Daniela A. Collins

Introduction and aim. Nursing doctoral research is vital for advancing the field, improving patient care, and addressing complex healthcare challenges. It contributes to evidence-based practices, innovative interventions, and the development of skilled nurse researchers and leaders, shaping the future of healthcare through enhanced knowledge and informed policy decisions. This scoping review aims to map the landscape of PhD dissertations in the nursing domain. Inclusion criteria: This scoping review will consider doctoral studies in nursing domain published in Dutch, English, Finnish, Hebrew, Portuguese, Polish, Slovak, Swedish, published between 2020–2023. Material and methods. The search strategy was to find published literature in the following electronic databases: CINHAL, PubMed, SCOPUS, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection, and ERIC. Additionally, national repositories of several countries was explored, and contact established with universities represented by the members of this research team. The screening process entailed two steps carried out by two independent reviewers: firstly, screening by title and abstract and secondarily by full text. Data describes the literature according to the review research questions that were defined following the PPC mnemonic. Data will be presented graphically when possible and accompanied by a narrative that describes the Ph.D. dissertation characteristics. Conclusion. Identifying areas of research in nursing contributes to the development of nursing as a science.

Objective: The well documented demographic shift to an aging population means that more people will in future be in need of long term residential care. Previous research has reported an increased risk of mental health issues and suicidal ideation among older people living in residential care settings. However, there is little information on the actual prevalence of depression, self-harm, and suicidal behavior in this population, how it is measured and how care homes respond to these issues. Method: This systematic review of international literature addressed three research questions relating to; the prevalence of mental health problems in this population; how they are identified and; how care homes try to prevent or respond to mental health issues. Results: Findings showed higher reported rates of depression and suicidal behavior in care home residents compared to matched age groups in the community, variation in the use of standardised measures across studies and, interventions almost exclusively focused on increasing staff knowledge about mental health but with an absence of involvement of older people themselves in these programmes. Conclusion: We discuss the implications of these findings in the context of addressing mental health difficulties experienced by older people in residential care and future research in this area.

‘Service Development and Quality Improvement’ is a professional development module within an interprofessional leadership program accessed by health and social care professionals. It focuses on acquiring skills and knowledge in quality enhancement, quality improvement and service user and patient involvement essential to transforming services. Emphasis is on the co-production of service improvement and enhancing skills in using information technology and different media supported by a virtual and blended learning environment. This Ideas in Action digital storytelling case study useda virtual learning activity supported by a combination of multimedia, discussion boards, group work and structured activities to engage students in peer support. Aspects of the digital storytelling process provide a useful distance learning tool for engaging different professionals in identifying common issues in improving services. Our reflective account of the process by drawing on both tutor and students own commentary on the potential of digital storytelling. Learning digital storytelling within a collaborative virtual learning environment gave rise to three key observable outcomes: a leveling effect in interprofessional collaboration; enhancing curiosity as a vehicle for enriching interprofessional exchange; and emphasizing service users and patient perspective in service improvements.

Purpose: – This paper is about a single case study of a three-year BSc Mental Health Nursing degree programme based at a London University. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the extent to which the programme sufficiently addresses the ten quality criteria developed by the “PROMISE” (2009) Mental Health Promotion Project. PROMISE (2009) is a European public health project funded by the European Commission and was conducted from 2009 to 2012. Its aim was the European-wide development of criteria and training guidelines in mental health promotion and recommended these should be integrated into the professional training curricula of nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. Design/methodology/approach: – A content analysis method (Bryman, 2012) was used for this case study. This method allowed for a line-by-line scrutiny of the contents of the curriculum for evidence of the ten PROMISE quality criteria for mental health promotion (PROMISE project; http://promise-mental-health.com/training-guidelines.html). Findings: – The findings revealed that the PROMISE (2009) project was not one of the four key documents stated as forming the basis for the design of the curriculum content. However, the study found evidence of the curriculum addressing the first PROMISE criterion of embracing the principles of mental health promotion in seven of the 14 modules (50 per cent) in the programme. In the first year of the programme five of the ten PROMISE quality criteria were embedded in two of the four modules. In year 2, quality criteria 1, 4 and 7 were addressed in the course content of four of the five modules (see Table I). In the final year of the programme PROMISE quality criteria 1, 2, 4 and 8 were embedded in the syllabus and assessment strategy in two out of the five final year modules. It was also found that quality criteria 2 and 9 were not included in any of the modules in the programme. Research limitations/implications: – This is a case study based on the content analysis of a single curriculum document in a London University. It is therefore not possible to make wide generalisation of its findings across the countries involved in the EU Promise project. However, it could be argued that it is possible to find a number of the key findings present in other UK University programmes that may be similar in structure to that selected for this study. The other limitation to this content analysis is that the evaluation process did not include accounts of the students’ experience on the programme. This could have contributed significantly to the outcome of the evaluation exercise. Although the methodology used is simple, practical and relatively sound, it is not necessarily rigorous in terms of quantitative research methodology but arguably an acceptable contribution to the spectrum within qualitative research paradigm. Practical implications: – The emergence of the “PROMISE” criteria especially on a European-wide basis puts emphasis on the importance of mental health promotion in the training of health care professionals. This is expected to be achieved by the training institutions in the European Union. In the UK, this notion is well embraced in various health policy documents (e.g. “No Health Without Mental Health” DH 2011). In the case of the programme examined at one London University, work is required to ensure that a pervasive incorporation of mental health promotion strategies in the curriculum in order to help the students to become better equipped to understand and effectively apply the mental health promotion criteria in their work upon qualification. Originality/value: – This is one of the first papers to address the “PROMISE” project and the issue of incorporating mental health promotion criteria in a pre-registration mental health pathway training programme in a university in the UK.

Purpose: – This paper outlines the concept of service user leadership and both describes and reflects on an accredited training programme that enables mental health service users to take a leadership role. Design/methodology/approach: – The authors argue for a service user leadership approach and the training programme is reviewed by previous participants Findings: – Service users can take on a leadership role if they are given suitable and relevant training and development opportunities. Service user led training can be transformational. Practical implications: – Commissioners of mental health services should consider how to support service user leadership programmes, which can reach places and achieve outcomes that traditional mental health services are unable to attain. Originality/value: – The concept of service user leadership is relatively new and the training programme described in this paper is both original and highly valued by participants with many significant outcomes.