Development and psychometric testing of the 10-item satisfaction with Nursing Skill Examination: Objective Structured Clinical Assessment scale.

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) or Assessment (OSCA) has traditionally been used in disciplines such as medicine and nursing, to assess students' competence to perform clinical skills safely in a simulated hospital environment. Despite its accepted use, a validated and reliable tool has yet to be developed and tested to assess students' perception of and satisfaction with this mode of assessment. This study developed and tested the psychometric properties of a brief Objective Structured Clinical Examination tool for assessing student perception that could have transferability across health education settings. The study used a cross-sectional survey design. Final year students (n = 727) enrolled in an undergraduate nursing program in Western Sydney completed the 10-item Satisfaction with Nursing Skill Examination: Objective Structured Clinical Assessment (SINE-OSCA) Scale in 2017. Exploratory factor analysis uncovered a one-component structure with component loading that ranged from 0.45 to 0.86. Cronbach's alpha of the SINE-OSCA was 0.91. Socio-demographic group comparisons revealed that respondents who were: i) male (p = 0.003); ii) non-native-born (p < 0.001); iii) non-English-speaking (p < 0.001); and iv) International (p = 0.001), reported higher satisfaction with clinical assessments, as measured by the SINE-OSCA scale. The SINE-OSCA scale demonstrates validity and reliability in identifying students who may have difficulty with this mode of clinical skill assessment.

Factors contributing to undergraduate nursing students' satisfaction with a video assessment of clinical skills.

BACKGROUND: Clinical skill assessment via Objective Structured Clinical Assessment (OSCA) has many challenges for undergraduate nursing students. These include high levels of anxiety that can compromise performance during the assessment, inconsistency with assessor reliability and is inconsistent with clinical skills performance in the real world. The implementation of a Video Assessment of Clinical Skills (VACS) that integrates formative feedback may be a way to address the challenges posed by OSCA assessment. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the acceptability, utility, and nursing student satisfaction with a formative feedback strategy - the Video Assessment of a Clinical Skill (VACS). DESIGN: A cross sectional survey. SETTINGS: Undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing degree students from a large Australian University. PARTICIPANTS: Third year undergraduate nursing students (final year) enrolled in a Bachelor of Nursing Program. METHODS: Participants were recruited via purposive sampling. A pre-survey (prior to VACs assessment) and post-survey (after VACS assessment) were completed. This paper reports on the open-ended responses in the post-survey that explored students' insights and perceptions into formative feedback and its impact on their learning for the VACS assessment. RESULTS: A total of 731 open-ended responses were analysed with findings being organised into 3 major themes; (i) Flexibility and reflexivity, (ii) Editing and repeated attempts, and (iii) Working together. CONCLUSIONS: Video Assessment of a Clinical Skill has demonstrated good utility, acceptability, and satisfaction among undergraduate nursing students.

The Unmet Supportive Care Needs of Arab Australian and Arab Jordanian Cancer Survivors: An International Comparative Survey.

BACKGROUND: Research exploring the unmet supportive care needs of Arab cancer survivors is limited, with most conducted with immigrant groups. No study has compared the unmet supportive care needs of immigrant Arab cancer survivors with Arab cancer survivors living in their native country. OBJECTIVE: To explore the unmet supportive care needs of both Arab Australian and Arab Jordanian cancer survivors. METHODS: Arab people living in Sydney, Australia, and Amman, Jordan, and diagnosed with cancer within the last 5 years were invited to complete a questionnaire that measured unmet supportive care needs, depression, and language acculturation. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of unmet supportive care needs. RESULTS: Seventy-seven Arab Jordanian and 66 Arab Australian cancer survivors were recruited. Australian participants were older than their Jordanian counterparts (61.5 vs 52.3 years; P < .001) and reported higher levels of overall unmet needs (44.9 vs 36.1; P = .012). Controlling for age and stage of cancer diagnosis, higher levels of depression (ß = .34) and living in Australia (ß = .26) were significant predictors of unmet needs and explained almost 17% of the variance. CONCLUSIONS: These findings have extended our understanding of the unmet supportive care needs of Arab cancer survivors and confirm disparities in unmet needs in immigrant populations. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Greater attention is needed to ensure the supportive care needs are met for immigrant patients with cancer. Additional strategies to address physical and psychological needs are particularly needed in this group.

The price of journeying towards the prize-Commencing nursing students' experiences of working and studying: A qualitative study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore the experiences of commencing first-year undergraduate nursing students who were studying full time while engaging in 20 or more hours of paid work each week. METHOD: Using a qualitative exploratory design, commencing full-time nursing students who were employed in paid work for at least 20 hr per week were interviewed between May-June 2016. Data were thematically analysed using the following approach: data familiarisation, generating initial codes independently, searching and reviewing themes and subthemes, and defining and naming these themes and subthemes. RESULTS: Four main themes were identified which illustrated students' experiences of working and studying: (a) "Work is a necessity…not a choice" identified how students relied heavily on the financial income from paid work to support themselves and others during their studies, (b) "Something's got to give" highlighted the sacrifices that needed to be made to avoid negative effects on their studies, (c) "It's a balancing act!" demonstrated how students studied strategically and balanced their workload despite challenges, and lastly (d) "Being supported to work and study" described the overwhelming support from others for students to succeed academically. CONCLUSIONS: Despite support, working 20 hr or more per week while studying full time often overwhelmed students' personal resources and negatively impacted on course grades. Inflexible University timetables compounded the challenges experienced by students who struggled to balance work and study commitments. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Nursing employers play a pivotal role in enabling students to juggle effectively their work-study commitments, through providing work flexibility. Students may also benefit if the nursing workforce advocates that they be awarded exclusion from selected clinical placement requirements, particularly if the clinical placement focus is closely related to their current nursing employment.

The role of indigenous health workers in promoting oral health during pregnancy: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Early childhood caries is the most common chronic childhood disease worldwide. Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are twice more likely to develop dental decay, and contributing factors include poor maternal oral health and underutilisation of dental services. Globally, Indigenous health workers are in a unique position to deliver culturally competent oral healthcare because they have a contextual understanding of the needs of the community. METHODS: This scoping review aimed to identify the role of Indigenous health workers in promoting maternal oral health globally. A systematic search was undertaken of six electronic databases for relevant published literature and grey literature, and expanded to include non-dental health professionals and other Indigenous populations across the lifespan when limited studies were identified. RESULTS: Twenty-two papers met the inclusion criteria, focussing on the role of Indigenous health workers in maternal oral healthcare, types of oral health training programs and screening tools to evaluate program effectiveness. There was a paucity of peer-reviewed evidence on the role of Indigenous health workers in promoting maternal oral health, with most studies focusing on other non-dental health professionals. Nevertheless, there were reports of Indigenous health workers supporting oral health in early childhood. Although some oral health screening tools and training programs were identified for non-dental health professionals during the antenatal period, no specific screening tool has been developed for use by Indigenous health workers. CONCLUSIONS: While the role of health workers from Indigenous communities in promoting maternal oral health is yet to be clearly defined, they have the potential to play a crucial role in 'driving' screening and education of maternal oral health especially when there is adequate organisational support, warranting further research.

Predictors of negative attitudes toward Indigenous Australians and a unit of study among undergraduate nursing students: A mixed-methods study.

Indigenous people are the most disadvantaged population within Australia. The Bachelor of Nursing program at a large university in Western Sydney embedded Indigenous health into the undergraduate teaching program. This paper reviews the negative responses received towards course content on evaluation of the Indigenous health unit and explores the predictors for the negative attitudes towards Indigenous Australians. Two surveys were used (baseline and follow-up) to: 1. Determine the main predictors for negative attitudes towards Indigenous people and; 2. Explore students' perceptions of the educational quality of the Indigenous health unit. The surveys allowed collection of socio-demographic, academic data and included the 18 item 'Attitude Toward Indigenous Australians' (ATIA) scale and open-ended responses. Students who were: 1. Overseas born, 2. Enrolment category: International student and; 3. Whose primary source of information about Indigenous Australians were the media and school were significantly more likely to have higher negative attitudes towards Indigenous Australians. Qualitative data revealed some unfavourable comments dismissing the value and educational quality of the content within the Indigenous health unit. Community engagement is paramount to enhancing the student experience. Movement away from media driven 'hype' to an educated perspective is necessary to create an accurate portrayal of the Indigenous community.

Measuring final-year nursing students' satisfaction with the viva assessment.

This paper reports a study conducted to develop and test the psychometric properties of a brief 5-item Satisfaction with the Oral Viva Assessment Scale. The viva has been increasingly used to gauge students' learning, beyond the traditional written assessments. This assessment approach may pose additional challenges to various student groups. Using a prospective, correlational design, this study surveyed 275 final year nursing students about their satisfaction with the viva as an assessment approach. The survey was administered to those who attended a revision session in an undergraduate high dependency unit. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses, as well as exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the scale were computed. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a one-component structure that explained 51% of the total variance, which was supported by confirmatory factor analysis (standardised factor loadings: 0.54-0.73). Internal consistency as computed by a Cronbach's alpha was 0.8. The results also revealed that those who obtained higher grades in their viva performance (OR: 2.78, 95% CI: 1.58-4.90) and English-speaking only students (OR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.07-3.27) were more satisfied with the viva assessment. These findings support the validity and reliability of this scale, and can be used to assess students' satisfaction with the viva.

Predictive validity of the post-enrolment English language assessment tool for commencing undergraduate nursing students.

BACKGROUND: Nursing students with English as an additional language (EAL) may underperform academically. The post-enrolment English language assessment (PELA) is used in literacy support, but its predictive validity in identifying those at risk of underperformance remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: To validate a PELA, as a predictor of academic performance. DESIGN: Prospective survey design. SETTING: The study was conducted at a university located in culturally and linguistically diverse areas of western Sydney, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Commencing undergraduate nursing students who were Australian-born (n=1323, 49.6%) and born outside of Australia (n=1346, 50.4%) were recruited for this study. The 2669 (67% of 3957) participants provided consent and completed a first year nursing unit that focussed on developing literacy skills. METHOD: Between 2010 and 2013, commencing students completed the PELA and English language acculturation scale (ELAS), a previously validated instrument. The grading levels of the PELA tool were: Level 1 (proficient), Level 2 (borderline), and Level 3 (poor, and requiring additional support). RESULTS: Participants with a PELA Level 2 or 3 were more likely to be: a) non-Australian-born (χ(2): 520.6, df: 2, p<0.001); b) spoke a language other than English at home (χ(2): 490.2, df: 2, p<0.001); and c) an international student (χ(2): 225.6, df: 2, p<0.001). There was an inverse relationship between participants' ELAS scores and PELA levels (r=-0.52, p<0.001), and those graded as 'proficient' with a PELA Level 1 were more likely to obtain higher scores in their: i) unit essay assessment (χ(2): 40.2, df: 2, p<0.001); ii) final unit mark (χ(2): 218.6, df: 2, p<0.001), and attain a higher GPA (χ(2): 100.8, df: 2, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The PELA is a useful screening tool in identifying commencing nursing students who are at risk of academic underachievement.

Nursing students' perspectives of the health and healthcare issues of Australian Indigenous people.

BACKGROUND: Indigenous people are the most disadvantaged population within Australia with living conditions comparable to developing countries. The Bachelor of Nursing programme at the University of Western Sydney has embedded Indigenous health into the undergraduate teaching programme, with an expectation that students develop an awareness of Indigenous health and healthcare issues. AIM: To gain insight into students' perceptions of Indigenous people and whether the course learning and teaching strategies implemented improved students' learning outcomes and attitude towards Indigenous people and Indigenous health in Australia. DESIGN: A mixed methods prospective survey design was chosen. METHODS: Students enrolled in the Indigenous health subject in 2013 were invited to complete pre- and post-subject surveys that contained closed- and open-ended questions. Students' socio-demographic data was collected at baseline, but the 'Attitude Toward Indigenous Australians' (ATIA) scale, and the 3-item Knowledge, Interest and Confidence to nursing Australian Indigenous peoples scale were administered at both pre- and post-subject surveys. RESULTS: 502 students completed the baseline survey and 249 students completed the follow-up survey. There was a statistically significant attitudinal change towards Indigenous Australians, measured by the ATIA scale, and participants' knowledge, intent to work with Indigenous Australians and confidence in caring for them increased significantly at follow-up. Based on the participants' responses to open-ended questions, four key themes emerged: a) understanding Indigenous history, culture and healthcare; b) development of cultural competence; c) enhanced respect for Indigenous Australians' culture and traditional practices; and d) enhanced awareness of the inherent disadvantages for Indigenous Australians in education and healthcare. There were no statistically significant socio-demographic group differences among those who commented on key themes. CONCLUSION: Addressing health inequalities for Indigenous Australians is paramount. Nurses need cultural awareness and sensitivity to deliver culturally appropriate healthcare in Australia.

Evaluating Objective Structured Clinical Assessment (OSCA) in undergraduate nursing.

The aims of this mixed methods study were to gain insight into how individual assessors determine an Objective Structured Clinical Assessment (OSCA) result for undergraduate nursing students and identify whether individual assessor perceptions and professional characteristics have an impact on students' results. Results from 25 participants showed that although less than half (44%) of the participants were teaching in the course that they were assessing, the participants were highly experienced clinicians and nearly three-quarters (72%) had completed formal teaching qualifications. There were wide variations in pass rates (16.7-90%) between assessors. The widest disparity was observed between assessors with and those without critical care experience (66% versus 39%), as well as assessors who were teaching the course and those who were not (68% versus 49%). Qualitative analysis revealed three dominant themes within participants' transcripts. The themes focused on determining student safety, and the use of personal perceptions and clinical experience to determine competency. Findings indicate that assessors' individual perceptions and clinical experience have the potential to influence and determine undergraduate nursing students OSCA results. Development of criteria standards and objective assessment may be enhanced by greater involvement of assessors and thorough education and training within the context of student assessments.

Demographic and academic-related differences between standard-entry and graduate-entry nursing students: a prospective correlational survey.

BACKGROUND: Students who enroll in graduate-entry nursing programs are described as more highly motivated, scoring higher in most learning strategies, and achieving greater academic success than standard-entry nursing students. DESIGN: A prospective correlational design was used to compare the demographic and academic-related characteristics of standard-entry and graduate-entry nursing students in their first year of study. METHODS: Between 2007 and 2011, students enrolled in the Bachelor of Nursing, Standard Entry and the Bachelor Nursing, Graduate Entry at a large Australian university were surveyed in the first year of their program. Data included English-language usage and time spent in paid work, as well as four dimensions of Pintrich's Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Survey data was linked to students' academic grades at the end of the semester. RESULTS: A total of 730 students completed the survey and consented to collection of their academic grades. Graduate-entry students were more likely to be older (28.6 vs. 24.3 years, P < 0.001), and there was a higher percentage of males (25.2% vs. 15.9%, P = 0.003). Although no difference was identified between groups for use of Extrinsic Goal Orientation as a learning strategy, the graduate-entry students were more likely to identify Peer Learning, Help Seeking and Critical Thinking as strategies for learning than the standard-entry students (P < 0.001). Further, while this group of students achieved a higher mean GPA (4.8 vs. 4.0, P < 0.001) compared to the standard-entry students, regression analyses revealed that in both groups, lower levels of English-language proficiency and increased time spent in paid work were predictors of poorer academic performance. CONCLUSIONS: Similar to US-based studies, demographic and academic-related differences were identified between standard-entry and graduate-entry nursing students. However, the study also highlights lower levels of English-language proficiency and increased time spent in paid work negatively impacted academic performance in both groups of nursing students.

Learning approaches as predictors of academic performance in first year health and science students.

AIMS: To compare health and science students' demographic characteristics and learning approaches across different disciplines, and to examine the relationship between learning approaches and academic performance. BACKGROUND: While there is increasing recognition of a need to foster learning approaches that improve the quality of student learning, little is known about students' learning approaches across different disciplines, and their relationships with academic performance. DESIGN: Prospective, correlational design. METHODS: Using a survey design, a total of 919 first year health and science students studying in a university located in the western region of Sydney from the following disciplines were recruited to participate in the study - i) Nursing: n = 476, ii) Engineering: n = 75, iii) Medicine: n = 77, iv) Health Sciences: n = 204, and v) Medicinal Chemistry: n = 87. RESULTS: Although there was no statistically significant difference in the use of surface learning among the five discipline groups, there were wide variations in the use of deep learning approach. Furthermore, older students and those with English as an additional language were more likely to use deep learning approach. Controlling for hours spent in paid work during term-time and English language usage, both surface learning approach (ß = -0.13, p = 0.001) and deep learning approach (ß = 0.11, p = 0.009) emerged as independent and significant predictors of academic performance. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study provide further empirical evidence that underscore the importance for faculty to use teaching methods that foster deep instead of surface learning approaches, to improve the quality of student learning and academic performance.

Linguistic diversity as sociodemographic predictor of nursing program progression and completion.

Attrition from undergraduate nursing programs continues to warrant investigation particularly in the climate of nursing shortages and fiscal reflection on academic institutional programs. This three-year study used a prospective longitudinal survey design to determine entry characteristics of students, attrition, progression and completion in an undergraduate program. Students were surveyed in the first three weeks of commencing their program and gave permission for academic grades to be collected during their six session, three year Bachelor of Nursing program. Of the 740 students enrolled 48% (357 students) were surveyed and 352 students (99%) gave consent for their grades to be collected. One-third of the student cohort graduated in the expected three-year timeframe, one-third had dropped out and one-third was still completing their studies. A higher Grade Point Average and being a native English speaker were most predictive of students completing their course in the minimum expected timeframe.

Improving cardiac rehabilitation services--challenges for cardiac rehabilitation coordinators.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a long term multifactorial rehabilitation program aimed at the secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. However, delivery of CR services is less than optimal. AIM: This study explored the perceptions of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) coordinators relating to challenges for improving the delivery of CR services. METHODS: The study design used qualitative, semi-structured in-depth telephone interviews with 20 CR coordinators from NSW Australia. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematic content analysis was undertaken to identify common themes. RESULTS: Twenty CR coordinators participated in the study. Three major themes including obstacles to delivering cardiac rehabilitation services, challenges in achieving continuity and coordination, and complexities in delivering evidence-based health care were identified. Study findings indicate that limited service capacity due to a lack of investment and planning, rurality, lack of knowledge, and communication difficulties, are major challenges that CR coordinators need to overcome to provide effective services. CONCLUSIONS: The experiences of participants provide some detailed insight into the barriers encountered in providing CR services. The main message from this study is that providing CR services is a complex process and is collectively influenced by the health care system; professional and provider issues; and program characteristics.

A comparative study of assessment grading and nursing students' perceptions of quality in sessional and tenured teachers.

PURPOSE: Although the global nursing faculty shortage has led to increasing reliance upon sessional staff, limited research has explored the impact of these sessional staff on the quality of teaching in higher education. We aim to examine differences in (a) student satisfaction with sessional and tenured staff and (b) assessment scores awarded by sessional and tenured staff in students' written assignments. DESIGN: A comparative study method was used. Participants were recruited from students enrolled in the three nursing practice subjects across the 3 years of the baccalaureate program in an Australian university during the second semester of 2008. METHODS: This study collected student data via an online version of the Perceptions of Teaching and Course Satisfaction scale and compared the grades awarded by sessional and tenured academics for a written assessment in a single assignment in each of the nursing practice subjects. Of the 2,045 students enrolled in the nursing practice subjects across the 3 years of the bachelor of nursing (BN) program, 566 (28%) completed the online teaching and course satisfaction survey, and 1,972 assignment grades (96%) were available for analysis. FINDINGS: Compared with tenured academics, sessional teachers received higher rating on students' perception on teaching satisfaction by students in Year 1 (p= .021) and Year 2 (p= .002), but not by students in Year 3 (p= .348). Following the same trend, sessional teachers awarded higher assignment grades to students in Year 1 (p < .001) and Year 2 (p < .001) than tenured academics, with no significant disparity in grades awarded to students in Year 3. CONCLUSIONS: The higher grades awarded by sessional teachers to 1st- and 2nd-year students could be one explanation for why these teachers received higher student ratings than tenured teachers. Not discounting the possibility of grade inflation by sessional staff, it could be that tenured teachers have a higher expectation for the quality of students' work, and hence were more stringent in their assessment grading. Sessional teachers did not receive a higher rating from 3rd-year students, and this could be attributed to a change in student perception as they progress through the course, valuing a broader and more professional aspect of nursing knowledge, which is more likely to be the strength of tenured staff. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These findings highlight a need for the development and implementation of strategies to facilitate the inclusion of sessional staff teaching in a BN program, in order to prepare graduate nurses that are well-equipped for clinical practice.

Nursing students' perception of a Web-based intervention to support learning.

Tailoring information to the needs of the learner is an important strategy in contemporary education settings. Web-based learning support, informed by multimedia theory, comprising interactive quizzes, glossaries with audio, short narrated Power Point(R) presentations, animations and digitised video clips were introduced in a first year Bachelor of Nursing biological sciences subject at a university in metropolitan Sydney. All students enrolled in this unit were invited to obtain access to the site and the number of hits to the site was recorded using the student tracking facility available on WebCT, an online course delivery tool adopted widely by many educational institutions and used in this study. Eighty-five percent of students enrolled in the subject accessed the learning support site. Students' perception of the value of a learning support site was assessed using a web-based survey. The survey was completed by 123 participants, representing a response rate of 22%. Three themes emerged from the qualitative data concerning nursing students' perception of the web-based activities: 'enhances my learning', 'study at my own pace', and 'about the activities: what I really liked/disliked'. Web-based interventions, supplementing a traditionally presented nursing science course were perceived by students to be beneficial in both learning and language development. Although students value interactive, multimedia learning they were not ready to completely abandon traditional modes of learning including face-to-face lectures. The findings of this study contribute to an understanding of how web-based resources can be best used to support students' learning in bioscience.

Assessment of a self-administered adapted 6-minute walk test.

PURPOSE: This study assessed the reliability and viability of the Home-Heart-Walk (HHW) test, adapting a standardized 6-minute walk test protocol for self-administration. METHODS: Twenty-nine volunteers with documented coronary heart disease (CHD) undertook a structured 7-day program using the HHW. RESULTS: The intervention was well received by participants. The intraclass correlation coefficient of the test distance over 7 days was 0.98, and the correlations between investigator and participant measures were high (r = 0.99 for day 1 [first test], r = 0.99 for day 1 [second test], and r = 0.99 on day 7). CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate the potential of the HHW as a tool to promote and monitor physical activity in community-based settings. These observations require further investigation and testing in other populations.

Casualisation of the teaching workforce: implications for nursing education.

Internationally, nursing faculty shortages have been reported and there is a potential for them to worsen into the next decade as existing faculty age. To, in part, address this issue, across disciplines there is clearly an international trend towards the increasing casualisation of the higher education workforce. Despite the potential impact of this two-tiered workforce structure, there has been limited examination of the discipline specific issues related to the employment of a growing number of sessional nursing staff. This paper provides a critical review of the literature related to the employment of sessional teachers in higher education. The paper advances the discourse around the role and implications of employing sessional teachers in undergraduate nursing schools. Recommendations for supporting sessional staff and further research are presented.

Development of a health-related lifestyle self-management intervention for patients with coronary heart disease.

Risk-factor modification after an acute coronary event is imperative, and intervention strategies are continuously being developed to assist patients with behavioral change and, consequently, decreasing the risk of further coronary episodes. This article describes the development of the health-related lifestyle self-management (HeLM) intervention, which is a brief structured intervention embedded within the transtheoretical model of behavioral change. The HeLM intervention was developed by undertaking three discrete yet interrelated studies and consisted of the following components: goal-setting, the HeLM booklet, feedback regarding personal risk, team-building and communication with the patient's family physician, three supportive telephone calls, trained interviewers, a refrigerator magnet, and a health diary for self-monitoring. The HeLM intervention has been successfully implemented in 50 patients with acute coronary syndrome after discharge from hospital and has been demonstrated to be feasible and practical and could easily be delivered by health care professionals.

A review of the six-minute walk test: its implication as a self-administered assessment tool.

BACKGROUND: Promoting self-management and monitoring physical activity are important strategies in chronic heart disease (CHD) management. The six-minute walk test (6MWT) is a commonly used sub-maximal exercise test for measuring physical functional capacity. AIM: The aim of this paper is to review the current literature on 6MWT relating to methodological issues as well as exploring the potential of the protocol to be adopted as a self-administered exercise test. METHOD: The Medline, CINAHL, Science Direct and the World Wide Web using the search engine Google, were searched for articles describing the administration, reliability and validity of the 6MWT. Findings of the integrative literature review The 6MWT is a simple, safe and inexpensive sub-maximal exercise test. The 6MWT distance is strongly associated with functional capacity, and it is a useful prognostic tool. To date, the capacity for self-administration of the 6MWT has not been investigated. CONCLUSIONS: Adapting the 6MWT as a patient-reported outcome measure may enhance the capacity, not only for clinicians to monitor functional status, but also promote self-management by enabling individuals to monitor changes in their functional capacity.