1,721,104 research outputs found
Action research: A design with potential
No full textThis paper discusses the main challenges posed by action research. These include issues related to definition, researcher role, collaboration, ethics and resources. We argue that action research has the potential simultaneously to contribute to the development of knowledge as well as to facilitate and evaluate change. The central tenets of action research are described and we use our research on the development of communities of practice as a means of illustrating these elements. We conclude that while the lack of precise definition may have led to suspicion about the robustness and scientific merit of action research, different and imaginative ways of employing it as an approach are proving that it is both a legitimate and highly contemporary research design for the exploration of health and social care issues and the development of practice
Response to Roger Watson's (Editor-in-Chief) Commentary on: The ‘Ascent to Competence’ conceptual framework: An outcome of a study of belongingness
No full textBelongingness: a prerequisite for nursing students’ clinical learning
No full textThe concept of belongingness has intuitive appeal. Human beings are social creatures; the need to belong and be accepted is fundamental, and social exclusion can be devastating. This paper reports on the selected findings from the qualitative phase of mixed-methods study that explored nursing students’ experience of belongingness while on clinical placements. The 18 interview participants in this study were from Australia and the United Kingdom. They provided a range of perspectives on belongingness and how it influenced their placement experience. Central to this discussion was their strong belief that belonging is a prerequisite for clinical learning. This theme dominated all of the interviews. Given that the primary purpose of clinical placements is for students to learn to nurse, there needs to be a clear understanding of the relationship between belongingness and learning. With reference to the published literature and excerpts from interview transcripts, this paper proposes that reconceptualising nursing students’ clinical learning experiences through a ‘lens of belongingness’ provides a new perspective and reveals yet unexplored insight
Using regionally constructed Communities in Practice as a mechanism for exploring the use of evidence in practice
No full text
Community mental health nurses' views of their role in the treatment of people with common mental disorders
No full textBackground:
Tension is apparent between primary and secondary care services with regard to the treatment of people with common mental disorders (CMDs). Studies have consistently shown that general practitioners (GPs) would like direct access to community mental health nurses (CMHNs) for CMDs, despite a lack of evidence of effectiveness for this treatment approach. Policy initiatives direct community mental health nurses to concentrate their efforts on people with severe mental illness (SMI). This is an important issue as GPs take on practice-based commissioning. The views of CMHNs themselves are under-reported.Aim:
To explore community mental health nurses' views concerning the nature of common mental disorders and their role in treatment.Design:
Qualitative case study.Setting:
Four NHS trusts providing mental health services in southern England.Methods:
Six group discussions were undertaken with 37 CMHNs. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis.Results:
Unlike GPs, CMHNs did not consider treating people with CMDs to be part of their role. While they had the skills for this work, they felt it would distract from their primary purpose of caring for people with SMI. Having to deal with 'inappropriate' referrals from GPs could be frustrating for nurses. However, they perceived a gap in provision for people with CMDs, and a need to facilitate speedy referral to secondary care for those people who did not respond to treatment in primary care.Conclusion:
Notwithstanding the limitations of the methods of this study, the findings suggest that CMHNs are likely to resist any attempts to commission them to provide direct care for people with CMDs in primary care. Developing alternative partnership arrangements between secondary and primary care services may be more appropriate
Shifting the focus: sequential methods of analysis with qualitative data
Full text linkThe purpose of this article is to illustrate both the processes of data analysis and the methodological development involved in adopting the sequential use of two data analysis methods applied to the same data set. Understanding of the phenomena of interest was sought through examining both the content and the form of nurses' accounts of practice experiences. Initially, a method of thematic content analysis was applied to understand what the nurses said about their experiences. The core theme of nurses' change agency derived from this analysis was examined further through a method of narrative analysis. In the second analysis, the focus was shifted to how the nurses accounted for their experiences. The innovative use of iterative, sequential methods of analysis revealed greater complexity and depth of understanding of the phenomena than would have been achieved with one method alone
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