各级开展协作努力和承诺，支持儿童保健护士提高国家儿童健康结果的能力和抱负。
本研究结果表明，该课程对毕业生的护理实践产生了积极影响。增加护士的知识和技能对国家儿童健康结果的影响可能是显著的。建议在所罗门群岛以及更广泛的太平洋地区继续实施和认可这门课程。
