Waweru Beth, Gatiti Peter, Wachira Serah
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Aga Khan university, Nairobi, Kenya.
Faculty of Health Sciences, Aga Khan university, Nairobi, Kenya.
PLOS Digit Health. 2025 Jun 26;4(6):e0000900. doi: 10.1371/journal.pdig.0000900. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Nursing education is pivotal for ensuring competent healthcare professionals, and its improvement is essential for enhancing the quality of health care systems globally. This study focuses on nursing education research in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the last decade, employing both bibliometric analysis and systematic review methodologies. The bibliometric analysis reveals an evolving landscape of nursing education research in SSA, offering insights into trends, key countries, journals, and predominant research themes. Notably, the study identifies a scarcity of literature using bibliometric approaches in nursing research, addressing this gap by providing a comprehensive overview of the field.The systematic review, guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, explores 1359 articles published in the last ten years, focusing on nursing education in SSA. The analysis of 1288 selected articles emphasize experiences and challenges faced by nursing and midwifery students during their education and clinical training. The emerging themes cuts across classroom teaching, clinical learning environments, and overall clinical practice. The findings highlight the need for attention to educational support, effective communication, professionalism, inclusivity, and innovative teaching methods. Limitations include the exclusive focus on SSA, restricting generalizability to other regions. Nonetheless, the study offers valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and institutions to enhance the quality of nursing education. By addressing identified challenges, fostering innovation, and promoting inclusivity, stakeholders can better prepare students to meet the dynamic demands of the healthcare profession in SSA and potentially other regions, especially Low- and Middle-income Countries. The research contributes to the ongoing efforts to bridge the gap between nursing education theory and practice, ultimately improving healthcare outcomes in the region.
护理教育对于培养合格的医疗保健专业人员至关重要，其改进对于提高全球医疗保健系统的质量至关重要。本研究聚焦于过去十年撒哈拉以南非洲（SSA）的护理教育研究，采用文献计量分析和系统评价方法。文献计量分析揭示了SSA护理教育研究不断演变的格局，提供了有关趋势、主要国家、期刊和主要研究主题的见解。值得注意的是，该研究发现护理研究中使用文献计量方法的文献稀缺，通过对该领域进行全面概述来弥补这一差距。系统评价以系统评价和Meta分析的首选报告项目（PRISMA）指南为指导，探索了过去十年发表的1359篇文章，重点关注SSA的护理教育。对1288篇选定文章的分析强调了护理和助产专业学生在教育和临床培训期间面临的经历和挑战。新出现的主题贯穿课堂教学、临床学习环境和整体临床实践。研究结果强调需要关注教育支持、有效沟通、专业精神、包容性和创新教学方法。局限性包括仅关注SSA，限制了对其他地区的普遍性。尽管如此，该研究为教育工作者、政策制定者和机构提高护理教育质量提供了有价值的见解。通过应对已识别的挑战、促进创新和推动包容性，利益相关者可以更好地培养学生以满足SSA及可能其他地区，特别是低收入和中等收入国家医疗保健行业的动态需求。该研究有助于持续努力弥合护理教育理论与实践之间的差距，最终改善该地区的医疗保健结果。
