8.1.3 Methodological challenges of conducting cross-cultural nursing research: The example of a survey of nurses’ attitudes to mental illness (344)

Mary Chambers, Professor of Mental Health Nursing, Nursing, Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences, Kingston University and St George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom Co authors: Veslemøy Guise, Pekka Makkonen, Maritta Välimäki, Maria Botelho, Anne Scott, Vida Staniuliene & Renzo Zanotti mchamber@hscs.sgul.ac.uk

Abstract:

Cross-cultural research and international collaborative studies within nursing are increasingly valued as a means of improving both the knowledge and skills of nurses and the quality of care offered to service users. It is also acknowledged that cross-cultural studies can only be beneficial when the appropriate research instruments are used. Conducting quantitative cross-cultural research therefore often means contending with such thorny methodological issues as having to find culturally appropriate research tools, and the rigid instrument translation processes that usually follow. Frequently, these methodological challenges are compounded by limited time and resources. The rise in the use of web-based research tools such as e-surveys within nursing scholarship has introduced new and often complex methodological challenges. For example, issues related to sampling, access to technology, test environments, response rates, and ethical concerns such as privacy and confidentiality can all have real implications for the validity of research findings and are important considerations when conducting surveys via email or the internet. This presentation uses the example of a partly web-based cross-cultural survey into nurses’ attitudes to mental illness and people with mental health problems to illustrate some of these methodological challenges. The attitudes’ study was part of a multinational project investigating nurses’ educational needs connected to the management of distressed and disturbed service users on acute psychiatric inpatient units. 1243 nurses in six European countries were invited to participate in the study, which was overseen by research partners locally in each country. Partners used either a web-based questionnaire or a paper version of the same questionnaire, based on which data collection option was considered most methodologically appropriate to each. The presentation will detail the challenges encountered early on in the research process and how each was accommodated. Suggestions for how to contend with similar methodological problems in future research projects will be offered.

Biography:

Mary Chambers is Professor of Mental Health Nursing at St. George’s University of London and Kingston University and Director of the centre for Clinical Leadership and Interprofessional Practice at South West London and St. George’s Mental Health NHS Trust. Throughout her career she has held a number of clinical, academic and managerial positions including Chief Nurse at South West London and St. George’s, Professor of Mental Health Nursing at University or Ulster and Senior Research Fellow at Royal College of Nursing, Research Institute. Her area of clinical practice is cognitive behavioural psychotherapy and research interests are mental health nursing, user involvement and health care informatics. She is a member of a number of editorial boards and research review bodies nationally and internationally.