Exploring the Experiences, Challenges, and Approaches of Parish Nurses in Their Community Practice

Challenges of Faith Community Nursing in a Midwestern Healthcare System

ABSTRACT

Faith community nurses are positioned to play a vital role in addressing whole person health in multiple settings. A steady decline of nurses completing faith community nurse (FCN) training in a midwestern healthcare system sparked the system's hospital leadership to re-evaluate the FCN training and outreach program. To inform future education programs, an online needs assessment survey was deployed to FCNs. Focus groups were used to understand the FCNs' experiences in their role. The findings highlight a need for comprehensive educational programs, support networks, and funding mechanisms to support faith community nursing practice.

Faith Community Nursing: Impacting Community-Based Care

ABSTRACT

Faith community nurses (FCNs) are well positioned to serve individuals needing community-based healthcare within local healthcare systems, large church denominations, or through the support and resources of nonprofit faith community nursing organizations. This article briefly outlines development of the specialty of faith community nursing and proposes areas of research needed to grow the impact of this nursing specialty. Examples of FCNs working in and collaborating with healthcare systems, educational institutions, and congregations illustrate the value and diversity of FCN services for impacting community-based care. An exhaustive list of national, denominational, and regional organizations supporting FCN practice is included.

What Are the Characteristics of the Parish Nursing Research Literature and How Can it Inform Parish Nurse Practice and Research in Canada? A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Parish nursing is a specialized branch of professional nursing that promotes health and healing by integrating body, mind and spirit as a practice model. Parish nurses contribute to the Canadian nursing workforce by promoting individual and community health and acting as system navigators. Research related to parish nursing practice has not been systematically collated and evaluated.

PURPOSE

This review seeks to explore, critically appraise and synthesize the parish nurse (PN) research literature for its breadth and gaps, and to provide recommendations for PN practice and research.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted using Levac and colleagues' procedures and Arksey and O'Malley's enhanced framework. The CINAHL, ProQuest and PubMed databases were comprehensively searched for original research published between 2008 and 2020. The final sample includes 43 articles. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to critically assess literature quality.

RESULTS

There is a significant gap in PN research from Canada and non-U.S. countries. Methodological quality is varied with weak overall reporting. The literature is categorized under three thematic areas: (1) practice roles of the PN, (2) role implementation, and (3) program evaluation research. Research that evaluates health promotion program interventions is prominent.

CONCLUSIONS

More rigorous research methods and the use of reporting checklists are needed to support evidence-informed parish nursing practice. Building relationships among parish nurses, nursing researchers and universities could advance parish nursing research and improve evidence-based parish nursing practice. Research into the cost effectiveness, healthcare outcomes, and the economic value of PN practice is needed.

What Are the Perceptions and Experiences of Care Delivery Among Faith Community Nurses? A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVE

This systematic review set out to identify the unique perceptions and experiences of care delivery among faith community nurses (FCNs).

DATA SOURCES

This review was conducted and has been reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The search was conducted using the following databases, Medline (OVID), EmCare for Nurses (OVID), PsycINFO (OVID), CINAHL (EBSCO), Cochrane, and PubMed. The search strategies included the use of truncations, adjacency search parameters, and Boolean operators using a range of key search terms. Predetermined eligibility criteria were applied to all studies. The review process was managed using Covidence systematic review software. Data extraction and quality assessment was conducted across all included studies. Data were analyzed using a narrative synthesis approach.

CONCLUSION

This review has made an important contribution by identifying the role that FCNs play in care delivery as trusted members of their communities who act as a conduit at the intersect of faith and health care. Irrespective of the location or faith denomination, what was common to FCNs was that they delivered care to address the physical, psychological, spiritual, congregational, communication, health system, and family-related needs of those in their care.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

The nurses represented in the included studies expressed concerns that patients experienced unmet supportive care needs because of a fragmented and highly complex existing health care system. Often, FCNs provided a valuable contribution in supporting patients in their care pathways and facilitated continuity of care among people who lived with preexisting comorbidities and who had complex health care needs. Further research is needed to understand the role that faith community nursing models might have in cancer care from the perspective of patients and other members of the multidisciplinary team across different international contexts.