The IFNA Research Committee established an IFNA International Research Cluster that is engaging doctoral nursing students in a study that includes academic and practice partners from 10 countries. Mentoring is provided by a team of family nursing researchers who are IFNA members including Dr. Sandra Eggenberger (USA), Dr. Petra Brysiewicz (South Africa), and Dr. Rahel Naef (Switzerland).
The title of the study is Nurses’ Descriptions and Practices of Family Engagement in Intensive Care Settings: An International, Multisite Qualitative-Descriptive Study. The objective of this multi-site engagement is to discern nurses’ descriptions and practices of family engagement in the adult intensive care units (ICUs) from a global perspective. Aims of the study include describing family engagement practices and identifying nurses’ perceptions of facilitators and barriers to family engagement within a number of international settings. Study team members around the world are making substantial progress and all sites have proposals under review for ethics approval.
A unique feature of this collaboration is that several doctoral students are participating in the study through partnerships with cluster team members; they will collect data and perform other research support roles. One US-based student is serving as a key member of the research team. Tara M. Tehan is a PhD student at University of Massachusetts Medical School Graduate School of Nursing. Tara’s advisor is IFNA member Dr. Susan Sullivan-Bolyai. Tara’s work with the IFNA International Research Cluster is aligned with her dissertation research focused on patient and family centered care in the intensive care unit. She submitted her proposal for approval and will collect data at her study site in Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Tara has expressed her gratitude for this exceptional research opportunity with the IFNA International Research Cluster, for the valuable research experience she has gained, and for the opportunity to meet other nurses committed to family nursing.
For more information about this IFNA International Research Cluster, contact IFNA member Sandra Eggenberger.
Sandra K. Eggenberger, PhD, RN, is a professor in the School of Nursing and Director of the Glen Taylor Nursing Institute for Family and Society at Minnesota State University, Mankato, USA. Her research is focused on developing and testing family interventions during illness experiences and translational science with nurses practicing in the critical care setting. Sandra serves as a member of the IFNA Research Committee and is currently serving as Secretary (2014-2020) on the IFNA Board of Directors.
