Descriptive Guidelines on How to Integrate Theory and Clinical Practice Using Innovative Mobile Learning Strategies

Background: In today’s health care environment, with the advancement in computers and information technology made it imperative for nurses to adapt to technological advancements to enable them to address the complexity in health care issues thus ensuring optimal delivery of care. Mobile devices have the capacity to store large quantities of information and their functioning systems allow applications that support sophisticated user interactions, their graphics capabilities offer representative flexibility and their networked status means that they afford easy communication among their users. A methodological review recognised that mobile phones have become ubiquitous and established itself in popularity in the delivery of health care interventions with the extensive proliferation in technical capabilities. Mobile devices have thus become a platform in the delivery of primary health care that includes the provision of health education, encouraging attendance of primary care appointments and the use of applications to monitor patients’ health status.

Objective: To describe guidelines for educators on how to integrate theory and clinical practice of the health assessment of the head and neck within the Primary Health Care Module through mobile learning in an undergraduate nursing program at a HEI in the Western Cape.

Method: Descriptive qualitative data was collected through electronic reflections and a focus group sessions with students and educators who participated in a mobile learning intervention on the integration of theory and clinical practice of the health assessment of the head and neck within the Primary Health Care Module. Data analysis was done using Tesch’s (1990) steps of analysis to complete the thematic analysis of the data collected from data collected.

Results: The data analysis informed a Primary Health Care WhatsApp Platform (PHCWupP) framework to guide educators on how to integrate theory and clinical practice using innovative mobile learning strategies.

Conclusion: The Primary Health Care WhatsApp Platform framework will be a guide to educators providing a step by step guidelines on how to effectively integrate innovative mobile learning strategies to enhance teaching and learning experiences.