Study abroad experiences offer nursing students the opportunity to develop cultural competence and sensitivity while providing care within the context of a different culture. Debriefing is a strategy that engages students in conversation and active reflection to process emotions, examine personal values, and synthesize knowledge gained from active learning experiences. While debriefing can enhance learning outcomes in study abroad programs, there is currently a paucity of literature that explores its use within the context of study abroad. In this article, we describe a structured debriefing approach we use in an international community health clinical experience. We conclude with a discussion of the lessons we have learned to improve the effectiveness of our debriefing sessions and recommendations for future research.
Objective: Each year, humanitarian groups provide health education programmes and interventions to underserved communities in Nicaragua. The purpose of this study was to identify the health education needs of a small community in rural Nicaragua to inform health education programming. Design: Mixed methods approach that used a quantitative survey and a qualitative questionnaire to determine health education priorities. Setting: Rural community in the Jinotega region of northern Nicaragua. Methods: The quantitative survey was completed by 125 participants to gauge the importance of specific health topics, while 49 of those participants also completed a qualitative questionnaire that solicited information about participants’ current health knowledge, beliefs and practices. Results: Quantitative results showed that participants ranked the prevention of respiratory illness as their highest education need, while exercise was their lowest priority. Smoking cessation and reducing alcohol use were viewed as significantly higher priorities by men than by women. Qualitative findings revealed five major themes related to reproductive health, respiratory health, nutrition, stress and exercise. Within each theme, participants demonstrated knowledge of health promoting behaviours; however, barriers to adopting healthy behaviours were also evident. For example, some female participants expressed feelings of powerlessness in sexual relationships despite knowledge of how sexually transmitted infections could be prevented. Participants also identified the importance of nutrition but described poor access to healthy foods. Conclusion: Findings from this study provided information to develop future health education programmes that build upon the community’s strengths while addressing the health topics most important to residents.
Introduction: Short-term experiences in global health (STEGH) provide nursing students with opportunities to develop global health competencies through immersion in another culture. Skills that students obtain by participating in STEGHs can inform future practice with diverse patient populations. However, educators encounter unique challenges to the quality and sustainability of STEGHs. Methods: This article describes an academic partnership between a baccalaureate nursing program and a community-based international nongovernmental organization (INGO), how the partnership informed development of STEGH for nursing students, the benefits of the program for students and community, and the lessons learned through the process. Results: Academic–INGO partnerships provide unique benefits for creating sustainable, rigorous STEGHs that are informed and guided by the needs of the hosting community. Discussion: By partnering with community-based INGOs, faculty can design STEGHs that offer robust learning opportunities that facilitate the development of global health competencies while providing thoughtful, sustainable outreach for communities.
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