Using a Low-Fidelity Simulation to Enhance Cultural Awareness and Emotional Intelligence in Nursing Students.

Undergraduate didactic nursing leadership courses lack experiential opportunities to address working with culturally diverse populations. The authors used Bafa Bafa©, a cross-cultural low-fidelity simulation, to further develop critical thinking and emotional intelligence skills in prelicensure nursing students. This article describes the authors' experiences of integrating this innovative teaching strategy in the classroom to increase cultural awareness. The students' discovery of unexpected feelings, thoughts, and perceptions has the potential to extend beyond the simulated experience when coupled with faculty reinforcement of engaging in self-reflective practice as a professional nurse.

Using online health communication to manage chronic sorrow: mothers of children with rare diseases speak.

Families affected by rare disease experience psychosocial reactions similar to families with prevalent chronic diseases. The ability to respond and manage the condition depends on psychosocial factors. This phenomenological study of 16 mothers of children with Alagille syndrome explored their lived experience in using online health communications to manage their chronic sorrow. Data consisted of semi-structured interviews analyzed using techniques described by van Manen. Analysis yielded four essential themes: connectedness, online triggers, empowerment, and seasons of online use contributed to online communication essential to a rare disease community. Findings suggest mothers need emotional support and help accessing appropriate online resources.