Effectiveness of Educational Programs for Clinical Competence in Family Nursing: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Evidence shows that applying family nursing theory to practice benefits the patient, the family, and nursing professionals, yet the implementation of family nursing in clinical practice settings is inconsistent and limited. One of the contributing factors may be related to insufficient or inadequate educational programs focused on family nursing. This article presents a systematic review of the research that has examined the effectiveness of family nursing educational programs aimed at promoting clinical competence in family nursing. Six databases were systematically searched and 14 studies met the inclusion criteria, generating three themes: general study characteristics, educational program components, and outcome measures. These educational programs reported effectiveness in developing family nursing knowledge, skills, and attitudes, but did not evaluate the nurses’ actual acquisition and implementation of family nursing clinical competencies. This review offers relevant implications for research and for family nursing education, especially when designing and evaluating future educational programs. Future research must more closely address the process and outcomes of best educational practices in family nursing education and how these are applied and evaluated in actual practice settings.

The Implementation of Evidence-Informed Family Nursing Practices: A Scoping Review of Strategies, Contextual Determinants, and Outcomes

“…We observed high variability in terms of type and number of implementation strategies, which is in line with a review focusing on the implementation of nursing guidelines ( Spoon et al, 2020 ). Educational strategies tend to be the most frequently used implementation strategy when attempting to integrate new knowledge of evidence-informed practices, but their effectiveness in achieving the desired changes remains unclear ( Gutiérrez-Alemán et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Nonetheless, our analysis showed that educational strategies alone may be insufficient to achieve uptake of evidence-informed family nursing practices. A recent review focusing on educational programs in family nursing that also included four of the studies included in our review found them to be effective in increasing nurse knowledge, attitudes, and skills in the short-term but was unable to assess whether they translated into clinical competence and application in practice ( Gutiérrez-Alemán et al, 2021 ). In our review, we also found increased nurse skills following educational implementation activities but not in relation to attitudes and knowledge.…”

Game2FamilyNursing: Study of a digital game to promote knowledge about family nursing

“…Evidence shows that applying family nursing theory to clinical practice benefits the patient, family, and nursing professionals (1)(2)(3)(4). However, the implementation of family nursing in clinical practice settings is still inconsistent and limited (1).…”

“…Evidence shows that applying family nursing theory to clinical practice benefits the patient, family, and nursing professionals (1)(2)(3)(4). However, the implementation of family nursing in clinical practice settings is still inconsistent and limited (1). Studies on nurses' attitudes towards families demonstrate the dichotomy between their discourses, which emphasize the importance of family-centered care, and actual clinical practices that remain focused on individuals (2,3,4).…”

“…Accordingly, nursing needs to accommodate both the individual and collective focus to meet the needs of their patients (6). Therefore, nurses require a structure that allows them to transition to a "Thinking family'' (4), as the difficulty in translating this knowledge into clinical practice is still visible (1,8).…”