DNP 840 Topic 5 Discussion Question One
DNP 840 Topic 5 Discussion Question One
What is the reasoning behind the need for doctorally prepared advanced practice nurses to be politically active? How is this accomplished? What ethical or other considerations must be taken into account as a nurse becomes politically active?
Many nursing scholars, professional nursing organizations, and other health-focused organizations, expect and encourage nurses to engage in socio-political activities. Yet, studies have shown that nurse participation in political activities remains low. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from 225 registered nurses in three hospitals and two nursing training schools in
DNP 840 Topic 5 Discussion Question One
Tamale, Ghana, using a structured questionnaire. Study findings suggested that nurses are generally very active in registering to vote, voting, and registering to be a member of a professional nursing organization; however, they often do not participate in other forms of political activities. The authors discuss their findings, and conclude that nurses may not participate in high intensity level political activities, but they do engage in low intensity actions, such as voting in elections.
Studies exploring the political behavior of nurses in Ghana are virtually non-existent. This article reports findings from a survey of registered nurses in three hospitals and two nursing training schools in Tamale, Ghana. The study aim was to determine the extent to which nurses in Ghana engage in political activities and to identify the demographic characteristics influencing nurses’ political participation.
Political participation was defined as nurses’ involvement in activities considered to be political in nature (Vandenhouten et al., 2011). These activities included voting; campaigning; attending rallies; volunteering; contacting elected officials; working with others on local problems or issues; and being a member of nursing or non-nursing organizations that take stands on political issues.
Methods
This descriptive, cross-sectional study design included a survey of nurses. This section will describe the study setting; population and sample; data collection instrument and procedure; data management and analysis; and ethical considerations.
Setting
The study was conducted in Tamale, which is officially called Tamale Metropolitan area and is the capital town of the Northern Region of Ghana. Tamale is Ghana’s fourth largest city with a population of 360,579 people (World Population Review, 2019); it is the fastest-growing city in West Africa (Abaneh, 2019). The town is located 600 kilometers north of Accra, the capital of Ghana.
Most residents of Tamale are Muslims, as reflected by the multitude of mosques in Tamale, and most notably, the Central Mosque. Tamale is located in the Northern region of Ghana, in the Kingdom of Dagbong. More than 80% of the inhabitants are Dagdombas. Other large groups of people living here include the Dagarbas, Mamprusis, and Akans. Due to its central location, Tamale serves as a hub for all administrative and commercial activities in the Northern region. It also is the political, economic and financial capital of the Northern region. Additionally, the city is host to three major hospitals and two educational facilities from which the study participants were drawn.
The city is characterized by high levels of political activities…The city is characterized by high levels of political activities, including television and radio discussions, rallies, mounting of billboards and party flags, and street carnivals, especially during electioneering campaigns. This generally high level of political participation among residents of Tamale makes it an ideal setting to study political behavior among a group of people. The two leading political parties in Ghana—the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and The New Patriotic Party (NPP) both have a strong presence in the metropolis, although the NDC candidates have been winning all recent elections in this city.