Evidence to Support the Inclusion of Humanities Course Content in Undergraduate Nursing Education: A Systematic Review
Mary Beth Zeni
Ursuline College
Dr. Mary Beth Zeni is an Associate Professor at Ursuline College in Cleveland, Ohio. Since completing a research doctorate in 1993 from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, she has held research positions in private and public sectors including universities and also academic appointments. Previous research includes analyses of population-based datasets with a focus on access to care. While at Ursuline Dr. Zeni is also conducting archival research about a painting by the Victorian artist Jerry Barrett featuring Florence Nightingale with Reverend Mother Moore at Scutari. Today she is discussing a systematic review - and she has published previous reviews and research studies.
Abstract
Aim of Review Undergraduate nursing education in the United States is based upon the liberal arts, including humanities. While medical education has increased humanities content the past years, the inclusion of humanities in... [ view full abstract ]
Aim of Review
Undergraduate nursing education in the United States is based upon the liberal arts, including humanities. While medical education has increased humanities content the past years, the inclusion of humanities in nursing curricula can vary due to competing priorities. Some nurse educators prefer positivism and question the focus on and value of humanities. The aim of this review is based on the PICOT question: In undergraduate nursing students, how does receiving humanities course content in the nursing curriculum compared to not receiving the content affect student outcomes?
Search and Review Methodology
CINAHL, Cochrane, Dissertation Abstracts, MEDLINE, PsychInfo, and Joanna Briggs Institute databases were searched using the terms nursing, education, undergraduate, and humanities with 22 articles selected that met the following inclusion criteria: English language research studies published between 2006 – 2016 with reported student outcomes. Articles were appraised using the Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt framework for systematic reviews.
Findings
Hierarchy of evidence: None of the articles were systematic reviews (Level I) or randomized control trials (Level II); 2 articles were quasi-experimental (Level III), 2 were pre/post test design (Level III), and 18 were descriptive case studies or qualitative (Level IV). Over half (56%) of the Level IV articles were qualitative studies; the remaining 44% were descriptive case studies with emphasis on learning strategies to incorporate humanities content within a nursing course and included very general summaries from student course evaluations. Student outcomes varied across studies with a focus on improved critical thinking, empathy, caring, self-awareness, and valuing interprofessional teamwork. While the 22 articles contained detailed information about innovative learning strategies to include humanities content in the undergraduate nursing curriculum, only 18% reported the use of valid and reliable quantitative measurements of specific student outcomes.
Conclusions and Implications
The qualitative studies were valuable in describing the benefits students perceived from humanities content. Considering the inclusion of humanities content within nursing curricula has been studied since the 1990s, perhaps it is time to increase quantitative studies in nursing education research to systematically evaluate specific student outcomes. This presentation will discuss research approaches and outcome variables for consideration.
Authors
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Mary Beth Zeni
(Ursuline College)
Topic Area
Topics: Innovations in research methodology, education or clinical practice
Session
E1 » Education 1 (10:30 - Thursday, 10th November, Seminar Room 0.30)
Presentation Files
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