Collaborative Online International Learning With Prelicensure Nursing Students: Teaching Family-Centered Care Through a Global Perspective

A Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) experience was designed for prelicensure nursing students taking a pediatric course in the United States and in Brazil, to teach family-centered care to develop inclusive, global nursing practices. The purpose of this study is to describe prelicensure nursing student learning of family-centered care concepts facilitated by COIL. For data collection, six focus groups with 37 students were conducted across both universities. Data were analyzed using inductive qualitative analysis by each country separately and as a global team. Major themes included understanding the needs of families of children with chronic conditions as impacted by health systems, assigning meanings to family care of children with chronic conditions, applying concepts of family-centered care and self-reflection. Results suggest COIL is a feasible way for prelicensure nursing students to learn family-centered nursing care by operationalizing concepts, from real experiences and increasing cultural awareness.