Participatory action research: practical strategies for actively engaging and maintaining participation in immigrant and refugee communities.

In this research we examined the processes involved in implementing and maintaining a participatory action research (PAR) project by uncovering how theoretical PAR tenets hold up in the reality of a community-based project addressing immigrants' and refugees' mental health needs. Qualitative data from focus groups with these newcomers were analyzed for thematic content. Findings reveal that active participation is seen as the gateway into a PAR project, whereas knowledge attainment and empowerment are the stimuli for continued participation.

Challenges and approaches to newcomer health research.

Newcomers include immigrants, refugees, or asylum seekers. Approaches to research in newcomer populations include consideration of the insider-outsider status of the researcher(s), sample selection and recruitment strategies, and attention to language barriers. Potential research participants need to be identified, approached, and made to feel safe before, during, and after participation in research.

International dimensions of higher education in nursing in Canada: tapping the wisdom of the 20th century while embracing possibilities for the 21st century.

New focus on the internationalization of universities occurred in the late 20th century and higher education in nursing has been quick to embrace the opportunities. In this manuscript, writers provide a brief overview of the nursing and more general literature from the late 20th century relating to key dimensions of internationalization, as well as present data from a survey conducted in 1995-96 of the international activities and dimensions at Canadian faculties/schools of nursing. While it is clear that nurses in Canadian universities were engaged in significant international endeavours in the 20th century, the literature and our experience suggest that the extent of such activity has increased substantially in recent years.

"You need to know where we're coming from": Canadian Aboriginal women's perspectives on culturally appropriate HIV counseling and testing.

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to determine Canadian Aboriginal women's perspectives on culturally appropriate HIV counseling and testing. Data were collected through semistructured individual interviews with 7 Aboriginal women, and one focus group, in a western Canadian city. Four major categories were elucidated through thematic content analysis: Aboriginal women's life experiences that may influence their risk of HIV infection and their response to testing; barriers to HIV testing; guiding principles of the ideal HIV testing situation; and characteristics of culturally appropriate HIV testing.

Establishing methodological rigour in international qualitative nursing research: a case study from Ghana.

Background: Attention to rigour, from the identification of the problem to the dissemination of the findings, is essential in all qualitative research. In this paper, research carried out in Ghana in 1999 is used to highlight methodological issues in relation to rigour in international qualitative nursing research.

Aim: The purpose of this paper is to review the literature in relation to rigour in qualitative research, highlight the methodological decisions enhancing rigour during this research project, and describe the criteria used to assess rigour during the research process.

Ethical decision making in international nursing research.

Researchers in international settings must continually examine cross-cultural ethical issues to ensure that their work is ethically sound. In this article, the authors discuss the process of ethical decision making in international nursing research. They draw on research in Ghana during 1999 involving HIV seropositive women to document this process.