Male nursing students' experiences of simulation used to replace maternal-child clinical learning in Qatar.

BACKGROUND: In today's health care context, nurse educators teach with limited clinical placement availability, competition for available spaces and increasingly complex clients. SETTING: As part of the baccalaureate of nursing program at the University of Calgary in Qatar, students are required to complete 208 h of maternal-child clinical. Unfortunately, due to social and cultural norms in this predominantly Muslim country, male nursing students are prohibited from practicing with mothers and babies in Qatar. In order to address this need, we developed a fully simulated clinical practice module for these male students. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the current study was to better understand the learning experiences of the students undertaking this experience. DESIGN: The authors developed and implemented a fully simulated, campus-based, maternity clinical experience that used a variety of levels of fidelity, incorporated the tenets of Kolb's (1984) experiential learning theory, and Jeffries' (2005) simulation design framework. Post-simulation debriefing sessions were recorded and transcribed. Typed weekly reflections were provided. All data was blinded. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of ten adult, male participants was obtained. METHODS: Using an inductive qualitative approach, researchers analyzed transcripts of debriefing sessions and reflective journals. RESULTS: The main themes were knowledge application, clinical judgement, communication, and crossing cultural barriers. CONCLUSIONS: Themes from this study can be used to support and/or change existing practices in a way that supports learner-centered, experiential teaching practices.

A process-environment model for mentoring undergraduate research students.

Undergraduate nursing student engagement in research remains much contested. The debate centers on whether undergraduate education is preparation for application of research findings to practice versus early exposure and engagement to discovery of new knowledge focused research as is done in graduate education. We take the position that involvement in research is beneficial but mentorship is required if the endeavor is to be meaningful. In the absence of a model to guide effective mentorship for undergraduate co-researchers we synthesized the available undergraduate mentorship literature and relevant pedagogy to develop a mentorship model for use by nurse educators who undertake research with nursing students. This was applied and refined through active engagement in, and reflection on, the execution of a research project exploring peoples' experiences of mental illness. Synthesis of the evidence and reflections led to the development of a process-environment mentorship model. This model provides an evidence- and experientially-based framework for mentoring undergraduate student co-researchers.

Mental illness research in the Gulf Cooperation Council: a scoping review.

Rapid growth and development in recent decades has seen mental health and mental illness emerge as priority health concerns for the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates). As a result, mental health services in the region are being redefined and expanded. However, there is a paucity of local research to guide ongoing service development. Local research is important because service users' experience of mental illness and mental health services are linked to their sociocultural context. In order for service development to be most effective, there is a need for increased understanding of the people who use these services.This article aims to review and synthesize mental health research from the Gulf Cooperation Council. It also seeks to identify gaps in the literature and suggest directions for future research. A scoping framework was used to conduct this review. To identify studies, database searches were undertaken, regional journals were hand-searched, and reference lists of included articles were examined. Empirical studies undertaken in the Gulf Cooperation Council that reported mental health service users' experience of mental illness were included. Framework analysis was used to synthesize results. Fifty-five studies met inclusion criteria and the following themes were identified: service preferences, illness (symptomology, perceived cause, impact), and recovery (traditional healing, family support, religion). Gaps included contradictory findings related to the supportive role of the Arabic extended family and religion, under-representation of women in study samples, and limited attention on illness management outside of the hospital setting.From this review, it is clear that the sociocultural context in the region is linked to service users' experience of mental illness. Future research that aims to fill the identified gaps and develop and test culturally appropriate interventions will aid practice and policy development in the region.

Knowledge about pandemic influenza preparedness among vulnerable migrants in Thailand.

This study was designed to assess factors associated with a high level of knowledge about influenza among displaced persons and labor migrants in Thailand. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 797 documented and undocumented migrants thought to be vulnerable to influenza during the early stages of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Data were collected on socio-demographic factors, migration status, health information sources, barriers to accessing public healthcare services and influenza-related knowledge using a 201-item interviewer-assisted questionnaire. Among the different types of influenza, participants' awareness of avian influenza was greatest (81%), followed by H1N1 (78%), human influenza (61%) and pandemic influenza (35%). Logistic regression analyses identified 11 factors that significantly predicted a high level of knowledge about influenza. Six or more years of education completed [odds ratio (OR) 6.89 (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.58-13.24)] and recent participation in an influenza prevention activity [OR 5.27 (95% CI 2.78-9.98)] were the strongest predictors. Recommendations to aid public health efforts toward pandemic mitigation and prevention include increasing accessibility of education options for migrants and increasing frequency and accessibility of influenza prevention activities, such as community outreach and meetings. Future research should seek to identify which influenza prevention activities and education materials are most effective.