Nursing students in Saharan refugee camps: Expectations and options of professional future from a qualitative perspective

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore and understand the perceptions of the expectations of the professional future of nursing students who study in Saharan refugee camps. Background: Part of the Saharan population live in refugee camps with a precarious healthcare system, which depends on nursing professionals who are trained in the only nursing school in the world that exists inside a refugee camp. Design: An interpretive qualitative research methodology using Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics. Methods: A qualitative study with nursing students (n = 14) of different years from the nursing school in a Saharan refugee camp (Algeria) in 2021. Focus groups recorded in audio for subsequent transcription and analysis by two researchers through Fleming´s stages. Results: Three themes were identified as important aspects of the personal and professional expectations perceived by this population group: (1) studying nursing as a moral obligation; (2) Culture as a determinant for dropping out of school; and (3) aspirations for a professional future in the Saharan refugee camps. The participants highlighted the role of social and cultural aspects to complete their studies and develop a professional career. Conclusions: These Saharan nursing students can study a nursing speciality or work in healthcare. However, they struggle to choose between the moral obligation of doing so and the social and cultural factors that lead some of them to abandon their studies. Tweetable abstract: The possibility of studying for a career and the professional future of Saharan nursing studies are conditioned by the environment, culture and the socio-economic situation. Their work is especially important in the refugee camps where they live.