Stakeholder Engagement in Nursing Curriculum Development and Renewal Initiatives: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

Stakeholder engagement remains a critical endeavour in nursing curriculum development and renewal. Engaging stakeholders such as patients and families, students, and frontline clinicians in the development process is necessary to ensure that curricula meet the current needs of patients and are responsive to a changing health care environment. To inform strategies for effective stakeholder engagement a literature review was conducted to identify: a) common roles and functions of stakeholders across nursing curricular projects, and b) factors that promote positive stakeholder engagement in nursing curriculum development or renewal. Twelve papers were included in this review. Texts were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. Common roles and functions were classified according to formalized leadership roles or on an informal, as needed basis, with varying levels of engagement. Four themes emerged pertaining to factors that promote positive stakeholder engagement: positive leadership, empowerment, sense of ownership, and a culture of equality. Optimizing stakeholder contributions to nursing curricular projects can be fostered by an understanding of strategies to positively engage these partners and identifying productive and meaningful stakeholder roles.