Donna Martin

“Close-Knit” Defines a Healthy Native American Indian Family:

In the United States, the most significant health disparities occur among members of the American Indian and Alaskan Native populations. Because their health beliefs, values, and cultural practices are learned within a family system, this study used a focused ethnography to explore American Indians’ perceptions of a healthy family. Seventeen interviews were performed with 21 adults residing on a reservation on the Northern Plains of the United States. Participant observation was conducted during 100 hr of fieldwork. All informants identified a healthy family as being “close-knit,” indicating that the major defining feature of these families is the degree of connectedness among members, immediate and extended. In this paper, we present adult tribal members’ descriptions of a healthy family. It is evident that culturally appropriate programs, which consider American Indians’ values/beliefs and build on community assets, are urgently needed to reduce health disparities.

Enlivening a Community of Authentic Scholarship: A Faculty-Mentored Experience for Graduate Students at the 2016 Qualitative Health Research Conference

Background: Critical and engaged qualitative scholarship depends on high-quality graduate training. The need to reexamine graduate student mentorship has become particularly pressing, given the high level of mental health distress experienced by students. It is unclear whether mentorship emerging within the student–advisor relationship is sufficient to ensure comprehensive mentorship. Innovative, experiential pedagogical approaches that integrate emotional and intellectual aspects are limited but may play a vital role in mentorship. There is a critical need to develop and study creative mentorship initiatives for emerging qualitative scholars. Methods: This study used interpretive description methodology and a community of practice theoretical framework to describe a faculty-mentored experience for graduate nursing students at the 2016 Qualitative Health Research Conference (FM-QHR) hosted by the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology. Participants completed written journals elucidating their experiences throughout FM-QHR. The textual data were analyzed using a constant comparative group analysis process, leading to the development of salient and interconnected themes. Results: Six graduate students and four faculty mentors submitted journals. Three interrelated themes articulate how this FM-QHR initiative enlivened a community of authentic scholarship: Questioning the Academic Self: Unvoiced Experiences of Angst, Uncertainty, and Fear; Cocreating Authentic Community through Shared Vulnerability; and Generative and Emergent Empowerment. Conclusion: These findings provide compelling insights into the importance of assisting students to navigate the emotional experiences that are a part of qualitative graduate training. Relational, mentorship initiatives hold potential to not only alleviate emotional distress but also support student empowerment, socialization, and entrance into a community of international qualitative researchers.

Factors in facilitating an organisational culture to prevent pressure ulcers among older adults in health-care facilities

OBJECTIVE Despite the availability of high-quality clinical practice guidelines, pressure ulcers (PU) continue to develop among older adults in acute and long-term health-care facilities. Except during acute medical crisis or near end-of-life, most PUs are preventable and their development is a health-care quality indicator. The aim of this study was to understand which factors facilitate pressure ulcer prevention among adults over 65 years-of-age receiving care in health-care facilities. METHOD A critical literature review from three scholarly databases examined components of organisational culture associated with PU prevention. Research papers involving adults >65 years-of-age who were admitted to acute and long-term health-care facilities with PU prevention programmes between 2010 and 2017 were included. A secondary manual search included literature discussing health-care organisational culture, with a total of 41 articles reviewed. RESULTS Based on a synthesis of this literature, the Factors Facilitating Pressure Ulcer Prevention Model was developed to depict five multilevel factors for PU prevention among older adults in health-care facilities. These five factors are: senior leadership, education, ongoing quality improvement, clinical practice, and unit level champions. CONCLUSION Ongoing prioritisation of these factors sustains PU prevention and assists health-care facilities to redefine their culture, expand education programmes, and promote accountability to improve health outcomes of older adults receiving care.