Preceptorship versus Clinical Teaching Partnership: Literature Review and Recommendations for Implementation in Ghana

Clinical education is an essential component of the education of nursing students. However clinical nursing education in Ghana is currently facing challenges of poor working relations between hospitals and health training institutions, inadequate preceptor preparations, and inadequate faculty supervisions. Although the dominant clinical education model used in Ghana is the preceptorship model, health service and education industries are faced with challenges of lack of qualified staff, inadequately prepared preceptors, and inadequate supervision from faculty. These challenges undermine the effectiveness of the clinical learning environment and the use of the preceptorship model. The purpose of this paper was to review preceptorship and clinical teaching partnership (CTP) and make recommendations for improving clinical nursing education in Ghana. A literature review was undertaken through a search of databases that included Google Scholar, EBSCOhost, CINAHL, and HINARI. A literature review identified advantages for using clinical teaching partnership (CTP) in clinical nursing education in Ghana. Recommendations were made for the use of CTP in Ghana

Leveraging breast cancer screening to promote timely detection, diagnosis and treatment among women in sub-Saharan Africa:a scoping review protocol

Introduction Female breast cancer is now the most often diagnosed cancer in the world. Breast cancer screening aims to reduce mortalities related to cancer, and morbidity associated with advanced stages of the disease, through timely detection in asymptomatic women. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of the evidence on the factors that influence the provision and uptake of breast cancer screening among women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).Methods and analysis PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature including Google Scholar will be searched to identify published studies on barriers and facilitators to breast cancer screening from January 2010 to 2021. Two reviewers will independently assess the quality of all the included studies using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool version 2018. We envisage that this review will adduce evidence on common barriers and facilitators to breast cancer screening in SSA. Identifying these barriers and facilitators will help guide the initialisation of effective interventions that will improve breast cancer screening uptake among women in SSA. This review will also guide future research in developing, implementing and evaluating appropriate interventions tailored toward increasing breast cancer screening uptake.Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval for this protocol is not required since it does not involve collecting data from human participants. The outcomes of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal

Women's knowledge and its associated factors regarding optimum utilisation of antenatal care in rural Ghana:A cross-sectional study

IntroductionImproving maternal health is a global public health challenge especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The optimum utilisation of antenatal care (ANC) by pregnant women is known to improve maternal health outcomes. Maternal morbidity and mortality rates in Ghana remain unacceptably high, particularly in rural settings where skilled delivery care often times is disproportionally low. This study assessed factors associated with optimum utilisation of antenatal care in rural Ghana.MethodsA cross-sectional design was applied to collect data among eligible participants between October 2018 and January 2019. A total of 322 women who gave birth and attended the postnatal clinic were recruited for the study. Consecutive sampling was employed in recruiting participants. The associations between the dependent variables (ANC service utilisation and knowledge of ANC) and independent variables (socio-demographic characteristics) were examined using ordinary least squares logistic regression at 95% confidence interval in STATA version 14.0.ResultsOf the 322 participants, 69.0% reported utilising at least four or more times ANC services. Determinants of women attending ANC for four or more times was significantly associated with age [OR = 4.36 (95%CI: 2.16–8.80), p<0.001], educational level [OR = 10.18 (95%CI: 3.86–26.87), p<0.001], and insured with National Health Insurance Scheme [OR = 3.42 (95%CI: 1.72–6.82), p<0.001]. Not married [OR = 0.65 (0.39–1.09), p = 0.011] or divorced [OR = 0.33 (95%CI: 0.13–0.83), p = 0.019] was negatively associated with utilisation of four or more ANC services. The majority (79.0%) of the participants had a good level of knowledge regarding antenatal care.ConclusionAlthough the majority of women in this study had good knowledge of ANC services, a significant number of them did not complete the recommended number of ANC visits for at least four times during a normal pregnancy. Awareness and further education to reproductive-age women on the significant role adequate ANC attendance plays in advancing health and well-being require further investments, particularly among rural women in Ghana

Leveraging breast cancer screening to promote timely detection, diagnosis and treatment among women in sub-Saharan Africa:a scoping review protocol

Introduction Female breast cancer is now the most often diagnosed cancer in the world. Breast cancer screening aims to reduce mortalities related to cancer, and morbidity associated with advanced stages of the disease, through timely detection in asymptomatic women. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of the evidence on the factors that influence the provision and uptake of breast cancer screening among women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).Methods and analysis PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature including Google Scholar will be searched to identify published studies on barriers and facilitators to breast cancer screening from January 2010 to 2021. Two reviewers will independently assess the quality of all the included studies using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool version 2018. We envisage that this review will adduce evidence on common barriers and facilitators to breast cancer screening in SSA. Identifying these barriers and facilitators will help guide the initialisation of effective interventions that will improve breast cancer screening uptake among women in SSA. This review will also guide future research in developing, implementing and evaluating appropriate interventions tailored toward increasing breast cancer screening uptake.Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval for this protocol is not required since it does not involve collecting data from human participants. The outcomes of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal

Leveraging breast cancer screening to promote timely detection, diagnosis and treatment among women in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol

Introduction Female breast cancer is now the most often diagnosed cancer in the world. Breast cancer screening aims to reduce mortalities related to cancer, and morbidity associated with advanced stages of the disease, through timely detection in asymptomatic women. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of the evidence on the factors that influence the provision and uptake of breast cancer screening among women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods and analysis PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature including Google Scholar will be searched to identify published studies on barriers and facilitators to breast cancer screening from January 2010 to 2021. Two reviewers will independently assess the quality of all the included studies using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool version 2018. We envisage that this review will adduce evidence on common barriers and facilitators to breast cancer screening in SSA. Identifying these barriers and facilitators will help guide the initialisation of effective interventions that will improve breast cancer screening uptake among women in SSA. This review will also guide future research in developing, implementing and evaluating appropriate interventions tailored toward increasing breast cancer screening uptake. Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval for this protocol is not required since it does not involve collecting data from human participants. The outcomes of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Knowledge of Ghanaian Graduating Undergraduate Nurses About Ageing

Introduction Knowledge on ageing has an impact on the quality of care provided to older people. Although older Ghanaians provide various forms of support to family and communities, many of them experience poor nursing care in the Ghanaian health system. There is, however, dearth of evidence regarding knowledge of ageing among Ghanaian nurses. Objective This study therefore used a descriptive survey approach to investigate knowledge of graduating undergraduate nurses on physiological, and psychosocial changes in ageing. Methods Seventy graduating undergraduate nurses were surveyed to identify their knowledge on physiological and psychosocial changes leading to care needs of older people in Ghana. Three undergraduate nursing programs with gerontological nursing courses were purposively selected for the study. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data in order to present quantitative descriptions of variables in this study. Results The response rate in the study was 42%. Findings of the study show graduating undergraduate nursing students have inadequate knowledge on ageing. Several gaps in knowledge regarding ageing were identified. Although undergraduate nursing schools had gerontological nursing courses in their programs, over 90% of participating graduating nursing students indicated pain, anxiety and depression are normal aspects in the ageing process. Conclusion It is imperative to improve the current curricula content on gerontological nursing in Ghanaian nursing schools to equip nurses with knowledge and skills needed to provide quality healthcare to older people in Ghana. Improving knowledge on ageing through evidence-informed gerontological nursing curricula content will lead to better nursing care of older Ghanaians. Providing educational opportunities for improved quality nursing care of older Ghanaians is in line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 3, which aims at providing equal and quality healthcare to all age groups by 2030

Qualitative Inquiry into Challenges Experienced by Registered General Nurses in the Emergency Department: A Study of Selected Hospitals in the Volta Region of Ghana

Registered General Nurses (RGNs) play crucial roles in emergency departments (EDs). EDs in Ghana are primarily staffed by RGNs who have had no additional formal education in emergency care. Additionally, basic, master’s, or doctoral level nursing education programs provide limited content on the complexities of emergency nursing. Nurses in EDs are affected by many challenges such as growing patient population, financial pressures, physical violence, verbal abuse, operational inefficiencies, overcrowding, and work overload. There is a paucity of research on challenges experienced by RGNs in EDs in the Volta Region of Ghana. In this qualitative study, twenty RGNs in EDs from three selected hospitals in the Volta Region of Ghana were interviewed. All recorded interviews were transcribed, reviewed several times by researchers and supervisors, and analyzed using content analysis. Five thematic categories were identified. These thematic categories of challenges were lack of preparation for ED role, verbal abuse from patients relatives, lack of resources in ED, stressful and time consuming nature of ED, and overcrowding in ED. Formal education of RGNs in the advanced role of emergency care, adequate supply of resources, increased hospital management support, and motivations for RGNs working in ED are necessary to improve the practice of emergency care

Clinical placement experiences by undergraduate nursing students in selected teaching hospitals in Ghana

Abstract Background In meeting the global standard of patient safety, quality care and nursing leadership, countries are urged by the World Health Organisation to have a greater proportion of nurses educated to degree level or higher. However, some researchers have found that there are very little differences in competencies of diploma registered nurses and first degree nurses in some countries. University education in nursing remains problematic and there are many disparities in the programmes currently being offered in different parts of the world. Though teaching hospitals in Ghana are expected to assist in the training of undergraduate nursing students, there is limited scientific evidence on experiences of undergraduate nursing students in these teaching hospital environments. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of undergraduate nursing students in selected teaching hospitals in Ghana. Methods A qualitative explorative descriptive design was used in conducting the study. Purposive sampling technique was utilised in collecting data from thirty-five undergraduate nursing students placed in two teaching hospitals in Ghana. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview guide and analysed manually by the research team. A thematic content analysis was used in analysing data. Results Four main categories of themes were extracted from data. These themes were: 1. Feeling isolated in clinical placement. 2. Inadequate application of the nursing process. 3. Encounter with complex medical devices and complex conditions. 4. Inadequate application of physical examination by nurses. Conclusion There were both positive and negative experiences by undergraduate nursing students in teaching hospitals in Ghana. The opportunity to see various clinical cases and also use complex medical devices were positive experiences for students. However, the undergraduate nursing students also experienced challenges of isolation in placement, inadequate application of the nursing process, and inadequate application of physical assessment by nurses. Undergraduate nursing students require varying levels of support, supervisory commitments and logistics provisions to learn skills such as physical examination and nursing process during placement

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Postoperative Pain Management by Nurses in Selected District Hospitals in Ghana

Introduction There is documented evidence pointing to the fact that there are numerous challenges with postoperative pain (POP) management globally. However, these challenges with POP management are more profound in developing countries. Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the knowledge, attitude, and practices of nurses concerning POP management in four selected district hospitals in Ghana. Methodology A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was employed to evaluate nurse's knowledge, attitude, and practices pertaining to POP management. Multistaged sampling was used to draw the respondents. An adapted version of the Nurses Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain instrument was used to test the knowledge, attitude, and practices of nurses and midwives. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data in order to present quantitative descriptions of variables in this study. Results This study showed that nurses in the four district hospitals had knowledge deficits regarding POP management. Eighty-one representing 48% of nurses had low knowledge on POP management. An overwhelming majority of nurses (97.6%) relied on routinely rendered basic nursing skills to relieve POP and a few used pharmacological interventions. However, nurses had good attitudes toward POP management. Conclusions POP is ineffectively managed by nurses in district hospitals in Ghana. Nurses and midwives in Ghana need to adhere to best practices in POP management by increasing their theoretical and practical knowledge, so that there will be tangible positive change in POP management in Ghana. Recommendations Nurses must be empowered through continuous development programs to keep abreast with changing trends that pertain to POP management