Sense of community belonging among immigrants: perspective of immigrant service providers.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the barriers and facilitators to community belonging for immigrants in Alberta, Canada. STUDY DESIGN: The study used a qualitative descriptive research design. METHODS: A total of 53 immigrant service providers in the province of Alberta participated in interviews and focus groups. The sample was purposively recruited through immigrant service organizations in the province. Interviews lasted approximately 45 min, whereas focus groups lasted approximately 1.5 h. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed with the aid of NVivo qualitative software. RESULTS: Participants discuss two forms of community belonging in this study: (a) belonging to an ethnocultural group; and (b) belonging within mainstream Canadian society. Barriers to mainstream community belonging for immigrants include employment barriers, language barriers, and discrimination. Recent immigrants often experience a sense of belonging to their ethnic group within the host country before feeling connected to others in their local geographic community. A major factor contributing to this trend is the lack of ethnocultural diversity in local community organizations in the areas where immigrants live. Immigrant service agencies and religious institutions compensate for this deficiency through creating avenues for social connection within and across ethnocultural groups and to mainstream Canadian society. CONCLUSIONS: Local community organizations should address issues of ethnocultural diversity and discrimination to improve the mental health of immigrants by fostering community belonging. Supporting programs in immigrant service agencies and religious institutions to increase social participation and engagement would, also, help strengthen community belonging and improve immigrant mental health.

Downward occupational mobility of baccalaureate-prepared, internationally educated nurses to licensed practical nurses.

AIM: This study explored the experience of baccalaureate-prepared, internationally educated nurses who work as licensed practical nurses in Canada. BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION: Internationally educated nurses experience several barriers to workforce integration on arrival in destination countries. Given these barriers, evidence suggests that internationally educated nurses sometimes experience downward occupational mobility and deskilling in destination countries. Some baccalaureate-prepared, internationally educated nurses work as licensed practical nurses in destination countries, but there is minimal research on this population. METHODS: We used an exploratory transnational feminist qualitative research design. Following ethics approval, a total of 14 baccalaureate-prepared, internationally educated nurses who currently or recently worked as practical nurses in Canada were interviewed for the study. Data were thematically analysed with the aide of NVivo 11 data software. RESULTS: Our results revealed four key themes related to the experiences of this group of nurses: they migrate to Canada with hope for a better personal and professional life; they experience barriers to workforce integration as registered nurses and discover an easier path in the licensed practical nurse registration process; they experience deskilling and ambivalent skill recognition; and they feel dissatisfied as a licensed practical nurse in Canada. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: There is a need for policy to support the upward mobility of baccalaureate-prepared, internationally educated nurses who work as practical nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY: Implications for policymakers include the need to address the barriers to becoming registered nurses, including application processing times and lack of adequate access to educational programmes.