Methods: A nursing professor, along with 17 nursing students, traveled to Sardinia, Italy in May, 2017 to explore the culture, lifestyles, and ultimately the Power 9 at work. In Sardinia, students visited and interviewed centenarians in their homes, visited local markets and stores, met with longevity experts, visited a winery and olive oil mill, participated in a cooking class, and visited Blue Zone villages. They experienced typical Sardinian celebrations, meals, and social activities. Students and the faculty member analyzed the collected data using a narrative thematic analysis to determine connections to the Power 9 and overall lifestyle characteristics that aid in longevity.
Objectives: The overall aim of this visit was to research the Blue Zone and draw conclusions about the Power 9 characteristics by interviewing, observing, and analyzing. Students immersed themselves in the Sardinian culture and brought back information to the local university community and community as a whole. The plan is to implement Blue Zone ideals locally and potentially to implement the Blue Zone Project with the help of the Blue Zone experts.
Conclusions: Visiting the Blue Zone in Sardinia was extremely valuable for nursing students in bringing health promotion ideals back to the community and to patients in a variety of settings. Also, this was an important introduction to qualitative research techniques such as interviewing and qualitative analysis.