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The Systematic Review as a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Project: A Curricular Innovation in One DNP Program

ABSTRACT

Aims

To advocate for the systematic review as a rigorous, competency-aligned option for the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project.

Methods

A descriptive and conceptual analysis was used, drawing on existing literature, historical context, and a case study of a three-semester curriculum integrating systematic review methodology. Data sources included peer-reviewed research, professional guidelines, and faculty experience in teaching and mentoring DNP students.

Results

Integrating systematic reviews as DNP projects equips students with competencies in evidence synthesis, critical appraisal, knowledge translation, and project management. A three-semester scaffolded approach to conducting a systematic review has the potential to foster strong student engagement, build essential skills, and prepare graduates to lead evidence-based practice change.

Conclusions

Systematic reviews meet DNP project criteria when paired with practice-focused implementation and evaluation components. This approach offers an alternative where site access, time, or feasibility limits primary data collection, while ensuring methodological rigor and professional relevance.

Impact

Adopting systematic reviews as DNP projects can reduce clinical site burden, expand project opportunities, and strengthen evidence-based practice capacity in nursing. Broader acceptance and standardization of this model could enhance practice-based doctoral education globally.

Patient or Public Contributions

No Patient or Public Contribution.

An Innovative Doctor of Nursing Programme: Transforming Learning, Leadership and Health Systems

ABSTRACT

Aim

To provide an in-depth description of an innovative Doctor of Nursing programme which prepares nurses for senior roles in healthcare and related organisations. This programme provides nurse leaders with the knowledge and skills to advance systems through healthcare innovation design, implementation, and evaluation.

Methods

A comparison of doctoral nursing programmes, highlighting the unique aspects of the University of Calgary Doctor of Nursing programme.

Results

The University of Calgary Doctor of Nursing programme addresses key gaps that currently exist within nursing education. Few existing programmes directly support the development of nurses as healthcare leaders and innovators. This programme enables nurse leaders to leverage their front-line experience into senior system-level leadership roles. Each core course includes a building block assignment that develops key doctoral skills: framing research questions, appraising literature, selecting methods and data, planning ethically sound projects, and translating evidence into persuasive arguments for policy or system change.

Conclusion

Nurses play a vital role in healthcare around the world. The University of Calgary Doctor of Nursing programme recognises the value of investing in nursing leaders and emboldening them to leverage their frontline leadership experience to advance data-driven change, innovation, and policy development in the complex healthcare systems in which they work and lead.

Implications for the Profession

Currently, there is a dearth of programmes available to prepare nurses for senior leadership roles in healthcare or related organisations, despite significant demand from prospective students and employers alike. The University of Calgary Doctor of Nursing programme meets the workforce demand for a programme focused on nursing leadership, to advance health systems through skill development in systems innovation, appraisal of evidence and implementation science, as well as quality assurance/quality improvement and programme evaluation. This programme focus also better equips students to examine and evaluate systemic inequities and challenges currently facing healthcare systems, practitioners and users.

Research Publication Performance of the Australian and New Zealand Nursing and Midwifery Professoriate

ABSTRACT

Aim

To analyse research publication performance of Australian and New Zealand professors and associate professors of nursing and midwifery, and compare with 2016 data.

Methods

A search of university websites was conducted to identify all nursing and midwifery professoriate in Australia and New Zealand. Each individual was then searched in the Scopus database to identify individual total citations, h-index, number of publications, first author Field Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and overall FWCI. Comparisons with 2016 data were also undertaken.

Results

A total of 304 academics were included, comprising 270 from Australia and 34 from New Zealand, and 169 full professors and 135 associate professors. Overall, total publications and citations had increased. Maximum h-index had increased; however, median only changed slightly.

Conclusion

The study provides contemporary data that can support cases for academic promotion along with other benchmarking activities.

Impact

Findings reflect the current research publication performance of the Australian and New Zealand professoriate and provide invaluable data for academic benchmarking in those countries and also in many others.

Patient or Public Contribution

No patient or public contribution.

Exploring the Experiences of Community‐Dwelling Older Adults Participating in Group Interaction Programs: A Qualitative Meta‐Synthesis

ABSTRACT

Aim

To synthesise evidence from qualitative studies on community-dwelling older adults' experiences of social interactions in group interaction programmes.

Design

A systematic review and meta-synthesis based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis guidelines.

Methods

Two independent researchers screened the titles and abstracts of all retrieved studies based on eligibility criteria. Quality appraisal was conducted based on the comprehensive Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist. Data were extracted through an adapted Data Extraction Tool from the Joanna Briggs Institute Qualitative Assessment and Instrument. Findings were synthesised through the JBI meta-aggregation approach.

Data Sources

A literature search for peer-reviewed studies was conducted across seven databases from inception to September 2023.

Results

Our review included the experiences of 395 community-dwelling older adults across 25 studies, yielding the overarching theme of ‘Navigating relationships and facilitating growth in a supportive community’. Five themes were identified: feeling safe in a familiar environment, bringing people together, establishing meaningful relationships, improving personal well-being and facing socialising challenges.

Conclusion

Our findings provided not just theoretical insights but also practical implications. They can serve as a solid foundation for formulating or enhancing similar programmes, directly addressing the pervasive issues of loneliness and social isolation among the ageing population worldwide.

Implications for Nursing

This review improves our understanding of the social, emotional and personal benefits for older adults upon engaging in group interaction programmes. The insights into the elements of successful group interaction programmes for older adults, include providing a safe and familiar setting and bringing people together for socialisation. Future interventions should incorporate these elements to promote social interactions and community engagement more effectively to mitigate loneliness among older adults. Finally, the diverse range of programmes explored in this review demonstrates that future programmes can be flexibly formulated to suit different interests.

Patient and Public Contribution

The authors have nothing to report.

Protocol Registration

The review protocol has been registered on PROSPERO.

Factors Associated with Advance Care Planning Engagement Among Community‐Dwelling Older Adults: A Cross‐Sectional Study

ABSTRACT

Aim

To explore the associations between depression, anxiety, decisional conflict and advance care planning engagement and the potential mediating role of decisional conflict in the associations between depression, anxiety and advance care planning among community-dwelling older adults.

Design

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 262 community-dwelling older Australians across metropolitan, regional and rural communities between August and October 2022.

Methods

Validated self-reported questions were used to collect data on anxiety, depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), decisional conflict (Decisional Conflict Scale), advance care planning engagement (Advance Care Planning Engagement Survey) and covariates (demographic characteristics, health literacy [Health Literacy Screening Questions]), overall health status (Short form 36). Data analysis included descriptive statistics, bivariate association analysis, general linear modelling and path analysis.

Results

Anxiety and decisional conflict were directly associated with advance care planning engagement even after controlling for potential effects of demographic characteristics, health literacy and overall health status. The model, including age, gender, country of birth, language spoken at home, education, overall health status, anxiety, depression, decisional conflict and interaction between anxiety and decisional conflict, explained 24.3% of the variance in their advance care planning engagement. Decisional conflict mediated the association between anxiety and advance care planning engagement.

Conclusion

Increased anxiety and decisional conflict were associated with reduced advance care planning engagement directly, even among community-dwelling older adults with higher levels of education and health literacy. Increased anxiety was associated with reduced advance care planning engagement indirectly via increased decisional conflict. Healthcare professionals should assess community-dwelling older adults' anxiety and implement interventions to manage their anxiety and decisional conflict, as these may facilitate their engagement in advance care planning.

Impact

Understanding factors associated with advance care planning engagement among community-dwelling older adults may inform strategies facilitating their future engagement in advance care planning. Findings from this study may be used as evidence for future implementation to facilitate the engagement of community-dwelling older adults in advance care planning.

Reporting Method

The STROBE statement checklist was used as a guide to writing the manuscript.

Patient or Public Contribution

The study was advertised publicly through social media (e.g. Twitter and Facebook) and newsletters (e.g. Advance Care Planning Australia, Centre for Volunteering, Palliative Care Australia and a large home care service provider with approximately 7000 older clients receiving support or services) to recruit participants. People aged 65 years and older living independently in the Australian community who could communicate in English were invited to participate and answer the questionnaire.

Co‐Designing a Model of Brilliant Care for Older People

ABSTRACT

Aim

This study aimed to co-design a model of brilliant care for older people that provides clear, actionable principles to guide how brilliant care for older people can be realised.

Background

As the demand for and international importance of care for older people grows, so too does the negative discourse about care for older people. This ongoing focus on deficiencies can have implications for patients, carers, clinicians, health services, and policymakers, overshadowing opportunities for innovation and positive change.

Design

Experience-based co-design informed this study, grounded in the lived experiences of key stakeholders.

Methods

Three scaffolded co-design workshops were facilitated, involving lived experience experts, managers, professionals, clinicians, and an academic (n= 13). The data collected during these workshops were analysed using a qualitative descriptive method and documented according to COREQ guidelines to optimise rigour and transparency.

Results

The participants co-designed a model of brilliant care for older people, comprising principles to promote connection and innovation. To promote connection, the model includes protecting staff member time to deliver meaningful care and demonstrating that everyone matters. To promote innovation, it encourages role flexibility, curiosity, small improvements, and the recognition of brilliant practices.

Conclusions

This article presents a co-designed model of brilliant care for older people, incorporating principles of connection and innovation that can be enacted through simple, resource-efficient practices.

Relevance to Clinical Practice

For those who manage and deliver care for older people, the model encompasses simple, accessible, and cost-effective principles to: positively deviate from norms within the sector, offering care to older people; and to deliver brilliant care for older people. Furthermore, given that the model was co-designed with lived experience experts, managers, professionals, and clinicians, its principles are imbued with their experiential insights, which served to bring particular priorities to the fore.

Patient or Public Contribution

The co-designers, who included lived experience experts, were invited to participate in workshops to co-design a model of brilliant care for older people, during which they discussed and critiqued the findings constructed from the data and co-designed the model.

Foot self-care knowledge, practices and associated factors among individuals diagnosed with diabetes attending clinics at base hospitals in Colombo, Sri Lanka: an analytical cross-sectional study

Por: Jayaweerage · B. N. · Hettiarachchi · M. · Kaveesha · A. D. · Gamaralalalage · M. R. · Sisudan · S. · Mahanama · P. · Malawi Arachchi · C. D. · Kamshiga · T. · Kaushalya · S. · Shopijen · E. · Kisokanth · G.
Background

Diabetic foot is an infection, ulceration or destruction of the tissue of the foot of a person diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (DM). Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a major and preventable complication of DM. Adequate knowledge and foot self-care practices are crucial to reduce the risk of DFU complications, particularly in resource-limited healthcare settings.

Objective

To assess the knowledge and practices related to foot self-care and associated factors among individuals diagnosed with diabetes attending diabetic clinics at all base hospitals in Colombo District, Sri Lanka.

Method

An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 individuals diagnosed with diabetes attending the diabetic clinic at all three base hospitals in Colombo district, from January 2023 to March 2024 (study period). Participants were selected by using a systematic random sampling. Data were collected using a validated and pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences V.26 software. Associations were examined using 2 tests, independent sample t-tests and one-way ANOVA (Analysis of Variance), with a p value

Results

The majority of the participants were females (71.2%). Among the participants, 33.8% of them had a poor level of knowledge regarding foot self-care. Knowledge level was significantly associated with the participants’ family history of diabetes and the hospital where they attended the clinic (p

Conclusion

Nearly one-third of participants demonstrated poor knowledge of foot self-care, despite over half exhibiting satisfactory foot-care practices. This gap highlights the need for targeted education to boost awareness and promote consistent foot care, which is a key step in preventing diabetic foot complications and improving long-term outcomes for individuals diagnosed with diabetes.

Self‐Care Experiences and Support Needs of Community‐Dwelling Older Adults With Multimorbidity: A Qualitative Study Informed by the Caring Life‐Course Theory

ABSTRACT

Aim

To explore how community-dwelling older adults with multimorbidity experience, enact and navigate daily self-care using the Caring Life-Course Theory to identify opportunities for strengthening self-care and self-management support.

Design

Qualitative descriptive study.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 50 years living with two or more chronic conditions across three Australian states and territories. Data were analysed inductively and deductively using qualitative content analysis. Inductive coding was followed by theory-informed analysis to interpret self-care capability, capacity, care networks and system supports.

Results

Eighteen participants (mean age = 70.9 years) described self-care as an adaptive, experience-based process influenced by lived experience, health transitions, informal care networks and system responsiveness. Participants generally demonstrated agency and resourcefulness in managing complex and changing care needs, often learning through trial and error. Psychosocial and relational needs were frequently under-recognised in healthcare encounters, requiring individuals and informal carers to compensate for fragmented, inconsistent support. Self-care capability and capacity were shaped by experiential learning, health and self-care literacy and access to informal and online resources, particularly where formal education was limited or unavailable.

Conclusion

Self-care for older adults with multimorbidity is shaped by dynamic interactions between personal capability, relational support and system-level factors across the life-course. The Caring Life-Course Theory provides a comprehensive approach for understanding these interdependencies and identifying opportunities for intervention.

Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care

Findings highlight the need to strengthen coordinated, person-centred and relationally grounded approaches to self-care and self-management in primary and community care, including improved access to evidence-informed resources and anticipatory support.

Reporting Method

This study is reported in accordance with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Studies.

Patient or Public Contribution

Participants contributed through semi-structured interviews and provided feedback on study findings.

Impact

What problem did the study address? Community-dwelling older adults living with multimorbidity are expected to engage in self-care, yet little is known about how they experience, enact and sustain daily self-care, particularly when psychosocial and relational needs are inconsistently recognised within health and social care systems. What were the main findings? Self-care was characterised as an adaptive, experiential process shaped by life experience, informal support networks and system responsiveness. Participants frequently compensated for under-recognised psychosocial and relational needs through informal and online supports and resources. Where and on whom will the research have an impact? Findings can inform clinicians, service providers and policymakers in primary, community and aged care settings by identifying opportunities to strengthen coordinated, person-centred and relational self-care and self-management support for older people with multimorbidity.

Triggers, Responses, and Outcomes for Patient Related Violence and/or Aggression Events During Acute Hospitalisation: A Documentary Analysis

ABSTRACT

Aim

To examine triggers, responses, and outcomes for patient-related violence and/or aggression events during acute hospitalisation.

Design

This was a descriptive observational study undertaken at two healthcare organisations.

Methods

Pre-existing data were extracted from organisational incident reports and individual medical records during a retrospective period (1/1/2023 to 30/6/2023) and a prospective period (7/6/2024 to 16/11/2024). Violence and/or aggression events requiring an organisational response that involved patients hospitalised in general ward areas at a metropolitan (Site A) and a regional (Site B) site were included. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis.

Results

The sample included 100 retrospective cases and 42 prospective cases. The most prevalent causes for hospitalisation related to a medical or mental health condition and dementia. Confusion and irritability were the most common forms of behaviour of concern prior to the event. Physical restraint was utilised more frequently in the prospective period compared with the retrospective period. Chemical restraint was used in approximately half of the cases in both study periods. A form of physical violence was the most prevalent behavioural symptom in both periods, followed by verbal aggression and inability to be re-directed.

Conclusion

Patients with a pre-existing medical condition, confusion and/or dementia are frequently involved in violent and/or aggressive events in ward settings. Physical and chemical restraints are commonly used to manage violence and aggression.

Implications for the Profession

Alternative strategies are needed to manage occupational violence and aggression to minimise the need for physical and/or chemical restraint.

Impact

This study addresses a gap in evidence regarding triggers, responses and outcomes for patients exhibiting violence and aggression in ward settings during hospitalisation. Patients with dementia, confusion and irritability frequently exhibit behaviours of concern, exposing healthcare workers to potential physical and psychological harm.

Reporting Method

STROBE checklist.

No Patient or Public Contribution

This study did not include patient or public involvement in its design, conduct, or reporting.

Integrated versus standalone home-based records for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health in Nepal: A comparative qualitative study with descriptive quantitative profiling

by Sudim Sharma, Anjali Neupane, Dikshya Kandel, Pratibha Chalisay, Sabina Marasini, Budhi Setiawan, Deepak Chandra Bajracharya, Shyam Raj Upreti, Leela Khanal, Haruko Yokote, Chahana Singh, Kshitij Karki

Background

Home-Based Records (HBRs) are personal health documents intended to improve continuity of care and caregiver engagement across reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) services. In Nepal, both standalone (sHBR) and integrated (iHBR) models are implemented, yet comparative evidence on their utilization and implementation challenges is limited. This study examined utilization patterns and system-level barriers associated with sHBR in Madhesh Province and iHBR in Koshi Province.

Methods

We conducted a comparative qualitative study with descriptive quantitative profiling between May 17 and August 27, 2024. A total of 100 semi-structured in-depth interviews were completed with caregivers, health workers, Female Community Health Volunteers, and program managers across two provinces. The study applied “kuragraphy,” an ethnographic approach integrating interviews and field observations to construct contextual case narratives. Socio-demographic data were analyzed descriptively using the statistical package for the social Sciences (SPSS). Informed by the Human Centered Design (HCD) approach, the qualitative data were thematically analyzed in Excel using the Journey to Health and Immunization (JTHI) framework.

Results

Caregivers widely perceived HBRs as essential documents, primarily for immunization tracking and future service access. The iHBR was viewed as more comprehensive and user-friendly, particularly due to its illustrations, which improved comprehension among low-literacy users. However, understanding remained limited among illiterate and marginalized populations. Family involvement in record management was minimal and largely confined to mothers. Implementation barriers included inadequate training – particularly for iHBR use, limited decision-making authority among frontline health workers, incomplete documentation of non-immunization components, poor material quality of sHBR, and concerns regarding the sustainability of donor-supported iHBR initiatives.

Conclusion

HBR utilization in Nepal is shaped by caregiver literacy, gender dynamics, and health-system readiness. Strengthening training, supportive supervision, user-centered design, and sustainable supply mechanisms will be essential to optimize HBR effectiveness and support equitable RMNCH service delivery.

“We're All in This Together”: A Mixed‐Methods Study of Provider and Patient Perceptions of Emergency Care for Opioid Use Disorder

ABSTRACT

Aims

To compare attitudes and perceptions towards opioid use disorder among people with opioid use disorder and emergency providers, describe interactions between the two groups, and identify barriers to providing and receiving care.

Design

Mixed methods observational study.

Methods

Participants were recruited from an academic, tertiary care hospital and a community-based harm reduction agency in New England. Emergency healthcare providers (nurses, physicians, and paramedics) and adult people with opioid use disorder were enrolled. Electronic surveys were administered to providers, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with people with opioid use disorder and a subset of providers. Descriptive statistics were calculated for surveys, and directed content analysis was used to analyse semi-structured interviews.

Results

Sixty-eight providers completed the survey, 11 of whom also completed a semi-structured interview. Twenty-two people with opioid use disorder completed the semi-structured interview. Both providers and people with opioid use disorder agreed that addiction is a disease; however, opinions differed on the extent to which personal choice played a role in the onset of opioid use disorder. Participants described how factors such as experiencing homelessness, alongside other personal or familial challenges, contributed to ongoing substance use and presented barriers to accessing healthcare. There was discordance in priorities between providers and people with opioid use disorder, which often drove conflict and perceived stigma. Both groups described physical and emotional trauma from prior interactions, which shaped expectations of future interactions and biases towards each other.

Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care

Educational initiatives should arm providers not only with clinical knowledge about opioid use disorder but with skills to recognize implicit biases, navigate unique barriers related to social determinants of health, and effectively deploy shared decision-making techniques. Healthcare organizations should provide support for trauma that emergency care providers are exposed to in caring for people with opioid use disorder.

Reporting Method

Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies (COREQ)–32 item checklist.

Patient or Public Contribution

This study did not include patient or public involvement in its design, conduct, or reporting.

Which Aspects of Abortion Care Do Healthcare Practitioners in Britain Think Nurses/Midwives Should Provide? Findings From the SACHA Study

ABSTRACT

Aim

To explore the views of healthcare practitioners in Britain regarding the role of midwives and nurses in the delivery of medical and surgical abortion.

Design

An observational study of the Shaping Abortion for Change study healthcare practitioner survey (2021–2022).

Methods

Relationships between healthcare practitioner type, participant characteristics, knowledge of and attitudes towards abortion, and views about nurses' and midwives' role in abortion care were examined using Pearson's Chi-squared tests of association and multivariable logistic regression.

Results

Amongst 763 participants including doctors, nurses, midwives and pharmacists, 71.6% supported specialist nurses in sexual and reproductive health and abortion clinics and hospitals, expanding their roles to include prescribing abortion medications and surgical abortion methods. Support was lower for midwives (35.8%) and primary care nurses (32.5%). There was considerable support for all nursing and midwifery groups to be involved in adjacent tasks of abortion care. Differences in support by healthcare practitioner type persisted after adjustment for exposure variables.

Conclusion

There is strong support for specialist nurses to expand their role in abortion care. This change could be implemented following clarification of the legal position. Some healthcare practitioner groups are more reluctant to support broader involvement of nurses and midwives in abortion provision.

Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care

Expanding specialist nurses' role in abortion care could increase service capacity and improve patient access and experience. Understanding and addressing the concerns of healthcare practitioners opposing this change is critical for successful implementation and patient safety.

Impact

This study addresses the potential for nurse and midwife role expansion in abortion care. The findings highlight broad support for specialist nurses whilst identifying barriers to wider role expansion. The research informs policy discussions on workforce optimisation and access to abortion services across Britain.

Reporting Method

This study adheres to the STROBE guidelines for reporting observational studies.

Patient or Public Involvement

In the SACHA study, patient and public involvement was included at all stages to inform study design, recruitment, data collection and analysis.

Improving the composition of donor milk using machine learning and optimisation techniques

by Jacqueline Muts, Danée Knevel, Dick den Hertog, Rachel K. Wong, Timothy C.Y. Chan, Britt J. van Keulen, Johannes B. van Goudoever, Chris H.P. van den Akker

Background and aims

The macronutrient composition of donor human milk (DHM) can vary substantially due to several factors such as maternal age, diet, and lactation duration. However, consistent macronutrient levels in DHM facilitate the administration of the required amounts to preterm infants. The current pooling strategy at most human milk banks combines milk from different batches from a single donor. This study aims to stabilize the macronutrient quality of DHM by pooling milk from different donors by utilizing machine learning prediction and optimisation techniques.

Methods

The current pooling strategy is compared with a new theoretical approach that pools milk batches from up to 5 donors. To predict the crude protein and energy content, we used the following variables: body mass index, the donor’s diet (vegetarian or non-vegetarian), maternal age, full-term or preterm delivery, lactation stage, and volume pumped. These predictions are then used within an optimisation model to create milk pools that minimize the deviations from the target macronutrient levels (1.0 g protein/100 mL and 70 kcal/100 mL).

Results

The prediction model is based on 2236 created single-donor pools from 480 donors. Random forest regression models provided the most accurate predictions of macronutrient content. The new pooling strategy using multiple donors shows reduced deviations from target values compared to the current single-donor approach (average total absolute deviation 0.402 versus 0.664).

Conclusion

This study proves the potential of data-driven methods to improve operational efficiency in human milk banks, and improving the consistency of donor human milk.

Access to primary care for people with chronic pain: a lived/living experience-informed mixed-methods study protocol

Por: Gooderham · E. · Lavergne · M. R. · McCracken · R. K. · Holtorf-Ma · E. · Hedden · L.
Introduction

People with chronic pain are a high health service using population, representing a significant proportion of primary care visits, but their health service use and needs have been largely understudied. This mixed-methods study investigates experiences of accessing primary care services for people with chronic pain in British Columbia (BC), Canada.

Methods and analysis

This research programme includes a retrospective cohort study using administrative data, semistructured interviews with people with chronic pain, and triangulation of data. The aim is to support a more robust understanding of how people with chronic pain access primary care services and how this impacts other health services use. These studies emphasise the importance of lived/living experience of chronic pain through the inclusion of individuals with lived experience on the research team and study council, qualitative interviews with people with chronic pain and application of a critical disability theory lens.

Ethics and dissemination

We have obtained ethics approvals from the Simon Fraser University research ethics board. Population Data BC has granted access to de-identified administrative data. Study findings will be disseminated through academic outputs and through knowledge mobilisation with relevant community partners.

Pluralising Scholarship: Repositioning Doctor of Nursing Practice Faculty Through Boyer's Framework: A Discursive Paper

ABSTRACT

Aim

To critically examine the structural exclusion of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)-prepared faculty from academic advancement and promotion pathways and to propose reforms grounded in Boyer's model of scholarship.

Background

The DNP is a practice-focused doctorate established in the United States, distinct from the research-oriented PhD. Similar professional doctorates in the United Kingdom and Australia share the goal of integrating clinical expertise with scholarly inquiry. Despite the rapid growth of DNP programs and the increasing recognition of applied scholarship, many universities continue to privilege traditional research metrics in academic tenure and promotion. This narrow focus on discovery-based outputs marginalises the contributions of DNP faculty in implementation science, systems leadership, and education.

Design

Discursive position paper.

Data Sources

Analysis of policy reports, faculty promotion guidelines, AACN Essentials, and peer-reviewed literature on doctoral education, professional doctorates, and academic equity, 2000–2025.

Implications for Doctoral Education

Current academic evaluation systems sustain hierarchical norms that undervalue practice-based scholarship. This misalignment restricts the career trajectories of DNP-prepared faculty and constrains nursing's leadership in applied innovation. Reframing scholarly legitimacy through Boyer's model of discovery, integration, application, and teaching enables recognition of diverse expertise without compromising academic rigour.

Conclusion

Fully integrating professional doctorates into academic structures requires deliberate reforms in evaluation frameworks, mentorship programs, and institutional policies. Such changes would advance equity, reflect the realities of modern nursing, and align doctoral education with the evolving needs of healthcare systems.

Impact

This paper contributes to the international discourse on the future of doctoral education by offering a practical model for inclusive faculty advancement. It also advocates adopting pluralistic definitions of scholarship to support diverse academic career paths in nursing.

No Patient or Public Contribution

No patients, service users, caregivers, or members of the public were involved in the development of this discursive paper. The analysis synthesises existing scholarship, policy documents, and theoretical frameworks and does not draw on primary data requiring patient or public involvement.

Multicentre, adaptive, double-blind, three-arm, placebo-controlled, non-inferiority trial examining antimicrobial prophylaxis duration in cardiac surgery (CALIPSO): trial protocol

Por: Peel · T. · McGiffin · D. · Smith · J. · Forbes · A. · Marasco · S. · Pilcher · D. · Stewardson · A. J. · Petrie · D. · Peleg · A. Y. · Wisniewski · J. · Forster · S. · Druce · P. · Roney · J. · Astbury · S. · Berkovic · D. · Mccracken · P. · Myles · P. S. · on behalf of the CALIPSO Tria
Introduction

Administration of antibiotics before incising the skin (‘surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis’) is a critical infection prevention strategy in surgery. Extending doses of prophylaxis into the postoperative period is a common practice in cardiac surgery; however, the benefit has not been clearly established and may lead to emergence of antimicrobial resistance and patient harm. We present the protocol for a large international multicentre, adaptive, pragmatic, double-blind, three-arm, placebo-controlled, randomised, non-inferiority clinical trial to compare the incidence of surgical site infection after three different durations of postoperative surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Methods and analysis

This adaptive, multi-arm multistage non-inferiority trial will compare intraoperative only (Arm A), to intraoperative and 24 hours (Arm B) and, to intraoperative and 48 hours (Arm C) of intravenous cefazolin and placebo as surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis in 9180 patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The adaptive design allows for potential dropping of any of the three arms if clear inferiority is indicated at any of the scheduled interim analyses. The trial will evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the three different antibiotic prophylaxis durations.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval will be obtained at all participating sites. Results of the study will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and the key findings presented at national and international conferences. Patients and members of the public will also be involved in the dissemination and translation of the trial results.

Trial registration number

NCT05447559.

Using a Modified Delphi Process to Develop an Intervention to Support Care Coordination of Patient Social Needs in Primary Care

ABSTRACT

Aims

To identify implementation strategies that effectively facilitate the adoption of social needs care coordination activities using enabling technologies among care management teams serving patients in community-based health centres.

Design

Modified Delphi process.

Methods

Discrete, feasible implementation strategies were identified through literature review and semi-structured interviews with care management staff and subject matter experts in clinical informatics, workflow redesign, and product engineering. A modified Delphi was conducted with eight subject matter experts and nine health centre care management staff. Iterative rounds of online surveys were used to achieve consensus on the most relevant implementation strategies and their delivery methods.

Results

The modified Delphi process achieved consensus on nine discrete implementation strategies needed to advance care management teams' ability to screen, refer and track social needs. Prioritised strategies included developing champions, enhancing quality improvement capacity, training staff on using enabling technologies and providing tailored technical assistance for workflow refinement. Consensus was also reached on a monthly cadence for most of the implementation strategies.

Conclusions

Consensus was reached on strategies to enhance care management teams' implementation of social needs screening, referrals and tracking using enabling technologies. These strategies will comprise an intervention to be pilot tested, refined and assessed in a cluster randomised clinical trial.

Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care

Findings from this study will inform the development of strategies to further the adoption of enabling technologies to support social needs care coordination.

Impact

This work is key to the design of a type 2 hybrid implementation-effectiveness trial that will assess whether user-informed, evidence-based implementation strategies can improve care management teams' adoption of enabling technologies to facilitate social needs care coordination for patients.

Patient or Public Contribution

The research team includes a patient advisor with community-based nursing expertise and a nurse practitioner-clinical informaticist leader who was involved in data collection and interpretation of findings.

Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov registration # NCT06489002. Registered July 5, 2024, https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06489002?term=NCT06489002&rank=1.

Professional Self‐Efficacy and Readiness to Encounter Individuals Exposed to Partner Abuse in Nurses: A Cross‐Sectional Study

ABSTRACT

Aim

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between professional self-efficacy and readiness to encounter individuals who were exposed to partner abuse in nurses and the factors affecting them.

Design

A cross-sectional, descriptive quantitative design was employed.

Methods

This study was conducted with 325 nurses working in a public hospital between July and October 2023. Data were collected using the Nursing Profession Self-Efficacy Scale and the Readiness to Encounter Partner Abuse Patients Scale. Descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple regression model were used in the analysis of thedata.

Results

It was determined that nurses' self-efficacy, knowledge and emotional readiness levels for encountering individuals who were subjected to partner abuse were low, their motivation ranged from medium to high, and that there was a positive and high correlation between self-efficacy and readiness levels. Nurses' experience of encountering individuals subjected to partner abuse, education on encountering partner abuse, and professional self-efficacy explained 46.2% of the total variance in nurses' readiness levels.

Conclusions

The results revealed that although nurses were moderately to highly motivated, they generally exhibited low self-efficacy, knowledge and emotional preparedness when encountering individuals who had experienced partner abuse. Professional self-efficacy, education and previous experience contributed significantly to nurses' preparedness. These results emphasise the need for targeted education and support to increase nurses' preparedness to effectively address partner abuse.

Implications

Enhancing the professional competency of nurses and obtaining training on partner abuse is essential for delivering good care and intervention to individuals being abused. The results of this study may shed light on policy reforms by strengthening nursing education curricula, in-service training programmes, and institutional protocols and standards for nurses' partner abuse assessment and management.

Reporting Method

The results of this study were reported in accordance with STROBE guidelines.

Patient or Public Contribution

No patient or public contribution was received.

Disempowerment Among Adults With Chronic Illness: A Concept Analysis Using the Walker and Avant Method

ABSTRACT

Aim

To clarify the concept of disempowerment in adults with chronic illness.

Design

The Walker and Avant approach to concept analysis was used.

Methods

A systematic literature search was performed on 14 February 2024, using the following databases: CINHAL, PubMed, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global A&I: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection. Studies examining adults' experience of individual disempowerment stemming from chronic illness were included. Definitions and descriptions of the concept in the included studies were extracted and synthesised into defining attributes, antecedents, and consequences.

Results

Forty-five articles were included. Two defining attributes were identified: (1) diminishing opportunities to take control and (2) clients' dissatisfaction with diminishing control. Antecedents were changes in health status related to chronic illness and expectation mismatch within the client, or between clients and their care partners. The consequence of disempowerment was disengagement in the context of disempowerment.

Conclusions

Disempowerment was found as the state of dissatisfaction with diminishing opportunities to control personal lives, which stems from changes in health status and expectation mismatch and leads to disengagement in the context of disempowerment. Contrary to prior studies, where disempowerment was often considered an outcome of an imbalanced relationship between clients and care partners, the present findings showcased disempowerment as a holistic illness experience, involving changes in health status. The understanding of disempowerment as the dissatisfaction with the situation of diminishing opportunities to take control differentiates this concept from the opposite of empowerment, which is conceptualised as clients' ability to make decisions or manage diseases. Findings further highlight the importance of understanding clients' illness experience comprehensively and providing care in a manner that is matched with clients' abilities, expectations and needs. It is suggested that operationalising the concept based on this understanding is necessary in order to understand correlations between disempowerment, its causes and consequences.

Impact

Disempowerment has been applied to describe interruptions in their states of being, perceived role performances, and independence in adults with chronic illness from diverse perspectives in the extant literature, such as the opposite of empowerment, action to take away control over personal lives and a state of diminishing ability to tackle problems. Through clarifying the concept, this article will guide the communication, measurement tool development and response in clinical practice.

Patient or Public Contribution

No patient or public contribution.

Weathering the Double Storm—Resilience in Chinese Older Cancer Patients With Long COVID: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT

Aim

To explore the lived experiences of Chinese older adult cancer patients in Hong Kong navigating the challenges of long COVID.

Design

A descriptive phenomenological study.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 purposively sampled older Chinese cancer survivors in Hong Kong between January 2023 and January 2024. Data were analysed using Colaizzi's thematic analysis method.

Results

Four key themes emerged: (1) the invisible scars of COVID-19: unrecognised and diverse symptoms; (2) the double-edged sword of protection: shielding from COVID-19 while battling cancer and long COVID; (3) forging strength in the crucible: adapting and thriving with cancer and long COVID and (4) nurturing resilience: the integral role of nursing in supporting cancer patients with long COVID during a pandemic.

Conclusion

Older Chinese cancer patients with long COVID experience a dual burden of unrecognised physical symptoms and profound psychological distress from isolation. Despite this, they demonstrate remarkable resilience, a process that can be actively supported through specialised nursing care.

Originality/Novelty

This study offers original contributions to the limited literature on the intersection of cancer, long COVID, and ageing. It provides in-depth insights into the lived experiences of this vulnerable population, highlighting the diversity of long COVID symptoms, the psychological impact of pandemic-related precautions, and the crucial role of nursing in fostering resilience.

Impact

This study highlights the urgent need for nurses to recognise the unique challenges of this population. It provides a foundation for developing nurse-led, resilience-focused interventions that integrate tailored education, emotional support, and resource navigation into oncology care. These findings can inform practice and policy to better support the well-being of a vulnerable and growing patient demographic.

Reporting Method

The study adhered to the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) checklist.

Patient or Public Contribution

No patient or public contribution.

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