Page 35 - Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

2 n ACTioN SCiENCE

the many domains and factors associated Global migration has profound effects
with acculturation be used to capture this on the individual, on the community, and
A complex phenomenon instead of using sin- to the host and donor countries. As global-
gle-item proxy measures, such as length of ization intensifies, there is a critical need to
residency to the receiving county or age at continue to understand this complex experi-
immigration or those instruments that con- ence and to develop valid and reliable instru-
ceptualize acculturation as a unidirectional ments that capture the essence of this elusive
process (Cabassa, 2003; Schwartz et al., 2010). concept. There is a particular need to con-
The process of acculturation is also asso- tinue to explore the impact of acculturation
ciated with periods of stress that has been on the overall health and well-being of the
shown to profoundly impact physical and immigrant. As the global nursing shortage
mental health among immigrants (Alegria continues to deepen, there is also a need to
et al. 2008; Allen et al., 2008; Choi, Rankin, further investigate the impact of accultura-
Stewart, & oka, 2008; Lasseter & Callister, tion to the immigrant nurse using a multim-
2009; Steffen, Smith, Larson, & Butler, 2006; ethod approach and how this impacts one’s
Zemore, 2007). Results of these studies show physical and mental health and work-related
that higher level of acculturation has been and other personal-related factors.
associated with poor health outcomes, also
called the immigrant paradox, which include Emerson E. Ea
increased risk for hypertension, obesity,
depression, increased use of alcohol, and
smoking (Alegria et al., 2008; Allen et al., 2008;
Choi et al., 2008; Lasseter & Callister, 2009; Action Science
Steffen et al., 2006; Zemore, 2007). However, a
major critique of most of these studies is their
reliance on the use of single-proxy measures Action science is an approach for inquiry ini-
or instruments that conceptualizes accultura- tially developed by Chris Argyris and Donald
tion as unidimensional (Schwartz et al., 2010). Schön (1974) and expanded by Argyris,
it is not clear if these outcomes were the result Putnam, and Smith (1985), aimed at generat-
of adopting the receiving country’s cultural ing knowledge for and improving individual
norms or relinquishing the original culture’s and organizational learning. Action science
practices or both (Schwartz et al., 2010). has been applied in the field of management,
There is a growing literature that exam- specifically for organizational learning, and
ines how immigrant nurses adjust to the in various professional practice fields such
host country’s culture. Most of these stud- as education, nursing, social work, and med-
ies are conducted in host countries such as icine for individual learning in practice. it
the United States and the United Kingdom. is an approach to generate knowledge for
Similar to Berry’s conceptualization, the practice and to transform practice by engag-
process of acculturation among immigrant ing practitioners in the process of inquiry
nurses could also be characterized by sev- through reflection on their own behavioral
eral phases of adjustment that are dynamic worlds of practice (Argyris et al., 1985; Schön,
and individualized (Magnusdottir, 2005; Xu, 1983). Action science has been further devel-
2007). Findings of several nursing studies oped by Torbert (1991) as “action inquiry,”
show that those who have adopted some of which is used interchangeably in the liter-
the host culture’s traits, behaviors, and atti- ature. Although action science and action
tudes have increased overall levels of job research, participatory action research in
and life satisfaction (DiCicco-Bloom, 2004; Ea particular, are viewed by many to be in the
et al., 2008; Magnusdottir, 2005; Xu, 2007). same inquiry family within social sciences