What needs? Nurses and Aboriginal patients in hospital. A grounded theory study

Study examines the practice of nurses with members of a local adult Aboriginal community who were admitted to hospital. The grounded theory study was conducted in regional Queensland.. This dissertation provides the results of a grounded theory study undertaken in a regional area of Queensland which resulted in the development of a substantive theory of nursing practice with adult Aboriginal people who were admitted to hospital. This study is foundational both for nursing research and in developing an understanding of Aboriginal-non-Aboriginal relationships in the 20th century. There have been no previous studies identified through the literature or available databases which have attempted to explore or explain the relationships of nurses with Aboriginal people who are hospitalised. In addition, there is little evidence of any qualitative studies with urban Aboriginal people. Through the analysis of a variety of data, the research has identified a theory of nursing practice which is unique to the professional relationship between Aboriginal patients and professional nurses. In addition, the theory identifies those variables which support optimal nursing practices with Aboriginal patients and others which reduce standards of professional service. The development of the theory and the tenets of the theory have resulted in a number of significant implications for both the nursing profession and providers of health services to Aboriginal people. In this current climate of reconciliation, it is timely that professional nurses undertake a critical examination of their practices with Aboriginal people and those aspects which can redress some of the inequities perpetrated through ignorance or ethnocentricity over the last 160 years.