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PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH – ‘CHALLENGING
THE THRONE WITHOUT LOSING YOUR HEAD’:
AN INTERVIEW WITH TONY MACCULLOCH
Lynne S. Giddings, RN, RM, PhD, Associate Professor
School of Nursing, Auckland University of Technology
Pamela J. Wood, RN, PhD, Associate Professor
Graduate School of Nursing and Midwifery, Victoria University of Wellington
Abstract
Participatory research approaches, though varied methodologically, share a belief in the importance of social action and the involvement of research participants. This article focuses on a modified approach to co-operative inquiry, a participatory methodology predominantly informed by humanistic psychology. It is the thirteenth in a series of articles based on interviews with nursing and midwifery researchers, designed to offer the beginning researcher a first-hand account of the experience of using particular methodologies. After describing briefly some of the varieties of approaches to participatory research and their theoretical underpinnings, the article presents an interview with Tony MacCulloch (RPN; RGN; Dip Couns; MEd) who used a modified form of co-operative inquiry to explore the risks experienced by tertiary educators who challenged oppressive structures in their workplace. It examined their experience of strategies that supported them in the course of voicing their concerns. A secondary purpose was to support educators who sought to further the ideals of transformative education.
Key Words:
Research, methodologies, participatory research, co-operative inquiry.
Article Order No. 211A
INDEPENDENCE AND WELL-BEING IN LATER LIFE:
THREE NEW ZEALAND STUDIES
Stephen Neville, RN, MA(Hons), FCNA(NZ), Lecturer,
School of Health Sciences - Albany, Massey University, Auckland
Sally Keeling, PhD, DipTchg, DipEd., Lecturer,
Department of Medicine, Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Kaye Milligan, RN, MA(Hons), DipTchg (Tertiary), MCNA(NZ), Lecturer,
School of Nursing, Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology
Abstract
This paper argues that social gerontology is an appropriate methodological lens to investigate independence and well-being in later life and goes on to overview three diverse and independent pieces of research which cross disciplinary boundaries, geographic locations and philosophical terrains. A comparative analysis of the results from these studies identifies that health, economic status and social support influence the concepts of independence and well-being in older people. Nurses, particularly those working in primary health care, are likely to be the first point of contact for many older adults and need to operationalise a holistic assessment framework in order to address all components of ageing that influence independence and well-being in this group of people.
Key Words:
Social gerontology, independence, well-being, older person’s health.
Article Order No. 211B
A SURVEY OF MENTAL HEALTH NURSES’ OPINION
OF BARRIERS AND SUPPORTS FOR RESEARCH
Brian N. Phillips, RN, DipAppSc (Nursing), MSc (Mental Health)
Mental Health Research Nurse, Graduate School of Nursing & Midwifery,
Victoria University of Wellington
Abstract
The need to demonstrate efficacy, efficiency and quality of practice through research is acknowledged in mental health nursing standards of practice. Yet the findings of a preliminary survey of two local District Health Boards (DHBs) shows that high workloads and lack of relief staffing appear as the greatest hurdles to mental health nurses participating in practice-based nursing research. A further constraint on their participation is lack of research expertise and experience. Consultative discussions with senior mental health nurses support these conclusions. In this paper mentoring and flexible research designs are promoted as possible ways of overcoming these barriers.
Key Words:
Clinical nursing research, research support, mental health nursing,
practice development.
Article Order No.211C
INCORPORATION OF RESEARCH INTO CLINICAL
PRACTICE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CLINICAL
NURSE RESEARCHER POSITION
Sandra Richardson, BA, RGON, Dip Soc Sci, Dip Health Sci (PG)
Research Nurse, Emergency Department, Christchurch Hospital
Abstract
The role of research within nursing is gaining a higher profile, as nurses move
towards advanced practice roles, and concepts such as evidence based practice and clinical governance are accepted. Research has long been incorporated in both undergraduate and post graduate nursing education, but has often been viewed by nurse clinicians as too difficult and expensive, with little direct clinical relevance. The current focus on developing Nurse Practitioners has emphasised the need for a research component in such practice, but it is not only the ‘advanced’ practitioners who can benefit from a greater understanding and involvement with the research process. The development of an innovative research role in Christchurch Hospital has the potential to demonstrate that research can be incorporated and accepted into a clinical area. The role of Clinical Nurse Researcher in the Emergency Department has resulted in a higher profile for research, and the gradual integration of research as a clinical skill with direct practical relevance.
Key Words:
Research, emergency nursing, advanced practice
Article Order No. 211D
OPPORTUNISTIC CHLAMYDIA TESTING:
IMPROVING NURSING PRACTICE THROUGH
SELF-AUDIT AND REFLECTION
Rose Stewart, RGON, ADN, PG Cert in Child & Family Health,
Family Planning Nurse, Margaret Sparrow Centre, Wellington
Abstract
This article details how an individual family planning nurse’s practice concerning opportunistic testing for sexually transmitted chlamydia was improved through an audit of her testing rates and reflection on the outcome. The leading curable sexually transmitted infection in New Zealand, chlamydia, (including the incidence and spread of the infection and why it is a public health issue) is discussed, and the audit examined.
The first audit of fifty consecutive client visits exposed a lack of opportunistic testing. The second looking at a similar but more recent group of client visits, made after the results of the first (zero opportunistic testing) were known, shows an increase in testing and education about chlamydia. Important clinical issues concerning chlamydia testing and treatment are considered. In conclusion the article challenges other nurses in the community to take a lead in raising awareness of the consequences of undiagnosed chlamydial infection and find ways of increasing opportunistic testing for chlamydia within their practice.
Key Words: Chlamydia, opportunistic testing.
Article Order No. 211E
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