Abstract: This article outlines some of the health experiences and concerns of people with physical and/or mental disabilities. These experiences and concerns are explored within the context of the practice of cultural safety. In 1996, the Nursing Council of New Zealand adopted its definition of cultural safety and defines 'culture', in the context of 'cultural safety', as involving all people who are not part of the culture of nursing. Each person with a disability is unique, and they may also be part of a larger disability culture, which has its own shared experiences, values, beliefs and lifestyles. People with disabilities are also a minority within the population. Therefore, any power they might have within their own culture is minimal, compared to the advantages enjoyed by the rest of the population.

Abstract: This thesis reports on a research project which explored the phenomenon of supporting a family member with an intellectual disability who is dying in a community setting. The research purpose was to enhance professional understanding of what it is like to encounter this lived experience. Literature back-grounding the phenomenon and philosophical and theoretical constructs embraced by the researcher are outlined. An explanation is given of the hermeneutic phenomenological methodology which was utilised. The main method of collecting research data was through conducting five open-ended interviews with participants who had supported a dying child or sibling. The participants' family members were aged between 3 and 52 years old at the time of their deaths. Their specific intellectual disabilities included Down syndrome, a metabolically induced disorder and a non-identified syndrome. The family members had died from a variety of terminal illnesses and in a range of community settings. Interpretive analysis was achieved through reflexive journaling and hermeneutic intuiting of interview transcripts and field notes. The research findings have been subjected to rhetorical consideration in the light of further literature and poetic texts. Research findings are expressed metaphorically as groups of boulders representing themes and sub-themes. Three major themes were revealed as having impacted on the river voyage shared by participants and their dying family members. These were Interlocked Companionship, Search for New Balance and Permeable Interaction. An assessment is offered of the strengths and weaknesses of the research project. The thesis concludes with recommendations for reflective practice, evidence based practice, service development and areas of future research.

Abstract: Through improved technology and treatment and ongoing de-institutionalisation, nurses will encounter growing numbers of people with disabilities in the New Zealand community and hospitals. Quality of nursing care is influenced by attitude and this study was to evaluate the effect of a curriculum change on the attitudes of two different streams of student nurses towards people with disabilities. During the year 2002 a focused disability unit was introduced to the revised undergraduate nursing curriculum of a major educational institution in New Zealand. The opportunity arose to consider student nurses' attitudes toward disabled people, comparing two streams of students undertaking two different curricula. A convenience sample of students completed Yuker, Block and Younng's (1970) Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons scale (ATDP) form B prior to and on completion of their relevant disability unit. No statistically significant difference in scores was demonstrated. A number of possible reasons for this are suggested.