Nordic Journal of Nursing Research

The increased number of older adults who experience longevity requires increased investment in healthcare services. Short-term goal-directed reablement is expected to strengthen the functional capacity and quality of life of older adults, while homecare hours, and thus municipal expenditures, decrease. Facilitation of successful interprofessional collaboration includes not only enhancing coordination structurally, but also establishing a commitment regarding culture that overcomes professionally differentiated attitudes. Nurses have an obvious role in these multi-professional teams and the study explores some aspects' of working in this type of collaboration. The aim was to illuminate the meaning of working with short-term goal-directed reablement of older adults as experienced by an interprofessional team. Data were collected after an intervention with goal-directed time-limited reablement of older people. Written narratives from an interprofessional team were analyzed using a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach. Findings identified four major thematic structures that characterized the meaning: 1) Reliable relationship; including the aspects ‘Confidence between the older adult and staff’, ‘A sense of security’ and ‘Continuity’, 2) Empowered participation, including the following aspects: ‘Listen to the older adult’s desires’ and ‘Put the person in control’, 3) Team with a negotiated approach, including the aspects: ‘Closeness’, ‘Same direction and overarching goal’, ‘Learning from interprofessional dialogue’, 4) Time for growth with the aspects ‘Creating harmony’ and ‘Building the older adult’s self-confidence’. The process of reablement seemed strengthened by the collaborative approach of different professions and their combined efforts. The present study argues that teamwork gives confidence both in terms of general knowledge of reablement but also specific confidence in one’s profession.

Given the rapid pace of change and globalization, leaders in healthcare must be educated to think globally even if they only act locally. This short article discusses the experience of a collaborative online international learning (COIL) project between the University of Iceland (UI) and the University of Minnesota (UMN) in the United States. The project was embedded into graduate courses in nursing administration and leadership. COIL courses require substantial collaboration but, when done well, COIL transforms teaching so that global awareness of students and faculty is enhanced and widens their horizons as well as their cultural sensitivity.

Collaborative digital learning is becoming increasingly popular in higher education. However, the use of collaborative digital learning does risk placing too big a responsibility on the learner and reducing face-to-face interaction with the educator. The aim of this quasi-experimental study was to evaluate the effects of a digital educational intervention on collaborative learning in nursing education. The intervention group (n = 87) studied using a collaborative digital learning environment and the control group (n = 38) studied in the traditional classroom setting. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of student satisfaction. However, the students' satisfaction of studying decreased in the intervention group after completion of the course. In the intervention group students had higher satisfaction in the area of promoting collaborative group work and received statistically significant higher grades in the final course evaluation. This study emphasizes that collaborative digital learning can be an effective approach in nursing education in terms of learning outcomes. It also shows that more study is needed on the role of the teacher in collaborative digital nursing education.

Nurses are required to apply research-based knowledge in order to perform evidence-based practice. A survey was conducted to identify nurses’ information-retrieval skills, behavior and needs and replies were received from 1301 nurses. The most used electronic resources for retrieval of healthcare information were the local intra-net and Google, while bibliographic databases were used to a lesser extent. Half of the respondents indicated that they were accustomed to search databases and an equal number indicated lack of time and that information retrieval was not requested by their colleagues. The majority assessed their own information-retrieval skills as good while one third lacked knowledge and described information retrieval as difficult. Significant differences in competences and use of bibliographic databases were found between nurses who had graduated before and after an educational reform in 2011. Further measures, including collaborations between librarians and nurse management, must be developed to support information literacy and evidence-based practice among nurses.

Persons with complex problems challenge nursing. The interest of this study was to identify the tools staff have used to continue working with compassion, empathy and sensitivity amongst vulnerable clients with complex problems, mental ill health and substance use (so-called dual diagnosis). The data were collected in a focused ethnographic study at a low-threshold service for substance users, and were analysed using Leininger’s ethnographic and a phenomenological lifeworld method. The staff attitude was positive towards the clients, they approved of the client’s background. Vulnerability appeared as a common pain, which touched both the staff and clients, and needed to be negotiated. A staff tool was the capability of carrying the pain, not being overwhelmed by it. The implications for practice are to recognize openness, awareness, reflexivity and communion with other staff members, the need for balancing of personal and ethical roles with professional requirements.

The participation of patients in their treatment and care is perceived as desirable; however, patients with mental illnesses experience limited opportunities to participate in their own care. As nurses play a key role in taking care of patients with mental illnesses, this study aimed to investigate how nurses within psychiatric care settings experience patients' participation and how they act to increase it. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight registered nurses, four of whom worked in a psychiatric institutional care setting and four of whom worked with outpatients. Data were analysed using a qualitative content analysis approach. The analysis identified a theme: a caring relationship is a prerequisite for patient participation. This theme was further developed through five subthemes. The findings illustrate critical aspects of the caring relationship by which the nurse–patient relationship can either facilitate or impede patient participation. A caring relationship builds trust and increases the patient's sense of responsibility for their own condition. Because patients with mental illness are cared for in many different contexts, the results of the present study have implications for a broad range of healthcare environments.

This study elicited perceptions of nurses, doctors and allied health staff in rural and remote health facilities, about working with children and parents. This was a quantitative study using ‘Working with Families’, a validated and well-tested questionnaire, in the setting of seven rural and remote hospitals in North Queensland, Australia. The participants were 123 health professionals from the seven hospitals. The ‘Working with Families’ questionnaire consists of demographic characteristics and two questions about working with children and with their parents. Scores were compared and correlations sought with demographic characteristics. Scores were as follows (1 = least positive, 5 = most positive): working with children: 3.35 (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.22, 3.47), with parents 3.79 (95% CI 3.66, 3.92), mean difference –0.44 (95% CI –0.54, –0. 53; p < 0.001). No significant relationships occurred between scores and demographics. Family-centred care is the cornerstone of paediatric healthcare. People work in paediatrics and child health because they like children. Respondents were more positive about working with children than with parents. If staff find working with parents more difficult, the implementation of family-centred care may theoretically be negatively affected. Support and education about family-centred care and the newly emerging model, child centred care, may assist in overcoming less positive attitudes.