Despite increased healthcare extramuralisation, related to increased elderly patients living at home, most nursing students still see the hospital as career favourite. This is problematic, because of the widespread labour-market shortages in community care in many Western countries. At the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, the bachelor nursing programme was redesigned to stimulate students’ interest in community-care. The effect of this ‘community-oriented’ curriculum on students’ perceptions and placement preferences was then investigated. To measure both, the Scale on Community Care Perceptions (SCOPE) was used. The intervention group (170 students graduating in 2018), followed the new curriculum and was compared to a historic control group (477 students) that followed the older, more ‘hospital-oriented’ curriculum (three cohorts graduating 2015-2017). Both groups were compared on placement preferences, and multiple regression was used to investigate the effect of the curriculum-redesign on their perceptions of community care.The redesign consisted of an integrative approach based on the influence of lecturers, placement experiences, and the introduction of new educational elements in the curriculum. Goal was to broaden students’ views, showing that nursing is more than hospital care. While the curriculum was scrutinised on how patient cases were presented, more than 60 of the 110 cases were located in the hospital, compared to four in community care. Thus, this aspect of the ‘hidden curriculum’ was adjusted. Five new themes related to community nursing were integrated in the ‘generalist’ programme in years 1 and 2, namely: (1) fostering patient self-management, (2) shared decision-making, (3) collaboration with the patients’ social system, (4) healthcare technology, and (5) care allocation. A community care week was organised in year 2, in which all students visited a community nursing team. In the last two years of study, a ‘paved way’ to community care was created in the form of an interesting minor programme ‘Complex Community care’ in year 3, a well-organised 30-week placement in year 4, and a concluding case study from their own practice [Figure 1].[Figure 1]Figure 1. Curriculum-redesign to stimulate interest in community care.A comparison between the historic control and intervention group on perceptions of communitycare and placement preferences, measured with SCOPE, showed no significant positive results in both outcomes. The model in the regression analysis, predicting students' perceptions from the type of curriculum (historic/intervention), showed no statistically significant result, F(1,635) = .021, p = .884, and a low explained variance R2 = .001. A preference for a placement in community care decreased from 9.2% in the historic control group to 8.2% in the intervention group. However, the regression analysis revealed that two variables, in contrast with the curriculum, had a significant influence, to wit ‘belonging to a church/religious group’ and ‘working/has been working in community care’.Though described in the literature as the only effective way, this study showed that curriculum-redesign was not effective, despite its holistic approach. A combination of factors might explain this result. Other pathways in the curriculum may have strongly competed. Disappointing experiences during placements, leading to ‘bad-mouthing between peers, may also be a reason. Finally, highly publicised workforce problems leading to shortages of higher-educated role models may have played a role.As in this study, the effect of the curriculum as a whole is measured, more research is needed on the effect of separate more powerful curriculum interventions, for example the theme-week in year 2. A well thought-out large-scale strategy that mostly appeals to young people aiming to promote positive perceptions of community care could be a valuable supplement.
Background: The shift in healthcare to extramural leads to more patients with complex health problems receiving nursing care at home. However, the interest of baccalaureate nursing students for community nursing is moderate, which contributes to widespread labour-market shortages. This study investigates the effect of a more ‘communitycare-oriented’ curriculum on nursing students’ perceptions of community care. Methods: A quasi-experimental quantitative survey study with a historic control group (n = 477; study cohorts graduating in 2015, 2016, and 2017; response rate 90%) and an intervention group (n = 170; graduating in 2018; response rate 93%) was performed in nursing students of a University of Applied Sciences in a large city in the Netherlands. The intervention group underwent a new curriculum containing extended elements of community care. The primary outcome was assessed with the Scale on Community Care Perceptions (SCOPE). The control and intervention group were compared on demographics, placement preferences and perceptions with a chi-square or T-test. Multiple regression was used to investigate the effect of the curriculum-redesign on nursing students’ perceptions of community care.Results: The comparison between the control and intervention group on students’ perceptions of community care shows no significant differences (mean 6.18 vs 6.21 [range 1–10], respectively), nor does the curriculum-redesign have a positive effect on students’ perceptions F (1,635) = .021, p = .884, R2 = < .001. The comparison on placement preferences also shows no significant differences and confirms the hospital’s popularity (72.7% vs 76.5%, respectively) while community care is less often preferred (9.2% vs 8.2%, respectively). The demographics ‘working in community care’ and ‘belonging to a church/religious group’ appear to be significant predictors of more positive perceptions of community care. Conclusions: Graduating students who experienced a more ‘community-care-oriented’ curriculum did not more often prefer community care placement, nor did their perceptions of community care change. Apparently, four years of education and placement experiences have only little impact and students’ perceptions are relatively static. It would be worth a try to conduct a large-scale approach in combination with a carefully thought out strategy, based on and tying in with the language and culture of younger people. Keywords: Community care, Nurse education, Curriculum design, Perceptions, Career choice
Objectives To determine nurse-sensitive outcomes in district nursing care for community-living older people. Nurse-sensitive outcomes are defined as patient outcomes that are relevant based on nurses’ scope and domain of practice and that are influenced by nursing inputs and interventions. Design A Delphi study following the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method with two rounds of data collection. Setting District nursing care in the community care setting in the Netherlands. Participants Experts with current or recent clinical experience as district nurses as well as expertise in research, teaching, practice, or policy in the area of district nursing. Main outcome measures Experts assessed potential nurse-sensitive outcomes for their sensitivity to nursing care by scoring the relevance of each outcome and the ability of the outcome to be influenced by nursing care (influenceability). The relevance and influenceability of each outcome were scored on a nine-point Likert scale. A group median of 7 to 9 indicated that the outcome was assessed as relevant and/or influenceable. To measure agreement among experts, the disagreement index was used, with a score of <1 indicating agreement. Results In Delphi round two, 11 experts assessed 46 outcomes. In total, 26 outcomes (56.5%) were assessed as nurse-sensitive. The nurse-sensitive outcomes with the highest median scores for both relevance and influenceability were the patient’s autonomy, the patient’s ability to make decisions regarding the provision of care, the patient’s satisfaction with delivered district nursing care, the quality of dying and death, and the compliance of the patient with needed care. Conclusions This study determined 26 nurse-sensitive outcomes for district nursing care for community-living older people based on the collective opinion of experts in district nursing care. This insight could guide the development of quality indicators for district nursing care. Further research is needed to operationalise the outcomes and to determine which outcomes are relevant for specific subgroups.
The aim of the ProInCa project was to develop the sustainable innovation capacity of Kazakhstan’s Medical Universities for the modernization of nursing. The project was coordinated by JAMK University of Applied Sciences and consisted of a consortium of five Kazakhstani medical universities and four European higher education institutions. The project was co-funded by the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in the Field of Higher Education programme and supported by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan during 15.10.2017 – 31.01.2021.he wider objective of the ProInCa project is to develop the sustainable innovation capacity of Kazakhstan’s Medical Universities for the modernization of nursing. This wider objective is divided into four specific objectives, which are:1. Development of mechanisms for collaboration and knowledge sharing between academic national and international nursing community and society.2. To learn from best practices on implementing evidence-based nursing in nursing research, education and practice to promote the efficiency and quality of health care.3. Strengthen higher education institutes’ role in building evidence-based nursing research activities in health services to promote quality and safety of health care system.4. Promote the capacity and system of nursing leadership and management in health care transition to improve the quality of health care system
