Doctoral programmes in the nursing discipline: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to map and summarise the state of the research regarding doctoral programs in nursing, as well as the issues debated in the context of nursing doctoral education. A Scoping Review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis extension scoping reviews statement (PRISMA-ScR) was conducted. Three electronic bibliographic data bases were searched: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Complete, Medline (on EBSCO Host) and SCOPUS to identify empirical studies published between January 2009 and December 2019. The review process was based on framework identified by Arksey and O'Malley and further revised by Levac and colleagues. Analysis was performed with the use of the Donabedian framework regarding the structure of the doctorate programmes, the process, and the outcomes. RESULTS: The review included 41 articles, mostly originating in the United States (n=26) and Europe (n=8), mainly by collecting the perceptions of students and faculty members with descriptive studies. The following issues were investigated at the (a) structure level: Prerequisite for doctoral candidates, Qualifications of faculty members, Mission of doctoral programs; (b) process level: Doctoral programs contents, Doctoral programs resources and quality, Mentoring and supervision, Doing doctorate abroad; and (c) outcome level: Academic performance outcomes in doctoral programs, Doctoral graduates' competences, Doctoral students/graduates' satisfaction, Doctoral graduates' challenges. CONCLUSIONS: Doctoral programs have mainly been investigated to date with descriptive studies, suggesting more robust research investigating the effectiveness of strategies to prepare future scientists in the nursing discipline. Doctorates are different across countries, and there is no visible cooperation of scholars internationally; their structure and processes have been reported to be stable over the years, thus not following the research development in nursing, discipline and practice expectations. Moreover, no clear framework of outcomes in the short- and long-term have been established to date to measure the quality and effectiveness of doctorate education. National and global strategies might establish common structure, process and outcome frameworks, as well as promote robust studies that are capable of assessing the effectiveness of this field of education.

Differences in the quality of life dependent on family status of the elderly living in rural areas - a cross-sectional survey.

INTRODUCTION: A factor that conditions the perception of the quality of life (QoL) is having a social network and relationships within it. The quality of life of seniors is assumed to be at a higher level if they are surrounded by those close to them in comparison to those living alone. The aim of the study was to assess differences in the quality of life of elderly rural residents depending on their family status. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Due to the random and mixed selection of respondents, the study comprised a group of 588 representatives living in rural areas of Eastern Poland. The differentiated criterion of the groups of senior respondents was their family situation: living with a family or living alone. Assessment of the quality of life was conducted by means of the WHOQoL-bref questionnaire. The Mann-Whitney tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to carry out statistical analysis of the data. RESULTS: The respondents who lived with their families differed statistically to a significant extent (p<0.005) from those who lived alone. The former gave a better assessment of the majority of the QoL domains: physical, psychological and social. Obtaining higher mean values for the environmental domain among the respondents living alone (M=14.31) seemed to be an atypical and interesting phenomenon because seniors living with their relatives usually assessed that dimension better than those living alone. CONCLUSIONS: The family situation of seniors affected the level of quality of life. Living with their relatives may be expected to be favourable for seniors because it translates into better performance in physical, psychological and social domains. Loneliness, which frequently accompanies old age, leads to the deterioration of the quality of life.

The value of health in the opinion of patients after myocardial infarction.

Health as the counter-value of disease is a vital value. The disease as a stressful situation affects the existing attitudes of man and his relations with the environment. This is as opportunity for changing the hierarchy of values and mobilising own creative potential. The study aimed at determining the attitudes of people after myocardial infarctions towards the value of health. Investigations were performed in 1999 in a group of 250 persons, who had had heart attack in the previous 4 years' period. Study results indicate that health is declared as the value "most important of all most important ones" and the most desirable in the category of "life goals endeavours". A stronger than earlier tendency is also observed in the situation of chronic disease for undertaking wholesome efforts. Generally, however, there is still found too small dedication to create a healthy lifestyle, both on the level of knowledge and skills and motivation necessary for carrying it out.