Building Solidarity with Black Nurses to Dismantle Systemic and Structural Racism in Nursing.

Systemic and structural racism in nursing have profound impacts on Black People, Indigenous Peoples, and People of Color. They contributed to underrepresentation in faculty, senior nurse executives, and presidents' positions in academic and healthcare organizations, physical and mental health issues in racialized groups. This quality improvement study described ways in which the Black Nurses Task Force of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario can build solidarity with nursing and government organizations to dismantle systemic and structural racism in nursing. This study used a structured online survey, comprised of quantitative and qualitative questions. The qualitative data were analyzed using interpretative thematic analysis and the quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Findings showed that 88% of participants experienced racism and 63% said racism affected their mental health. Three themes emerged from the qualitative data: Social support for Black nurses, accountability of leaders and solidarity with Black nurses. These findings demonstrated the urgent need to dismantle systemic and structural racism in nursing.

Tackling discrimination and systemic racism in academic and workplace settings.

Racism against Black people, Indigenous and other racialized people continues to exist in healthcare and academic settings. Racism produces profound harm to racialized people. Strategies to address systemic racism must be implemented to bring about sustainable changes in healthcare and academic settings. This quality improvement initiative provides strategies to address systemic racism and discrimination against Black nurses and nursing students in Ontario, Canada. It is part of a broader initiative showcasing Black nurses in action to end racism and discrimination. We have found that people who have experienced racism need healing, support and protection including trauma-related services to facilitate their healing. Implementing multi-level, multi-pronged interventions in workplaces will create healthy work environments for all members of society, especially Black nurses who are both clients/patients and providers of healthcare.

Black nurses in action: A social movement to end racism and discrimination.

We bear witness to a sweeping social movement for change-fostered and driven by a powerful group of Black nurses and nursing students determined to call out and dismantle anti-Black racism and discrimination within the profession of nursing. The Black Nurses Task Force, launched by the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) in July 2020, is building momentum for long-standing change in the profession by critically examining the racist and discriminatory history of nursing, listening to and learning from the lived experiences of the Black nursing community, and shaping concrete, actionable steps to confront anti-Black racism and discrimination in academic settings, workplaces, and nursing organizations. The Black Nurses Task Force and the RNAO are standing up and speaking out in acknowledgment of the magnitude of anti-Black racism and discrimination that exist in our profession, health system, justice system, and economic system. This social movement is demonstrating, in actions, how individuals and a collective act as change agents to drive meaningful and widespread change for our present and future Black nurses. We also acknowledge the Black nurses who have gone before us.

Health Beliefs and Practices of African Immigrants in Canada.

A purposive sample of 14 immigrants living in Ontario, Canada, participated in two focus groups. The researchers used semi-structured interviews to collect data and five themes emerged from the data: beliefs about diabetes were centered on diverse factors, preserving culture through food preferences and preparation, cultural practices to stay healthy, cultural practices determined number of servings of fruit and vegetables per day, and engaging in physical activity to stay healthy. Findings indicated how health beliefs and cultural practices influenced behavior in preventing type 2 diabetes (T2D). Future research should focus on other high-risk minority groups (South Asian, Caribbean, and Latin American) to examine their health beliefs and cultural practices and use these finding to develop best practice guidelines, which should be incorporated into culturally tailored interventions.

Improving foot self-care knowledge, self-efficacy, and behaviors in patients with type 2 diabetes at low risk for foot ulceration: a pilot study.

The pilot study aimed to explore the effects of an educational intervention on patients' foot self-care knowledge, self-efficacy, and behaviors in adult patients with type 2 diabetes at low risk for foot ulceration. The intervention consisted of three sessions and was given over a 3-week period. A total of 70 eligible consenting participants were recruited for this pilot study. Fifty-six participants completed the study. The outcomes were assessed at pretest, following the first two sessions, and 3-month follow-up. The findings indicated that the foot self-care educational intervention was effective in improving foot self-care knowledge, self-efficacy and behaviors in adult patients with type 2 diabetes at low risk for foot ulceration. The findings support the effects of the intervention. Future research should evaluate its efficacy using a randomized clinical trial design, and a large sample of patients with type 2 diabetes at low risk for foot ulcerations.

Feasibility, acceptability and effects of a foot self-care educational intervention on minor foot problems in adult patients with diabetes at low risk for foot ulceration: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the pilot study were to examine the feasibility and acceptability of the foot self-care educational intervention, and to explore its preliminary effects on reducing the occurrence of minor foot problems in adult patients with diabetes at low risk for foot ulceration. METHODS: A one-group-repeated-measures design was used. The intervention given over 3 weeks consisted of a 1 hour 1-on-1 provider-patient interaction to discuss foot self-care strategies, 1 hour hands-on practice of strategies and 2 10-minute telephone contact booster sessions. Of the 70 eligible consenting participants, 56 completed the study. The outcomes were assessed at pretest and at 3-month follow-up. Chi-square and Fisher's exact test were used to examine changes in outcomes over time. RESULTS: The findings provided initial evidence suggesting the foot self-care educational intervention is feasible and acceptable to adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. It was effective in reducing the occurrence of minor foot skin and toenails problems (all p<0.05) at 3-month follow up. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the effects of the intervention. Future research should evaluate its efficacy using a randomized clinical trial design, and a large sample of patients with diabetes at low risk for foot ulcerations.

Team preceptorship model: a solution for students' clinical experience.

There is a shortage of registered nurses in developed countries, and this shortage is due to the aging nursing workforce, demand for healthcare services, and shortage of nursing professors to teach students. In order to increase the number of clinical placements for nursing students, the authors developed and implemented a collaborative preceptorship model between a Canadian University and Public Health Department to facilitate the clinical experiences of Bachelor of Science of Nursing (BScN) students. This paper describes the Team Preceptorship Model which guided the clinical experience of nine students and 14 preceptors. It also highlights the model's evaluation, strengths, and limitations.

Influence of nurse characteristics on the acquisition of cultural competence.

This study examined how nurses' personal and professional characteristics influenced their response to an educational intervention to improve their cultural knowledge and cultural competence. A one-group repeated measures design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, which 76 public health nurses (PHNs) attended. Regression analysis showed that nurses with fewer years of nursing experience and higher level of education had a weak association with increased cultural knowledge and cultural competence but learning style and age were not associated with the outcomes.