Participatory action inquiry using baccalaureate nursing students: The inclusion of integrative health care modalities in nursing core curriculum
Limited EvidenceIn Plain Language
Nurses, nursing educators and students support the inclusion of integrative health care (IHC) into nursing core curriculum as a way to create nurses who deliver nursing care to the full extent of their scope of practice and advance evidenced based IHC. Because of the holistic nature of IHC modalities, research to investigate appropriate teaching strategies and potential efficacy of learning IHC in the baccalaureate core curriculum requires a holistic approach. Therefore a phenomenological exploration using participatory action inquiry was conducted at a large Midwestern university. Eighteen first year nursing students were selected as co-researchers. Their experiences in learning and delivering three 15 min IHC interventions (foot reflexology, lavender aromatherapy and mindful breathing) in an acute care setting were captured using reflexive journaling and participation in structured and organic communicative spaces. Of the patients approached, 67% accepted to receive one or more IHC modalities (147/219). Using van Manen's model for holistic data reduction three themes emerged: The experience of presence, competency and unexpected results. Learning IHC modalities is best supported by a self-reflective process that is constructed and modeled by a nurse faculty member with experience in delivering IHC modalities.
Key Findings: what this qualitative study found
- ✓Sixty-seven percent of patients in an acute care setting accepted to receive integrative health care interventions including foot reflexology, lavender aromatherapy, and mindful breathing.
- ✓First-year baccalaureate nursing students demonstrated support for learning and delivering integrative health care modalities as part of their core curriculum training.
- ✓Phenomenological exploration using participatory action inquiry with reflexive journaling proved to be an effective holistic research approach for investigating how nursing students learn and implement integrative health care interventions in clinical settings.
What This Means for You
While this study shows nursing students found reflexology helpful to learn and patients were willing to receive it, the evidence is preliminary and focuses on education rather than proving reflexology's effectiveness for health outcomes.
What This Means for Practitioners
Training reflexologists through reflective, experiential learning with experienced mentors may be more effective than classroom instruction alone, based on how nursing students successfully integrated the skill into clinical practice.
Study Design: how this qualitative study was run
Common questions about this study
What does this study mean in practice?
While this study shows nursing students found reflexology helpful to learn and patients were willing to receive it, the evidence is preliminary and focuses on education rather than proving reflexology's effectiveness for health outcomes.
What did this study find?
Sixty-seven percent of patients in an acute care setting accepted to receive integrative health care interventions including foot reflexology, lavender aromatherapy, and mindful breathing. First-year baccalaureate nursing students demonstrated support for learning and delivering integrative health care modalities as part of their core curriculum training. Phenomenological exploration using participatory action inquiry with reflexive journaling proved to be an effective holistic research approach for investigating how nursing students learn and implement integrative health care interventions in clinical settings.
How strong is this evidence?
This is a qualitative study and we rate its evidence limited. It covers 18 participants. It was published in Nurse education in practice. This study is indexed here for context; it did not test reflexology itself.
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