Vandenberg, Shannon
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- ItemExploring icebreakers in nursing education through a mixed-methods design: helpful or harmful?(Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing, 2025) Vogelsang, Laura; Vandenberg, Shannon; Magnuson, Morgan; Walstra, SamanthaBackground: Icebreakers share the common goal of promoting interaction. Despite the overwhelming positive regard for icebreakers in nursing education, they may have unintended consequences, such as highlighting inequities or perpetuating microaggressions. This research project incorporated the concept of microaggressions to explore how undergraduate nursing students experienced icebreakers within the classroom setting. Methods: This mixed-methods exploratory sequential design study used a quantitative survey followed by a semi-structured focus group using interpretive description thematic analysis. Results: A total of 43 students completed the quantitative survey, and three students participated in the follow-up focus group. The findings demonstrate that although well intentioned, icebreakers can also cause harm. Three themes were generated: revealing inequities, unveiling multiple tensions, and identifying conflict between purpose and outcome. Conclusion: Through our small study, we found that icebreakers can detract from content delivery, reveal inequities, and be divisive rather than contribute to a greater sense of belonging for students.
- ItemPlanetary health: preparing nursing students for the future(Lippincott, 2023) Vandenberg, ShannonBackground: Climate change around the globe is impacting human and planetary health at unprecedented rates. Nurses are well positioned to act as climate leaders, given their critical role globally. Problem: Current and future nurses must work to mitigate climate-related health effects. It is necessary that a planetary health approach is integrated into nursing education. Approach: Curricular modifications, using the Planetary Health Education Framework, are presented, which will promote awareness and understanding of climate health among future nurses. The framework is grounded in equity, which is well suited to nursing education, and can be readily adapted into current nursing curricula. Outcomes: Recommendations for nursing education are presented within the 5 domains of the framework. Conclusions: Future nurses are called on to be exemplary planetary health communicators, educators, advocates, and leaders. The Planetary Health Education Framework promotes nursing leadership in practice and in advocating for a climate-resistant future.
- Item"We’ve lost a lot of lives:” the impact of the closure of North America’s busiest supervised consumption site on people who use substances and the organizations that work with them(Springer Nature, 2025) Magnuson, Morgan; Vandenberg, Shannon; Oosterbroek, Tracy; Dey, KevinBackground Supervised Consumption Sites (SCS) are an evidence-based harm reduction intervention that reduces the risk of fatal drug poisonings. However, these approaches have faced political opposition in Canada, resulting in the closures of SCS in some provinces. Our study examines the aftermath of the closure of what was once North America’s busiest SCS, located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, offering a contextualized exploration of regressive drug policies. Methods Our study adopts a descriptive qualitative design to explore the Lethbridge SCS closure and the city’s current state of harm reduction service provision. We conducted 37 interviews to understand the perspectives of people who use substances (PWUS) and staff members of organizations that provide harm-reduction services in Lethbridge. We chose to use reflexive thematic analysis, which allows for a critical realist and contextual approach to data analysis. Results We developed three themes based on our analysis. Our first theme speaks to the harms of SCS closures on PWUS and organizations that provide harm reduction services. Next, our second theme highlights participants’ perspectives on the political motivations behind the SCS closure. Our last theme explores how PWUS and organizations navigate the political opposition to harm reduction approaches while responding to the worsening unregulated drug poisoning crisis. Conclusions Our findings speak to the dangers of political decisions that restrict access to harm reduction services within the context of the current unregulated drug poisoning crisis.
- ItemA cross-sectional study on Indigenous nurses’ knowledge and perceptions toward planetary health challenges(Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health, 2025) Vandenberg, Shannon; Oosterbroek, Tracy; Chircop, Andrea; Kellett, PeterBackground: Planetary health challenges—such as climate change and vector-borne diseases—not only threaten human health, but also jeopardize food and water security, ecosystems, economic stability, and social well-being. Registered nurses play an integral role in supporting populations affected by planetary health challenges. Purpose: The purpose of the larger cross-sectional study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of registered nurses in Canada related to climate sensitive vector-borne diseases. This manuscript presents findings of the Indigenous participants from the larger study. Methods: A national self-administered digital survey was distributed to practicing registered nurses in Canada. Results: Of the 382 survey respondents, 35 respondents declared as Indigenous, Metis, or Inuit. Results indicated that most worked as frontline care providers, and several were nurse educators. Study findings revealed enhanced knowledge of climate change and vector-borne diseases, as well as increased awareness of, confidence toward, preparedness, and experiences with vector-borne diseases in practice demonstrated by Indigenous, Metis, and Inuit participants. The greater knowledge and confidence of Indigenous, Metis, and Inuit nurses toward climate change and vector-borne diseases may be attributed to intergenerational knowledge transfer, which has provided them with the knowledge to observe and adapt to climate-related concerns, such as the changing vector landscape. Conclusion: Indigenous nurses are well-positioned to lead the nursing profession to a decolonization of nursing knowledge, where Indigenous knowledge is used to educate and prepare nurses to address planetary challenges in practice and assume a greater role in leading change to advocate for a climate-resilient future.
- ItemPlanetary health: a pragmatic theoretical framework to guide nursing education, research, and practice(Elsevier, 2025) Vandenberg, Shannon; Oosterbroek, Tracy; Chircop, Andrea; Kellett, PeterThe term Planetary Health has been used in mainstream narrative in the past decades, but the term has only recently gained traction in nursing literature. Nurses are highly trusted and well-positioned to play an integral role in planetary health, by addressing the various challenges and health effects associated with planetary health decline. Issue: While the traditional scope of nursing practice includes health promotion, and illness, injury, and disease prevention, planetary health incorporates broader issues such as climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, resource scarcity, and marine degradation. Nurses may lack knowledge and confidence regarding planetary health issues, which may correlate to inadequate confidence and feelings of unpreparedness in practice. Therefore, planetary health presents as a pragmatic theoretical framework for nursing education, practice, and research. Purpose: The purpose of this manuscript is to advocate for the applicability of planetary health for nursing practice, education, and research, incorporating an example of a research study that examined nurses’ percep- tions toward climate sensitive vector-borne diseases. Planetary health challenges are threatening human health globally, and nurses must be prepared to preserve human and planetary health.