They are friendly but they don\u27t want to be friends with you : A narrative inquiry into Chinese nursing students\u27 learning experiences in Australia

There is increasing interest in the phenomena of international student mobility and the growing global demand for skilled nurses. Little is known, however, about the learning experiences of Chinese nursing students at Australian universities. This study begins to address this gap. A narrative inquiry methodology was employed. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions, along with field notes and observations were conducted with six Chinese undergraduate nursing students studying undergraduate nursing in Western Australia. Chinese nursing students in Australia experienced fear and anxiety, driven by unfamiliarity with the hospital environment, education methods, and assessment expectations. Clinical placement experiences in Australian health services were identified by participants as the most stressful learning experience. Forming friendships with domestic students was difficult and rare for these students: none made friends with local students or joined university groups. Despite the challenges they experienced, the participants were motivated and adaptive to a new culture and learning methods, and all, demonstrated academic success. This study provides new knowledge about the learning experiences of Chinese nursing students at Australian universities. Many of the issues identified relate to the wider discussion around effective support for international students

Nursing education in China: Meeting the global demand for quality healthcare

With a predicted global nursing shortage, ensuring the provision of quality healthcare has become a pressing concern. In China, these concerns include the need to produce nurses trained to a level to support advancing nursing practice and a healthcare system that supports the growth and retention of nurses in China. This paper argues that the standard of nursing education in China plays a crucial role in preparing graduates to meet the health demands of China\u27s growing population and the role that China can play into the future in the global progression of nursing. Collaboration between nursing authorities, educators, and legislators is required to support the progression of nursing worldwide

Nursing in a different world: Remote area nursing as a specialist–generalist practice area

Objective Remote area nurses provide primary health care services to isolated communities across Australia. They manage acute health issues, chronic illness, health promotion and emergency responses. This article discusses why their generalist scope of practice should be formally recognised as a specialist nursing practice area. Design Constructivist grounded theory, using telephone interviews (n = 24) with registered nurses and nurse practitioners. Setting Primary health care clinics, in communities of 150–1500 residents across Australia. Participants A total of 24 nurses participated in this study. Results Nurses\u27 perceived their clinical knowledge and skill as insufficient for the advanced, generalist, scope of practice in the remote context, especially when working alone. Experience in other settings was inadequate preparation for working in remote areas. Knowledge and skill developed on the job, with formal learning, such as nurse practitioner studies, extending the individual nurse\u27s scope of practice to meet the expectations of the role, including health promotion. Conclusion Remote area nursing requires different knowledge and skills from those found in any other nursing practice setting. This study supports the claim that remote area nursing is a specialist–generalist role and presents a compelling case for further examination of the generalist education and support needs of these nurses. Combined with multidisciplinary collaboration, developing clinical knowledge and skill across the primary health care spectrum increased the availability of health resources and subsequently improved access to care for remote communities. Further research is required to articulate the contemporary scope of practice of remote area nurses to differentiate their role from that of nurse practitioners

Health inequalities between lone and couple mothers and policy under different welfare regimes – The example of Italy, Sweden and Britain

This study examines the welfare state arrangements and social policy, living conditions and health among lone and couple mothers in three contrasting policy environments: Italy, Sweden and Britain. These countries fall into distinctive family policy categories. Data were drawn from representative national household interview surveys. The findings highlight both similarities and differences. Lone mothers had significantly worse health than couple mothers in all three countries, were more likely to suffer material disadvantage and were much more likely to be smokers. They could be considered a disadvantaged group in particular need in all three countries, irrespective of the policy regime. It is the differences between countries, however, in the experiences of lone and couple mothers that indicate that the prevailing policy regime really does matter. There were telling differences in the prevalence of lone motherhood, their composition, rates of joblessness, poverty and health status of lone mothers in relation to couple mothers in each country. These may be traced back to the main policy regimes of each country, but also partly reflect culture and traditions. The study illustrates an emerging approach to investigating the health inequalities impact of complex social policy contexts. The experiences of lone mothers as a group may serve as a ‘litmus’ test of how each family policy system is operating and offer an early warning of adverse impacts when policies change

Better Guidance Is Welcome, but without Blinders

David Peters and Sara Bennett provide a critical perspective on a three-part series on health systems guidance that examines how evidence should be used to strengthen health systems and improve the delivery of global health interventions

The limits of instrumentalism: Informal work and gendered cycles of food insecurity in Mozambique

The instrumentalist literature suggests that women can help achieve household food security if they have access to productive resources but do not become overburdened as a result. This paper seeks to assess the relevance of this literature by exploring the gendered cycles of food insecurity in the context of women’s informal labour in northern Mozambique. It considers the relation between women and food security as embedded in the broader socio-economic setting, and finds that the interaction of different forms of deprivation, such as lack of secure employment and conflicting labour demands, generates food insecurity

Acceptability of Carraguard Vaginal Microbicide Gel among HIV-Infected Women in Chiang Rai, Thailand

Background: Few studies of microbicide acceptability among HIV-infected women have been done. We assessed CarraguardH vaginal gel acceptability among participants in a randomized, controlled, crossover safety trial in HIV-infected women in Thailand. Methodology/Principal Findings: Participants used each of 3 treatments (Carraguard gel, methylcellulose placebo gel, and no product) for 7 days, were randomized to one of six treatment sequences, and were blinded to the type of gel they received in the two gel-use periods. After both gel-use periods, acceptability was assessed by face-to-face interview. Responses were compared to those of women participating in two previous Carraguard safety studies at the same study site. Sixty women enrolled with a median age of 34 years; 25 % were sexually active. Self-reported adherence (98%) and overall satisfaction rating of the gels (87% liked ‘‘somewhat’ ’ or ‘‘very much’’) were high, and most (77%) considered the volume of gel ‘‘just right.’ ’ For most characteristics, crossover trial participants evaluated the gels more favorably than women in the other two trials, but there were few differences in the desired characteristics of a hypothetical microbicide. Almost half (48%) of crossover trial participants noticed a difference between Carraguard and placebo gels; 33 % preferred Carraguard while 12 % preferred placebo (p=0.01). Conclusions/Significance: Daily Carraguard vaginal gel use was highly acceptable in this population of HIV-infecte

Using stated preference methods to assess environmental impacts of forest biomass power plants in Portugal

As a renewable energy source, the use of forest biomass for electricity generation is advantageous in comparison with fossil fuels, however the activity of forest biomass power plants causes adverse impacts, affecting particularly neighbouring communities. The main objective of this study is to estimate the effects of the activity of forest biomass power plants on the welfare of two groups of stakeholders, namely local residents and the general population and we apply two stated preference methods: contingent valuation and discrete choice experiments, respectively. The former method was applied to estimate the minimum compensation residents of neighbouring communities of two forest biomass power plants in Portugal would be willing to accept. The latter method was applied among the general population to estimate their willingness to pay to avoid specific environmental impacts. The results show that the presence of the selected facilities affects individuals’ well-being. On the other hand, in the discrete choice experiments conducted among the general population all impacts considered were significant determinants of respondents’ welfare levels. The results of this study stress the importance of performing an equity analysis of the welfare effects on different groups of stakeholders from the installation of forest biomass power plants, as their effects on welfare are location and impact specific. Policy makers should take into account the views of all stakeholders either directly or indirectly involved when deciding crucial issues regarding the sitting of new forest biomass power plants, in order to achieve an efficient and equitable outcome

Does non-employment contribute to the health disadvantage among lone mothers in Britain, Italy and Sweden? Synergy effects and the meaning of family policy.

This study analyses self-rated health and non-employment and potential synergy effects among lone and couple mothers aged 25–59 in Britain, Sweden and Italy, representing different family policy categories using data from national surveys (2000–2005). Synergy effects on health were calculated by synergy index. Non-employment only marginally contributed to the excess risk of poor health among lone mothers but there were synergy effects between lone motherhood and non-employment in all three countries, producing a higher risk of poor health than would be expected from a simple addition of these exposures. Results are discussed in relation to the different family policy and living contexts

Standalone vertex finding in the ATLAS muon spectrometer

A dedicated reconstruction algorithm to find decay vertices in the ATLAS muon spectrometer is presented. The algorithm searches the region just upstream of or inside the muon spectrometer volume for multi-particle vertices that originate from the decay of particles with long decay paths. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using both a sample of simulated Higgs boson events, in which the Higgs boson decays to long-lived neutral particles that in turn decay to bbar b final states, and pp collision data at √s = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2011