Theoretical foundation in Norwegian nursing education

Project 1) Bachelor program in nursing
Principal investigator: Gabriele Kitzmüller

Project members: Monica Kvande, Anne Clancy og Tone Glad

Background : In the last years major changes in nursing education have taken place according to the introduction of new guidelines, the fusions of many smaller institutions with universities with multi-campus models and common curricula. Several researchers have raised concerns about whether bachelor education in nursing is losing an independent scientific foundation. The purpose of this study is to investigate which theoretical basis bachelor programs in nursing are using to develop nurses' professional identity and how this is reflected in teaching methods and in the curriculum literature. The project is recommended by NSD.  The study is in progress. Four focus groups have been held with experienced teaching staff at four universities in Norway. The interviews have been transcribed and we have started the analysis in line with Braun & Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis method. 

Project 2) Master program in Public Health Nursing

Principal investigator: Hilde Laholt

Project members: Anne Clancy, Lise-Marie Bergvoll and Sunniva Fjelldal
The reachers Laholt, Clancy. Bergvoll and Fjelldal carried out a comparitive study of Public health Nursing education in Ireland and Norway  which resulted in the following publication:

Mulcahy, H., Leahy‐Warren, P., Laholt, H., Philpott, L. F., Bergvoll, L. M., & Clancy, A. (2022). Public health nursing education in Ireland and Norway: A comparative analysis. Public Health Nursing, 39(1), 279-285.

This research paved the way for a follow up study on content in the reading lists of all public health nursing programs in Norway. The research resulted in the following publication: 

Laholt, H., Bergvoll, L. M., Fjelldal, S. S., & Clancy, A. (2022). An analysis of Norwegian public health nursing curricula: Where is the nursing literature?. Public Health Nursing, 39(1), 251-261.

Following the study on reading lists the researchers then examined closer the use of nursing theories and their level of abstraction.

Laholt, H. & Clancy, A. (2024). Nursing focus in Norwegian public health nursing education - an analysis of curriculum content and level of abstraction. Klinisk Sygepleje. pp 3-16. 

No funding