UM-Flint Helps to Advance Cultural Competence in Nursing and Healthcare

The Online Journal of Cultural Competence in Nursing and Healthcare (OJCCNH) is a new interactive and exciting website for nurses and other health care professionals to disseminate the latest in cultural competence research, teaching, and practice.

The online journal features current research and presentations of faculty and graduate students not only from the University of Michigan-Flint, but across the nation. It is intended for nurses and other health care professionals who strive to meet the health-related cultural needs of people from diverse backgrounds. Readership also includes health professions faculty and students, with an overarching emphasis on providing evidence based research for professionals serving a culturally diverse client population.  The inaugural issue of the journal is located at: http://www.ojccnh.org.

The OJCCNH is the brainchild of Dr. Margaret Andrews, UM-Flint's Nursing Department director and editor of the online journal.

"The journal is funded in part by the Developing Cultural Competencies for Nurses: Evidence-based Best Practices Project for which federal funding has been awarded under the auspices of the University of Michigan-Flint Department of Nursing," said Andrews.

The new online journal is already attracting a large number of readers.  According to John Vanderlaan, web editor of the journal and a doctoral student in the UM-Flint nursing program, there are more than 16,000 subscribers to date, with additional requests being added daily. Due to federal funding there is no subscription cost.

Managing editor of the journal and Project Manager of the grant,  John Collins, explains that the online journal is a natural outworking of the grant project objectives, stating that dissemination of the findings of this educational grant was indeed the impetus of the journal's creation, but that grant faculty and staff needed a larger and more comprehensive venue for sharing the grant findings, as well as a vehicle to publish the research of colleagues in the field of cultural competence for nurses and other healthcare providers.

UM-Flint nursing faculty Dr. Marilyn McFarland and Dr. Hiba Wehbe-Alamah serve on the Editorial Board for the journal.