Introducing virtual reality to older adults: A qualitative analysis of a co-design innovation with care staff.

Previous studies of Virtual Reality (VR) in aged care settings have demonstrated that the benefits can be multiple, including improved social connection and engagement and reduced social isolation in later life. However, there remains a lack of widespread uptake of VR in aged care facilities. This prompts an important question: Given the potential benefits, why is there such poor engagement in VR by aged care facilities? The aim of this qualitative study is to investigate the experience of introducing VR into an aged care facility. Our innovative approach supported care staff to introduce VR into aged care facilities. Fieldwork diaries and focus group discussions were used to document experiences of introducing VR, including the obstacles, challenges and benefits and the adaptations to aged care environments that were required to accommodate new VR activities. Thematic analysis of the data revealed that VR can be an important medium to support the wellbeing of older residents. However, our findings also indicate that there are significant challenges associated with introducing VR, including substantial costs in time, money and institutional resources and attention. This study concludes that, to be successful, VR requires substantive care and relational resources from both staff and residents that are only visible when paying attention to the contextual adjustments required to introduce the technology to a new setting. This suggests that other research on gerontechnologies would likely also benefit from further attention to the role of the broader social context - including care and relational resources - in ensuring their successful design and implementation.

Recognizing and Adapting to Cultural Differences: Influence of International Educational Programs on Future Nursing and Midwifery Practice.

INTRODUCTION: International educational programs build cultural humility and safety skills in nursing and midwifery students; however, long-term outcomes of these programs are unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of international educational programs on nurses' and midwives' future professional practice. METHOD: Using grounded theory informed by Charmaz, 13 general nurses, two mental health nurses, three midwives, and four dual-qualified nurse/midwives across eight different countries were interviewed. Three categories evolved from the analysis. This article reports on the category Recognizing and adapting to cultural differences. FINDINGS: Participants developed cultural safety and awareness from participation in programs extending into future practice. Experiencing and adapting to cultural similarities and differences, they developed culturally congruent practices many years after program completion. DISCUSSION: International programs contributed to participants' professional practice. Positive and ongoing influences are important for employers to promote patient safety and culturally congruent quality care. Findings are also relevant for education providers to inform quality cultural learning.

Transforming Health Through Communities: An Experience From a Collaborative Online International Learning Program.

BACKGROUND: For many years, universities have placed a strong emphasis on providing students with an internationalization experience through study-abroad programs; however, the recent pandemic led many universities to look for alternatives to continue offering students an international experience. METHOD: This article describes the implementation and evaluation of a collaborative online international learning (COIL) experience between nursing students in Australia and the United Kingdom. RESULTS: Students explored community spirit in the recovery from COVID-19. Students positively rated the experience and shared insights and outcomes gained from the program. CONCLUSION: The COIL experience exposed nursing students from Australia and the United Kingdom to learn about public health issues and develop cultural awareness and a sense of global community. Future programs should evaluate the long-term effects on students' nursing practice and their careers. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(7):387-392.].

Nursing Students' Experiences of a Student-Led Collaborative Online International Learning Program.

AIM: The aim of the study was to explore undergraduate nursing and midwifery students' perspectives of participating in a student-led collaborative online international learning (COIL) program. BACKGROUND: Research on COIL programs is limited. This program, developed across three global universities, was implemented to provide an internationalization-at-home experience for students during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: An exploratory descriptive qualitative design was employed using nursing students' reflections and interviews. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed four key themes: student-led learning experiences, personal gains, influence on professional practice, and becoming a global citizen. Students' experiences offer insights into positive aspects of the program and highlight challenges to overcome. CONCLUSION: The student-led COIL experience increased nursing students' understanding of the dynamics of culture and nursing practices across different countries. Students' personal growth and professional gains will potentially prepare them to work in multicultural environments and develop global citizenship attributes.

Mathematics anxiety and associated interventions in nursing: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Mathematics proficiency is a key element in accurate medication calculation and patient safety. Education providers play an important role in preparing students for safe medication administration. However, the presence of mathematics anxiety in students may impact on relevant mathematics mastery. OBJECTIVES: To explore what is known and reported about mathematics anxiety in nursing and the nature of interventions developed. DESIGN: A scoping review guided by the work of Arksey and O'Malley and Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. DATA SOURCES: CINAHL, Medline, ERIC and Proquest Nursing and Allied Health. REVIEW METHODS: Search included primary research published between 2000 and 2021 and in English language. RESULTS: Ten studies were included in the final review, and numerous different tools used to measure mathematics anxiety. A number of factors were found to influence mathematics anxiety and various local interventions are reported. There is a lack of consistency in research reporting on mathematics anxiety, with most being single-site studies and small in scale. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, despite its importance, there is scant research into mathematics anxiety in nursing. There is a need for a consistent, valid and reliable tool for its measurement, as well as validated interventions to address it. Furthermore, there is a deficit in research evaluating mathematics anxiety longitudinally across the duration of an education program. There is a need for nurse education providers to work to address these important gaps and establish entry-level benchmark requirements.

Reported outcomes of nursing or midwifery students participating in international educational programs in their pre-registration education: A narrative systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To identify outcomes of nursing or midwifery students participating in international educational programs in their pre-registration education. DESIGN: A systematic review of the literature was conducted in keeping with JBI methods. DATA SOURCES: A range of databases were searched, including Medline, Embase, ERIC, CINAHL, ProQuest Central and DOAJ. Studies published in English from 2010 to 2020 were considered. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: The review included qualitative and quantitative primary peer-reviewed research studies involving nursing or midwifery students who participated in international educational programs in their pre-registration education. REVIEW METHODS: Thematic analysis informed by Braun and Clarke was used to identify key outcomes emerging. RESULTS: 56 studies were included. The results highlight similarities in outcomes for students who had undertaken international educational programs in three thematic areas: Cultural learning, Personal growth, and Professional development. Short-term outcomes are well documented, however there is a lack of research investigating long-term outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Further research is required to investigate long-term outcomes of international educational programs and means for measuring the effects on students' future professional practice. In addition, further research is needed to explore the perspectives of, and impact on, others including host communities and universities, and other stakeholders.

Evaluation of the personal development portfolio in higher education: an explorative study.

Personal Development Profiles (PDPs) have been an important and necessary feature of United Kingdom (UK) Higher Education for more than a decade. There is significant agreement as to their core purpose and their key features are of relevance to higher education institutions internationally, irrespective of whether an equivalent formal system or process is in place. The aim of this exploratory study was to evaluate the use of PDPs within a Child Health Nursing Programme in a UK University, looking at the experiences of both teaching staff and of students coming to the end of their three year programme of study. A convenience sample of final year pre-registration Child Health Nursing students and their lecturers was used for the purposes of this study with mixed methods of collection used to generate the required data. A survey was conducted with questionnaires. Following the analysis of the questionnaires, a discussion group was undertaken with the students. A series of questions was developed to guide this discussion. The structure offered by the system of PDPs evaluated here was seen to offer much in the way of potential value. Staff saw it as offering direction, a tool for discussion and a clear time and reason for meeting their students. Students similarly appreciated the structure it provided, but did describe it as somewhat repetitive. These findings were clearly of use in terms of evaluating this ongoing work, but also offer the potential to inform the work of other educational institutions.

The preparation of child health nurses in sexual health education: an exploratory study.

There are very high rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections in the teenage population in Scotland. The Scottish Government recommends that child health nurses working alongside education professionals should be addressing these issues. The aim of this study was to explore the nature, type and experience of educational provision student nurses gain during their undergraduate programme to help them deal effectively with the sexual health needs of children and young people with whom they are involved. Thirteen students from two third year cohorts of a child health pre-registration nursing programme took part in this qualitative, phenomenological study. Focus groups (n=2) were undertaken to gather data and to develop emerging themes. Four themes are reported: "greater knowledge and expectations" "variation in practice affects the variety of experience" "sexual health should be part of the role" and "need to be better prepared". The students reported on their previous experiences of sex education and about differences in practice whilst out on a variety of placements. Most of the students believed that delivering sexual health education to young people was the nurse's role however there appeared to be a consensus that they did not have sufficient knowledge of sexual health to achieve this.

Reversible electron-transfer reactions within a nanoscale metal oxide cage mediated by metallic substrates.

Transition metal oxides exhibit a rich collection of electronic properties and have many practical applications in areas such as catalysis and ultra-high-density magnetic data storage. Therefore the development of switchable molecular transition metal oxides has potential for the engineering of single-molecule devices and nanoscale electronics. At present, the electronic properties of transition metal oxides can only be tailored through the irreversible introduction of dopant ions, modifying the electronic structure by either injecting electrons or core holes. Here we show that a molybdenum(VI) oxide 'polyoxometalate' molecular nanocluster containing two embedded redox agents is activated by a metallic surface and can reversibly interconvert between two electronic states. Upon thermal activation two electrons are ejected from the active sulphite anions and delocalized over the metal oxide cluster cage, switching it from a fully oxidized state to a two-electron reduced state along with the concomitant formation of an S-S bonding interaction between the two sulphur centres inside the cluster shell.