The Global Leadership Mentoring Community: building capacity across seven global regions.

AIM: The purpose of this paper is to report on the evaluation of the online Global Leadership Mentoring Community, a programme designed to build relationships across seven global regions and promote leadership development for emerging nurse leaders. BACKGROUND: There is a pressing need and opportunity for sustainable global leadership mentoring programmes. This programme of Sigma Theta Tau International (Sigma) brought mentors and mentees together from across the world to build leadership capacity, understand global leadership issues and build networks. Community coordinators purposively selected mentors from each of Sigma's seven Global Regions, and mentees were chosen through a process of snowball sampling. Mentors and mentees met monthly with quarterly group calls. METHODS: The study followed a programme evaluation, outcomes-focused approach. All eleven pairs of mentors-mentees were invited to complete online surveys at the outset and end of programme capturing both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and for qualitative data, a thematic analysis. FINDINGS: Quantitative data confirmed that all 22 participants gained from the experience. From qualitative analysis, themes emerged illustrating the scope of achievements: 1. facilitation of successful outcomes for both mentors and mentees, 2. challenges of global mentoring and 3. strategies for successful global mentoring. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Participants reported that creating global leadership is a longitudinal process that needs sustained attention to effect change. This evaluation identified many strengths of the programme and recommended its continuation to help further development of global leaders, particularly through focusing more purposefully on policy issues. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY: Empowerment of nurses globally through a Global Leadership Mentoring Community can improve leadership at all levels, thus emboldening their voices to influence nursing and health policy and ultimately improve patient care.

Open access follow-up care for early breast cancer: a randomised controlled quality of life analysis.

This study evaluated the acceptability of a supportive model of follow-up. One hundred and twelve women recovering from breast cancer were randomised to receive standard breast clinic aftercare (Control n = 56) or on demand by open access aftercare by breast care nurses (Intervention n = 56). Participants attended a support-based psycho-educational programme delivered in four half-day group sessions. Three quality of life questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30, QLQ-BR23, HADS) were administered at baseline and 6-monthly intervals for 2 years. Multilevel linear regression modelling methods were used for evaluation. Age was found to be a statistically significant predictor of quality of life in several sub-scales. Increasing age was negatively associated with sexual functioning, systematic therapy side effects and physical functioning, and positively associated with future perspective. Aftercare assignment was not found to be a statistically significant predictor. Women treated for early breast cancer were not disadvantaged by allocation to the open access supportive care model in terms of quality of life experienced. The model for follow-up was demonstrated to be a feasible alternative to routinised hospital-based follow-up and adds to the evidence for stratified follow-up for low-risk cancer patients, incorporating self-management education. Stratified follow-up pathways are viewed as a preferable approach.

Helpfulness of mental health day care: client and staff views.

Seventeen clients of a mental health day service were interviewed regarding their treatment experiences. Content analysis of this information was undertaken, and the clients then rank-ordered the reported aspects of treatment from most to least helpful. Staff undertook a similar procedure to enable clients' views to be placed in context. Both clients and staff reported counselling as the most helpful aspect of treatment. Clients and staff disagreed as to the relative helpfulness of medical and group aspects of treatment. Clients reported medical treatment as the second most helpful aspect, and staff reported groups and the planned approach to care second. Social contact with other clients was reported to be just as helpful as organized group therapy by clients. Clients identified that just having somewhere to go to meet people was very helpful. Communication difficulties between staff and clients were evident with regard to the planned approach to care, discharge planning, and group activities. The ability of clients to evaluate their treatment experiences differentially is highlighted.