Embracing diversity: measuring the impact of an international immersion learning experience on nursing students' cultural beliefs and values.

OBJECTIVES: An international Nursing Leadership Collaborative covened in Japan to hold a patient safety and quality workshop for nursing students from six countries. The purpose was to measure students' self reported beliefs reflecting sensitivity and openness to cultural diversity before and after the international experience. METHODS: A pre-post-test design was used and the Beliefs, Events, and Values Inventory was administered to international undergraduate and graduate nursing students. RESULTS: The group aggregate data analysis indicate that prior to the start of the workshop, the group presented itself as quite introspective and after the workshop the group reported being more sophisticated in making causal explanations about why the world works in the way it does. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing students experienced an expanded awareness of their beliefs and values that reflect a greater degree of intercultural sensitivity for acceptance of inclusivity and diversity after the experience.

Impact of the Brain Injury Family Intervention (BIFI) training on rehabilitation providers: A mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: The psychological impact of TBI is vast, leading to adverse effects on survivors and their caregivers. Unhealthy family functioning may be mitigated by therapeutic strategies, particularly interdisciplinary family systems approaches like the well-documented Brain Injury Family Intervention (BIFI). Little is known about the experience of providers who offer such interventions. OBJECTIVE: This mixed methods study aims to demonstrate that a structured three-day training on the BIFI protocol improves providers' knowledge and confidence in working with survivors and families, and that this outcome is sustainable. METHODS: Participants were 34 providers who participated in an intensive training and completed a web-based survey at four points of time. Quantitative data were analyzed via Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and binomial test of proportions. Qualitative data were analyzed according to rigorous coding procedures. RESULTS: Providers' knowledge of brain injury and their ability to conceptualize treatment models for survivors and their families increased significantly and mostly remain consistent over time. Qualitative data point to additional gains, such as understanding of family systems. CONCLUSIONS: Past studies quantify the BIFI as an evidence-based intervention. This study supports the effectiveness of training and serves as first to demonstrate the benefit for providers short- and long-term.