Mapping family nursing in undergraduate education at a national level: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Family is a vital unit of care and support, formed by interdependent individuals linked through biology, emotions, or social bonds. Its dynamics both shape and are shaped by members’ health, making it integral to nursing care. Nursing education should promote a positive attitude among nurses regarding the involvement of families in care. Knowing how family issues are valued in undergraduate nursing programmes is fundamental to consider family as a unit of care. Objectives: The aim is to identify and describe the integration of family nursing knowledge within undergraduate nursing education nationally. Design: Cross-sectional study. Participants: Eighteen undergraduate nursing programs. Methods: Phase I – National survey of undergraduate nursing programs (May–June 2020). Phase II – Content analysis of courses with a family approach (June 2020–January 2021). Results: The nursing programs revealed 256 courses that fulfilled the inclusion criteria, ranging from four to thirty-five courses per program. Seven categories were identified. Four of these were defined a priori, based on theoretical foundations: Theoretical Approach of Family, Individual and Family Health Experience, Skills for Family Care, and Approaches to Family Nursing. The remaining three categories emerged a posteriori from data analysis: Education Context, Nursing Process of Family, and Ethical and Deontological Issues. Conclusion: Family is taught in undergraduate nursing programs, mainly in clinical settings. The most frequent family approach depicted in the curriculum was family as context. The findings also point to a focus on different approaches to family nursing, including ‘family as a client’, ‘family as a system’, and ‘family as a component of society’, underlining the multidimensional nature of family nursing. Nursing education should emphasise the importance of exploring new strategies to teach family care, moving forward from a perspective of the family as a context to a perspective of the family as a client of care. Impact: Enhancing the learning process in undergraduate nursing education through a family-centred approach requires a deep understanding of existing Curricular Plans and the integration of pedagogical strategies that emphasise clinical practice. By focusing on both family and patient-centred care, this research aims to influence the development and refinement of educational policies that support comprehensive approaches to teaching both nursing care and the broader concept of care, emphasising a familycentred perspective.