Denise J. Drevdahl

Advancing the Scholarship of Teaching Through Collaborative Self-Study

Self-study research is a mode of scholarly inquiry in which teachers examine their beliefs and actions as educators and explore pedagogical questions. A three-phase model of collaborative self-study research is offered as a framework for university faculty to engage in self-study for the purpose of improving teaching and creating new knowledge.

Coming to voice: the power of emancipatory community interventions.

Despite public and community health nursings long history of social activism and the advocation of community collaborative and partnership ventures to enhance health status, most community interventions continue to focus on the individual. Larger social structures and institutions that create and support unhealthy behaviors and environments have not been seen as sites for nursing interventions. This article examines the challenges associated with community-level interventions. Community organization and participatory research are offered as models of emancipatory community-level interventions particularly germane to disenfranchised communities.

Of goldfish tanks and moonlight tricks: can cultural competency ameliorate health disparities?

Within nursing, cultural competency is seen as an important mechanism for reducing racial and ethnic health disparities; however, after years of attempted implementation of “cultural competence,” minimal evidence exists demonstrating a relationship between culturally competent interventions and improved health outcomes or reduced disparities. We examine how cultural competency as an intervention for tackling health disparities is undertheorized and misguided, and deflects attention and efforts needed to address broader social determinants of health. We provide a historical overview of cultural competency, critiques of the concept, and recommendations for moving beyond cultural competency as a means of diminishing health disparities.

Race and ethnicity as variables in Nursing Research, 1952-2000

BackgroundAlthough the use of race and ethnicity as variables in research has increased over the past five decades, there is confusion regarding the meaning of the terms, as well as how the words are defined and determined in scientific inquiry. ObjectiveTo review the use of race and ethnicity as variables in nursing research literature. MethodsOriginal research articles published in Nursing Research in the years, 1952, 1955, and every 5 years thereafter through 2000 were reviewed. Those articles describing human characteristics (N = 337) were analyzed for content concerning: (a) frequency of racial and ethnic terms, (b) words used for racial and ethnic categories, (c) definitions of racial and ethnic terms, and (d) how a study participant’s race or ethnicity was determined. ResultsRacial and ethnic variables were mentioned in 167 of the 337 reviewed articles. Eighty-one terms and word phrases were used for these variables. In only five articles were the variables defined. Race and ethnic labels were often intermixed and the majority of studies provided no information about how categorization of the participant’s race or ethnicity was made. In addition, there was relatively little growth in the number of studies that had racial/ethnic groups, other than Whites, as the majority of the sample. ConclusionRacial and ethnic variables provide nurse researchers with many challenges. Although race and ethnicity were widely used in Nursing Research articles, the categories were not defined in the majority of papers, and methods used to determine a participant’s race or ethnicity were unclear. In order to construct a common and consistent understanding of racial and ethnic categories, nurse researchers should be explicit regarding the rationale related to their use of the categories and the assumptions underlying particular racial and ethnic categorizations.

Sailing Beyond: Nursing Theory and the Person

This article explores nursings conceptualization of the person in terms of holism and uniqueness. These concepts raise concerns from postmodernist and feminist perspectives in terms of the unitary self, essentialism, culturalism, agency, and subjectivity. The use of holism and uniqueness in nursing theory appeals to the generic person, disregards interactions among the individuals race, class, and sex, and, thus, leaves larger institutional and societal issues unacknowledged, unexplored, and unchallenged. Nursing theories are needed that have social justice as their goal.

Home and border: the contradictions of community.

If community is the theory and locale for much of nursing in the 21st century, complex thinking about community is required. In creating unified identities to form community, differences are suppressed and border communities are built. This article examines the contradictory, complicated, and unending processes of producing home (a space of comfort and commonality) and border (a space of discomfort and difference) communities. The construction of border communities in terms of class and race/ethnicity are considered through exemplars from research on the meaning of community. A deeper understanding of community calls for us to live with uncertainty and unfamiliarity.

Problems with parsimony in research on socioeconomic determinants of health.

Despite growing evidence that social and economic factors are important determinants of health disparities, there is a lack of understanding of how these factors operate in relation to health. This article explores 3 conceptual and methodological issues impeding nursing research in this area: (1) ambiguity surrounding socioeconomic status (SES), both conceptually and as a scientific indicator; (2) the narrow focus on biological and behavioral risks for chronic disease development; and (3) the persistent centrality of individual behavior in studies examining SES-health contextual relationships. A brief overview of emerging approaches for enhancing nursing science in the area of SES and health disparities is presented.

Merging Reflective Inquiry and Self-Study as a Framework for Enhancing the Scholarship of Teaching

This article provides a model for improving teaching practice and developing new knowledge about teaching. The reflective self-study approach to pedagogical inquiry is rooted in reflective inquiry and self-study as found in nursing and education literature, respectively. The model offers nurse educators a mechanism by which they can better understand themselves as teachers and how their teaching affects students. Essential features of the model include interdisciplinarity and collaboration. Using the framework outlined in this article will help establish reflective self-study research as an accepted model of inquiry and further the dialogue on teaching in higher education.

Women, Abuse, and the Welfare Bureaucracy:

Using critical and feminist theoretical frameworks, this report of a qualitative study describes women’s perspectives of the welfare bureaucracy. An analysis of interviews with 38 women revealed emotional and economic abuse both in the welfare system and their personal lives. Interactions with frontline workers who implement the rules and regulations of welfare reform disempower recipients and mimic the conditions of abuse that these women have already experienced. Genograms provide a context for the women’s personal histories. Recommendations include removing sanctions as a form of economic abuse, screening every applicant for interpersonal violence, and referring women to mental health services if necessary.

Integrating principles of community-centered practice in a community health nursing practicum.

Using a service learning approach, registered nurse baccalaureate students apply the concepts of community-and population-centered practice through participation in a 10-week clinical practicum. Through this project, students experience community health theories in action, understand the sociopolitical processes that shape health, and think more broadly about clients within their particular clinical practice, and populations beyond those settings.