Nursing curricula relating to care for disabled children: literature review

Aim: To provide a literature review of nursing curricula relating to care for children with disabilities.

Background: Children with disabilities do not receive adequate attention in nursing curricula for children.

Introduction: The best approach to promoting the standard of care delivery to children with disabilities is to improve the quantity and quality of training among health professionals.

Methods: We conducted the review using three databases, CINAHL, MEDLINE and ProQuest, between the years 1990 and 2015. The review commenced in 2012 and was updated in 2015. Seventy-eight studies were initially identified.

Results: Out of 78 retrieved articles, only six research articles contained all the keywords 'education', 'disability' and 'curriculum'; no articles contained all the keywords 'nursing education, 'children with disabilities' and 'curriculum'.

Discussion: Five themes have been generated from the literature review relating to disability content within nursing curricula, namely: overloaded curriculum, gaps in the contemporary curricula, lack of faculty expertise, problems with teaching methods and focus on the medical model.

Conclusion: There was a paucity of evidence for the way that disability was presented in the nursing curricula for children.

Implications for Nursing and Health Policy: Improving the provision of care delivery to children with disabilities should be paid adequate attention in nursing curricula for children. Additionally, there is a need for policy-makers to identify the best coverage of nursing curricula, as well as the most effective nurse training methods that enhance knowledge and clinical skills relating to the care of children with disabilities.