Undergraduate nurses’ experience of the family health assessment as a learning opportunity

The practice of community health nursing (CHN) may enhance the life experiences of families and communities, particularly amongst the poor and socially marginalised. CHN provides for a deeper understanding of the health status of families living within communities, for example, where and how they live, their cultural context and their ability to identify resources available to assist with their health care (Allender, Rector & Warner 2010:17).This qualitative phenomenological study reflects on the self-reported lived experiences of undergraduate CHN students at the University of the Western Cape in the City of Cape Town, South Africa. These students conducted a family health assessment (FHA) learning task at the homes of families within communities.Purposive and convenience sampling was used by students who had conducted an FHA. Fourteen students agreed to participate in the study, of whom nine were interviewed, two withdrew and the remaining three were not interviewed since no new data were emerging during interviews, indicating that saturation had been reached.During in-depth interviews with seven female and two male students, data for the exploration of the lived experiences was gathered through the following question: ‘How did you experience the FHA?’ Field notes were taken and used to capture non-verbal communication of participants. The focus of the study was to explore the lived experiences of students and not those of the family on whom the FHA was completed.Data collected were categorised into themes, guided by the systematic data analysis process of Tesch (1990) cited in Cresswell (2003:192). Four themes emerged: challenges of family selection, challenges of safety, socio-cultural challenges and academic challenges experienced by the participants. This study will inform future research and curriculum planning for CHN education in a multifaceted context.OpsommingDie praktyk van gemeenskapsgesondheidverpleging (GGV) het die potentiaal om die lewenservaringe van families en gemeenskappe te verryk, veral in arm en voorheen benadeelde gemeenskappe. GGV verskaf ‘n dieper begrip met betrekking tot die welstand van families in hulle gemeenskappe, byvoorbeeld, waar en hoe hulle leef, hul kultuur en hulle vermoë om beskikbare hulpbronne te identifiseer om sodoende hulle gesondheid te bevorder (Allender, Rector & Warner 2010:17).Hierdie kwalitatiewe fenomonologiese studie is ʼn refleksie op die self-gerapporteerde persoonlike ervaringe van voorgraadse gemeenskapsgesondheidverpleging studente (VGVS) verbonde aan die Universiteit van Wes Kaapland, in Kaapstad, Suid-Afrika. Hierdie studente het as ʼn werksopdrag ʼn familie gesondheidsberaming (FGB) by wonings van gesinne in die gemeenskap voltooi.ʼn Gerieflikheids- en doelgerigte steekproefneming is gedoen met studente wat die FGB voltooi het. Veertien studente het ingestem om aan die studie deel te neem, waarvan daar onderhoude met nege gevoer is. Twee studente het onttrek en die oorblywende drie is nie genader nie weens die feit dat daar geen nuwe data na vore gekom het nie, wat daarop dui dat saturasie bereik was.Data vir die verkenning van persoonlike ervaringe is deur in-diepte onderhoude met sewe vroulike en twee manlike studente ingesamel deur die volgende vraag te vra: ‘Wat was jou ervaring met die voltooing van die FGB?’ Veldnotas was geneem om nie-verbale kommunikasie van die studente aan te teken. Die fokus van die studie was gerig om die persoonlike ervarings van die VGVS te verken met verwysing na die FGB wat hulle voltooi het. Die fokus was nie gerig op die ondervindinge van die familie op wie die FGB gedoen is nie.Die ingesamelde data is in temas gekategoriseer volgens die sistematiese data analitiese proses van Tesch (1990), soos omskryf in Cresswell (2003:192). Vier temas is geïdentifiseer naamlik: uitdagings ten opsigte van die keuring van ‘n geskikte familie: uitdagings ten opsigte van veiligheid, sosiokulturele uitdagings en akademiese uitdagings soos ervaar is deur die deelnemende studente. Die belangrikheid van die studie is om toekomstige navorsing en kurrikulumbeplanning in gemeenskapsgesondheidverpleging binne ‘n diverse konteks te bevorder.