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Theory-practice gaps, factors and strategies in community nursing: A Knowledge-to-Action framework-guided qualitative
Qiuping Tang1, Yanxia Guo2, Ruiyu Huang3
1School of Nursing, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.
Background:
The theory to practice gap (TPG) is a significant challenge in undergraduate community nursing education. Although TPG has been extensively studied in nursing education, research specifically examining these gaps in community nursing remains limited.
Objective:
The aim of this study is to explore the manifestations, contributing factors, and bridging strategies of the TPG in community nursing education from undergraduate nursing interns' perspectives.
Design:
A qualitative study guided by the knowledge-to-action (KTA) framework.
Setting:
This study was conducted at a medical university in China.
Participants:
Fifteen undergraduate nursing interns (12 females, 3 males) who had completed their 2-3-week community practicum were recruited using purposive sampling.
Methods:
Data were collected through face-to-face in-depth interviews conducted from October to December 2024. All interviews were audio-recorded and analyzed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis method.
Results:
The analysis identified three core themes: (1) gaps, manifesting in individual competencies, pedagogical aspects, and healthcare system; (2) factors, including individual aspects, environmental aspects, and systemic issues; (3) strategies, focusing on enhancing talent development, adjusting teaching plans, and building collaborative mechanisms. Notably, a majority of the respondents believe that adjusting the ratio of theoretical and practical courses, enhancing students' hands-on learning, and strengthening school-community collaborative education can quickly narrow the gap.
Conclusion:
This study found that the TPG in community nursing involves three dimensions including individual, environmental, and healthcare system, primarily influenced by factors such as the disconnect between theoretical and practical curricula, uneven teaching quality, and insufficient support from community institutions. It is recommended to increase the arrangement of practical courses in the curriculum design process and implement corresponding synchronization, and to improve educational quality through regular exchanges between teachers from both schools and communities.
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