Glass ceiling phenomenon in nursing: A scoping review

@#Glass ceiling is the unseen barrier that prohibits women and minorities in achieving a higher potential in the workplace. This barrier influences the well-being and prosperity of women and minorities resulting to career stagnation and inability to earn a higher income. Despite the abundance of literature on the issue, there is a dearth of comprehensive information that examines the organizational, cultural, and individual factors that contribute to the glass ceiling phenomenon in the healthcare industry. The main goal of this study is to do a full scoping review to find and map all the existing healthcare settings that contribute to the glass ceiling effect. A total of 28,184 hits resulted in the search of the published and grey literature. Nine articles passed the full-text review and were further reviewed. Data were synthesized and interpreted to determine the experiences of nurses about the glass ceiling phenomenon. Findings: Gender discrimination, bias, and stereotyping prevent nurses from learning executive summary skills, maintain the gender wage gap, and lead to unequal treatment of women and men in the health workforce; structural and systemic barriers within healthcare organizations can restrict their access to these higher-level positions; underrepresentation of women in leadership roles leads to lack of mentors; and lack of work-life balance due to limited flexible work arrangements.

Nursing shortage in the Philippines: Dissecting an entanglement of issues

@#The banning of new nursing schools in the Philippines was imposed in 2010 to mitigate the failing compliance of schools with various competency standards set forth by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), in addition to the burden of students in paying their affiliations with hospitals. In the midst of the shortage of nurses in the country that was magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) decided to lift the moratorium. This paper draws on the narratives of nursing leaders and professionals on the phenomenon of nursing shortage and the issues that can arise with the reopening of nursing schools. The verbatims highlight the historical and contemporary entanglement of various issues that contributed to the problem of nursing shortage. In addressing these issues, this paper looks into some of the problems in Philippine nursing that may conform with the broad contemporary problems identified by philosopher Alain Badiou. Viable solutions may be found in the exploration of emerging research methodologies, consideration of systems thinking using technological advances, and incorporating political competency among Filipino nurses.

Evidence-based practice competency, EBP beliefs and research utilization among Ghanaian nurses: A mediation analysis

PURPOSE@#The disparity between conducting research and putting it into practice has remains a global healthcare issue, with less than 50% of nurses utilizing research. This study aims to determine the level and relationship between Evidence-based practice (EBP) competency, current EBP beliefs and research utilization among nurses.@*DESIGN AND METHOD@#This quantitative study utilized a descriptive-correlational design and mediation analysis. A purposive sampling was used to select six Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) hospitals. Simple random sampling was used to recruit 544 nurses from the six CHAG hospitals. The study utilized mean and standard deviation, Pearson Correlation, ANOVA, and GLS mediation analysis. The researcher obtained ethical approval from the Saint Louis University Research Ethics committee and, the institutional review board of the CHAG.@*FINDINGS@#The results showed that nurses had a low level of EBP competency (M=2.27, SD= 0.255), strong positive EBP beliefs (M=2.58, SD=0.322) and low research utilization (M=2.57, SD=0.300). There was a moderately significant positive relationship between EBP competency and research utilization (r= .431, p= .000), EBP competency and EBP beliefs (r= .327, p= .000) and EBP beliefs and research utilization (r= .306, p= .000). There is no significant difference in terms of EBP competency and research utilization when EBP training attendance was considered. Nurses with 1-2 years of experience had a higher level of EBP competency. Theatre nurses had a higher level of EBP competency, however, emergency nurses had a lower level of research utilization than nurses in the surgical unit. EBP beliefs mediated the relationship (B= 0.0604, z= 3.99, p < .001) between EBP competency and research utilization.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Nurses in CHAG hospitals have a limited ability to implement the EBP process. The respondent perceived the value of EBP in nursing practice to be significant and has the confidence to implement the EBP process. The nurses' respondents use of research in nursing practice is limited due to the organizational barriers in CHAG institutions in Ghana. Based on the findings, it is recommended for nurse administrators and policy makers to prioritize the provision of adequate resources, support, EBP policies and targeted training programs to facilitate a culture of evidence-based practice and research utilization in CHAG institutions. By improving EBP competency and promoting research utilization, nurses can enhance the quality and safety of patient care.

Children's toiling bodies behind the tobacco industry

@#This study on the tobacco-growing communities in the Northern part of the Philippines unveiled the stark reality of child labor among poor families in rural villages. These children found the tasks of the industry as normal and obligatory. They were made to earn their own money for school, food, and other basic needs such as clothes and personal belongings. This study aimed to give perspective on a child worker's life from their own lens, humanizing the face behind child labor. It unveiled issues, feelings, and deep-seated longings of typical children in tobacco-growing communities: wanting sustenance for their education despite the risks involved, easing their family's burden, finishing studies and preferring work over play. The study also looked at possible mechanisms towards addressing the issue of child labor, which include nurses and social development workers advocating for access to government instruments and raising awareness on the matter.

Lessons from Asia: A review of five national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

@#The outbreak of COVID-19 triggered various responses from nations in an effort to control its spread. This review aimed to assess the responses of China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and the Philippines, and identify effective strategies to address the pandemic's incidence and mortality rate. Using a descriptive review of existing literature, their responses were evaluated using the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), which outline long-term objectives of reducing viral transmission, and reducing disaster risks and losses respectively. The countries studied were able to engage and mobilize communities; find, test, and isolate cases; provide clinical care, and maintain essential health services. However, countries differ in implementation, mainly due to their varying Social Determinants of Health (SDH) and disparities in resources. The countries' common goal was to control COVID-19 and return to economic normalcy. This study showed that effective strategies in handling the pandemic contain the following aspects: 1) strategic preparedness by drawing from past experiences, 2) tactical restructuring of the healthcare system, 3) effective resource mobilization and management, and 4) effective use of communication and technology to engage with the public. The SFDRR global targets were clear long-term goals for countries to base their pandemic responses on. This could equip the countries with the right tools and policies for future disasters, including a pandemic. Glaring issues on countries' SDH should also be foremostly addressed. Economic inequality, communication gaps, and issues on governance are primary factors that hinder the effective management of the pandemic for countries. Policy makers and social development workers, including nurses, need to adopt a holistic framework in analyzing situations confronting their work such as disasters.

Seasoned Nurse Administrators Saga: In the Changing and Challenging Times

@#This research endeavored to explore, describe and document the saga of experienced nurse administrators to come up with reflective learning in nursing leadership and management. A qualitative phenomenological approach was utilized, specifically descriptive and interpretative methods of Husserl and Heidegger. Purposive sampling and referral were employed to select eight participants from the three fields of nursing administration(academe, hospital, and community) within Luzon, Philippines. An in-depth interview about the participants' experiences in nursing and nursing administration, together with a review of historical narratives and personal accounts were engaged to generate data. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and were analyzed following hermeneutic interpretive phenomenology. An integrated analysis of literature showed parallel descriptions of participants' responses and the context of historical accounts and events in nursing in the Philippines. Four main themes have emerged in the saga of Seasoned Nurse Administrators (SNAs): 1) Nurse administrators' responses according to the need and context of nursing in their times; 2) Nursing foundations and training are geared towards the values of nursing as a service profession, 3) The pathways towards becoming a nurse administrator are marked with competence in the roles undertaken and living the passion for service; 4) SNAs facing challenges are towards the improvement of life conditions, excellence in their profession, and setting advocacies to elevate the nursing profession in the country in the 21st century. A conceptual model was formulated in understanding the paths towards a seasoned nurse administrator.

Reflexivity and research methodology: A second glance

@#As qualitative researchers, we are actively involved in the research process. We accept the fact that we are the main instrument, thus are part of the social world we aim to understand. It entails self-awareness and as Parahoo (2006) posits, reflexivity, as a process, is an introspection on the role of subjectivity in the research that entails a continuous process of reflection by researchers on their values. It is also a process of recognizing, examining, and understanding how their “social background, location, and assumptions affect their research practice” Hesse-Biber, 2007, p.17). Reflexivity, as the abundant literature would indicate, is an elusive term, it is commonly used interchangeably with reflectivity, and even with critical reflection. In this paper, an attempt was made to rediscover how reflexivity has been utilized in various perspectives to define its position and role in the conduct of robust qualitative research. In the process, we would like to share and solicit perspectives on reflexivity as a process and as an output. This was done thru a review of literature and the integration and highlighting of reflexivity/reflexivities of various researchers arising from the various research that we have been involved with such as: the six-country multi-disciplinary team lead by the Ottawa University based in Canada that undertook participatory research across Asia, Africa, and the Pacific to learn how poverty can be defined and measured; the five-country multi-disciplinary team, led by the Australian National University, Australia; and various local interdisciplinary researches. These researches were conducted over three years or more, some in various stages using focused group interviews, key informant interviews, observations, ladder ranking using photographs, record reviews, surveys, and photovoice. We also included documented reflexivities of colleagues with whom we have worked with in various capacities. We analyzed these documents vis-à-vis the concern of the qualitative researcher to unravel how their personhood intersects with their experiences in the field. Indeed, revisiting reflexivity and research methods enlightens the rigor in traversing the pathways of knowledge generation in qualitative research.