Comox Valley Nursing Centre: from collaboration to empowerment

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice
• Health Services Research
• Primary Health Care

Background:

• The Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia (RNABC) initiated a two-year demonstration project.
• The project aimed to showcase innovative nursing in a primary health care setting.
• Funding was provided by the Ministry of Health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate innovative nursing practice in primary health care.
• To inform provincial health care planning, nursing scope of practice, and policy development.
• To examine the actualization and impact of collaboration principles.

Main Methods:

• A collaborative effort between RNABC, nurses, and community residents.
• External evaluation using participatory action research and case studies.
• Concept analysis of collaboration by Henneman, Lee, and Cohen (1995).

Main Results:

• An innovative, collaborative nursing practice was developed and sustained.
• Collaboration principles were actualized or suppressed in practice.
• The impact of collaboration on nurse, client, and community empowerment was examined.

Conclusions:

• Collaboration positively impacted empowerment for nurses, clients, and the community.
• Reciprocal relationships between collaboration and empowerment were identified.
• Findings offer insights into collaborative practice's contribution to health care delivery.