Journal of Research in Nursing

It has been argued that whilst globalisation brings with it significant challenges, it also provides an opportunity for unifying health care activity and that of related research practices across international boundaries. Internationalisation, often confused with globalisation, is a process that can lead to a more extensive pattern of activity and collaboration. International research collaboration in health care has intensified and is frequently regarded as an indicator of quality and a way in which to develop and disseminate scientific knowledge to newly developing countries. There is however little substantive information for researchers new to the global research network on how best to manage the challenges posed by international collaboration, nor ways in which to measure the effectiveness of the same. In this paper we begin by examining the importance of international research collaboration before outlining some of the challenges of global information management. Drawing upon our own experience of jointly funded research initiatives and transnational working, alongside the available literature, we signpost some of the possible processes, practicalities and problems encountered when attempting to establish common ground.

The purpose of this paper is to present a framework for dialogue for university-based nursing programmes that are planning and developing international research programmes. Future trends will continue to drive the need for international research due to the globalisation of healthcare issues. Nursing, as one of the main providers of healthcare services, can play a larger role in improving healthcare globally, by leading the way in international collaborative research. A definition of international nursing research is offered, as well as a framework consisting of three broad issues for discussing international work. The three foci of the framework are (a) international nursing research priorities, (b) rewards of international nursing collaborations and (c) challenges of these collaborations. Examples of international collaborative nursing research experiences with nurses in Haiti, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom are examined, along with lessons learned

The care of frail older people and their family carers present significant challenges for welfare systems throughout the world. In order to address their needs, policy initiatives are promoting partnership working between service users, family carers and providers, whereby the former are increasingly involved in the design and evaluation of services. However, participatory models of working raise fundamental issues about power relations and pose important questions about what constitutes ‘evidence’. Several authors identify tensions between movements such as evidence-based practice and initiatives designed to increase the active participation of service users suggesting that there is a need for a new approach to research that reconciles potentially conflicting goals. This paper describes the evolution of a model of participatory research resulting from a collaboration between Sweden and the United Kingdom, which actively involved older people, family carers, service providers and voluntary organisations. The model is underpinned by constructivist principles that have been adapted by the authors so as to be more intellectually accessible to a non-academic audience. The conceptual basis for the model is described and a case study illustrates how it is applied in practice. It is argued that the approach could be adopted widely as a means of more fully engaging older people, their families and a range of service providers in important debates about future health and social care provision

Global collaboration to address issues in nursing is essential in the twenty-first century. Given the importance of doctoral education in the development of nursing as a discipline, understanding mentoring in doctoral education is significant. The International Network for Doctoral Education in Nursing appointed a taskforce to define and describe the complex process of mentoring and to develop a position paper on mentoring in doctoral education. This paper describes this collaborative global project with the following aims: 1) to develop an international consensus paper on the complex process of mentoring to improve doctoral education worldwide and 2) to explicate activities that can enhance collaboration globally. Effective collaborative activities include the taskforce and the conference work, as well as the survey data collection. Collaborative activities were distributed across global regions. Multiple strategies of communication were used; however, face-to-face appears to be key. A high level of agreement was noted on the qualifications, responsibilities and expectations of a mentor. Some differences were found between countries in the area of a mentor’s role in accessing resources for students. Concluding recommendations are made for additional strategies to enhance the global participation in the final stages of the project and to assure that differences among countries are put into perspective

In 1918, New Zealand was a relatively young country, and from a population that barely exceeded one million, 16,688 of its citizens had died during the 1914-1918 war. As influenza swept through the land in November and December of 1918, a further 8,500 lives were lost. It is estimated that the lethal second wave of the epidemic appeared in New Zealand in October, when hundreds of battle-fatigued nurses and doctors, as well as injured soldiers, were returning home on troopships. Nurses, as front-line caregivers, were some of the first health workers to be exposed to the virulent strain of the virus, and as they succumbed to the infection, hospitals became arenas of pandemonium. Although New Zealand was the first country in the world to introduce registration of its nurses, the profession was still in its infancy. Nurse training was based more on moral order and subservience than theoretical or technical competence, and this left little room for innovation in nursing care or ward management. Voluntary workers endeavoured to alleviate the stress, both in the hospitals and the cities, and the situation in Dunedin mirrored the disarray sustained throughout the remainder of the country. The epidemic was a disaster for nurses, and an awareness of a chapter from the past that challenged nursing knowledge and capabilities is a lesson in the obduracy of infectious disease