‘We are pulled to the four corners’: Qualitative role descriptions of advanced practice children's nurses in Malawi

Purpose

This study investigated emerging roles among specialist child health nurses (CHNs) in Malawi. Advanced nursing role development is globally advocated. Nursing role descriptions provide an evidential basis for workforce planning. Rigorously developed role descriptions are scarce worldwide, especially for Africa. Advanced nursing roles were introduced in Malawi's child health system a decade ago.

Design and Methods

We followed guidance on generating nursing role descriptions to collect and analyse qualitative data from interviews and focus groups, using qualitative content analysis. We used COREQ reporting standards.

Results

More than half (41/80) of Malawi's child health nursing workforce participated. Richly descriptive accounts of roles elicited three themes: leading and developing new services and improving existing ones; holding rare knowledge which uplifts care quality; and responsibility for developing the role. These responsibilities are experienced as a privilege and a burden, often meaning CHNs are ‘pulled to the four corners’.

Practice Implications

We found evidence of remarkable achievements by Malawi's CHNs but also suggestions that they are under heavy strain. Because multi-stakeholder agreement about role content is crucial to successfully implementing advanced nursing roles, we hope the approach taken by this study, and the information generated, could be useful as part of human resources for health strategy development in other lower-resourced countries globally.