FORCES PERCEIVED TO INFLUENCE IMPLEMENTATION OF CURRICULAR CHANGES FOR PRIMARY HEALTH CARE IN BASIC NURSING EDUCATION IN THAILAND.
Contributors: Indiana University School of Nursing.
Published: 1988
Number of pages: 260
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Education, Curriculum and Instruction.; Education, Health.
Description: As primary health care (PHC) has gained global acceptance as a solution to demands for essential health care, nurses have struggled to implement changes in nursing education. The purpose of this investigation was to gain understanding of the forces influencing such a change from the perspective of those involved.

Thailand was selected as the country in which to study change. Two questions were asked: What are the forces facilitating and what are the forces restraining curriculum change for primary health care in basic nursing education in Thailand as perceived by those involved in the change? A naturalistic approach guided the study. During a 5 month period data were collected through interviews, observations. and documents from administrators, faculty, students in the Colleges of Nursing of the Ministry of Public Health; public officials; and health care personnel. Two tools were developed from interviews to validate the data. Preliminary data analyses were conducted concurrently with data collection. During detailed analysis, findings were organized with respect to the research questions. The forces facilitating change were differentiated as driving and supporting forces. The driving forces which initiated the change, were a national policy for PHC and a "felt need" to change. Five forces supporting the change once it was started were: faculty preparation, administrative support, cooperation among faculty, improvement in students, and support of health care personnel. Three restraining forces were: anxiety/discomfort, lack of resources, and difficulty in the teaching of appropriate attitudes.

The desire for security was central to all restraining forces. All forces impacting the curriculum change were a function of the Thai cultural context which was characterized by concepts of power and security. Conclusions drawn from the findings have implications for nurse educators, policy makers and researchers: (1) The forces which impact change were functions of the cultural context in which they occur and (2) a research methodology including participant observation is essential for identifying cultural nuances influencing change.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-08, Section: B, page: 3105.

Thesis (D.N.S.)--INDIANA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING, 1988.

School code: 0815.