International cooperation for nursing human resource development in Lao PDR: Investing in nursing leadership.

Strengthening nursing leadership in health systems has been identified as a priority for achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). We aimed to analyse the characteristics of Japanese technical assistance projects for nursing human resource development in Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and suggest directions for future assistance. An upgrading program, as part of human resource development, was initiated in the 1990s; it has contributed to the development of nursing leaders. Moreover, technical assistance from development partners has had synergistic effects by consistently promoting the involvement of nursing leaders in administration, education, and clinical practice to establish a functional regulatory system. In resource-limited settings, the application of both edge-pulling (leadership development) and bottom-up (quality improvement of the mass population) strategies are required. From a long-term perspective, development partners should continue to invest in increasing the number and quality of nursing leaders by upgrading the courses and leadership training programs, starting from the younger generation.

Building consensus on critical thinking assessment tool for undergraduate nursing students in a socialist low-middle income country: A delphi study.

Aim: We aimed to build consensus on a holistic critical thinking (CT) assessment tool involving cognitive skills and disposition for undergraduate nursing students in a socialist low-middle income country, Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). Background: University degree nursing education program in Lao PDR has been started since 2011 to strengthen the ability to think as professional nurse, and nursing regulations have progressively developed last decade. However, there are still few studies assessing the CT ability of nursing students in Lao PDR. Design: Delphi study. Methods: We conducted three rounds of Delphi survey of 14 panel members consisting of nursing faculty members and clinical supervisors. The first and second survey rounds involved a combination of a series of questionnaires and face-to-face interviews to obtain ideas or opinions about descriptions of the CT assessment tool. The third round was the meeting with 13 panel members to reach a consensus on the descriptions of the CT assessment tool. Results: The number of descriptions changed from 29 to 30 under seven assessment criteria of the cognitive skills and from 34 to 32 under 10 assessment criteria of the habits of mind as disposition. The panel provided active comments on the descriptions in terms of social, cultural, and educational backgrounds. Especially the descriptions of criteria applying standards and creativity were discussed from practical viewpoints such as the hierarchical social structure in hospital, limited educational resources, and the cultural value of harmony. Conclusions: The holistic CT assessment tool that resulted from the consensus is anticipated to help Laotian nursing educators to assess undergraduate nursing students' CT ability more efficiently with confidence at both the university and hospitals continuously. Subsequent implementation of the CT assessment tool in a socialist low-middle income country is warranted.

Salutogenesis and COVID-19 pandemic impacting nursing education across SEANERN affiliated universities: A multi-national study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives of many. Particularly, nursing students experience greater stress as their normal curriculum is interrupted and some of them face the risk of being infected as frontline workers. Nursing faculty members may face similar struggles, in addition to developing teaching materials for online learning. Thus, it is important to examine the faculty members' and students' views on their ability to adapt during the pandemic to obtain a holistic view of how learning and training has been affected. DESIGN: The descriptive cross-sectional quantitative design was used. SETTINGS: Data were collected from Southeast and East Asian Nursing Education and Research Network (SEANERN) affiliated nursing institutions from January 2021 to August 2021. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1897 nursing students and 395 faculty members from SEANERN-affiliated nursing institutions in Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam were recruited for this study. METHODS: Quantitative surveys were used to explore the satisfaction levels in education modalities, confidence levels, psychosocial well-being, sense of coherence and stress levels of nursing students and faculty members during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: Participants were mostly satisfied with the new education modalities, although most students felt that their education was compromised. Both groups showed positive levels of psychosocial well-being, despite scoring low to medium on the sense of coherence scale and experiencing great stress. The participants' sense of coherence was positively correlated with their psychosocial well-being and negatively correlated with stress levels. CONCLUSIONS: While the COVID-19 pandemic had negatively impacted the lives of nursing students and faculty members, most of them had a healthy level of psychosocial well-being. Having a strong sense of coherence was associated with better psychosocial health and lower stress levels. As such, it may be helpful to develop interventions aimed at improving the sense of coherence of nursing students and staff to help them manage stressors better.

Cross-sectional survey of the disaster preparedness of nurses across the Asia-Pacific region.

Healthcare workers who have received disaster preparedness education are more likely to report a greater understanding of disaster preparedness. However, research indicates that current nursing curricula do not adequately prepare nurses to respond to disasters. This is the first study to assess Asia-Pacific nurses' perceptions about their level of disaster knowledge, skills, and preparedness. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 757 hospital and community nurses in seven Asia-Pacific countries. Data were collected using the modified Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Tool. Participants were found to have overall low-to-moderate levels of disaster knowledge, skills and preparedness, wherein important gaps were identified. A majority of the variance in disaster preparedness scores was located at the level of the individual respondent, not linked to countries or institutions. Multilevel random effects modelling identified disaster experience and education as significant factors of positive perceptions of disaster knowledge, skills, and management. The first step toward disaster preparedness is to ensure frontline health workers are able to respond effectively to disaster events. The outcomes of this study have important policy and education implications.