No abstract

The demands of decision-making in nursing practice require nurses to make sound judgements in a complex and rapidly changing healthcare environment. Critical thinking (CT) is an essential component of the repertoire of skills nurses must develop to meet these changing demands. Findings from studies conducted in developed countries recommend further research to explore educational strategies to teach CT. Nursing education in Kenya is primarily delivered using traditional teacher-centred strategies. Although nursing programmes seek to develop CT skills in nursing graduates, research in Kenya has not yet provided evidence of the learning and application of CT skills in practice. Research that illustrates how CT is learned is essential for curriculum review enabling faculties to develop innovative student-centred teaching strategies. This study illuminates how nurses described CT and their preferred learning strategies for developing CT skills. A qualitative descriptive design was adopted with a purposive sample of seven diploma-bachelor graduates. Using an interview guide, the researchers conducted one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Content analysis was done to identify themes emerging from the data. Two themes emerged from the data: description of CT, and acquiring CT knowledge. The results of this study demonstrate that CT definition is highly discipline-specific and recommends student-centred strategies as more effective in developing CT skills. The findings indicate that nurses’ ability to engage in CT is promoted when nurse educators use learning strategies that actively engage students in the application of knowledge.

Breast and cervical cancer are among the leading causes of cancer-related deaths globally. In Kenya, delayed presentation and diagnosis contribute to breast and cervical cancer mortality. The Kenyan government acknowledges the cancer burden with estimated 39,000 new cases diagnosed and 27,000 deaths per annum. Mortality can be reduced if cancer is diagnosed early and with appropriate treatment. Health Literacy (HL) about cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment is important in reducing mortality, but there is little understanding about HL levels, experiences of patients diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer and the contexts in which they make decisions. In this study, health literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, communicate, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. This exploratory qualitative study investigated the HL experiences of accessing and using health information in women with any stage of breast or cervical cancer presenting at the Aga Khan University Hospital (private) or Kenyatta National Hospital (public) in Nairobi, Kenya. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews from a purposive sample of 18 women. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and the Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies guidelines guided data analysis. The findings may aid development of patient education tools and determine effective ways of communicating cancer-related health information to improve the knowledge and health-seeking behaviours of Kenyan women. This project identified sociocultural beliefs and factors that influence how women understand information provided by healthcare professionals. Themes that arose included but were not limited to: fear, despair and agony at diagnosis, faith, social support, side effects, cancer-related stigma and financial burden of cancer as a barrier to getting information.