Understanding the Leadership Experience of African Nova Scotian Nurses and the Implications for the Health of the African Nova Scotian Community Using a Black Feminist Lens

The purpose of this project is to understand leadership experiences from the perspective of Black nurses in Nova Scotia and how this affects the health of the Black community. This research is timely and necessary as the Black community in Nova Scotia continues to experience tremendous oppression in the form of racism and discrimination. As a result of significant discrimination and racism, Black communities, specifically within Nova Scotia, have much poorer health compared to the rest of Nova Scotia and Canada. Research shows that Black communities in Nova Scotia experience higher rates of high blood pressure, diabetes and mental illness, among other chronic health conditions. Moreover, across Canada, there is a substantial absence of information that shows how diseases and illness affect people based on their race. Nurse leaders are nurses who have skills and knowledge that allow them to influence teams, initiate change and improve our health system. Nurse leaders use their experience and training to inform their actions. However, within the Canadian healthcare system, there is an underrepresentation of Black nurse leaders, which has led to major issues within the Black community being ignored. In order to determine the issues that are present for Black nurses and the community, it is necessary to interview these nurses and learn what issues they view as important. This will inform and direct our approach for improving the health of the Black community. There is very little research that has been done with Black communities in Nova Scotia and as a result, there is not a lot of information available about the community. Therefore, this research will show how race, class and gender impact the leadership of Black nurses and how the underrepresentation of Black nurse leaders is detrimental to the health of the Black community. The information from this research will inform decision-makers, healthcare providers and researchers in their work with the Black community.