Abstract
Background: Despite a global increase in the number of nurses, disparities persist in educational preparation and distribution across regions and countries (World Health Organization [WHO], 2025). Distribution gaps are projected to be most severe in the Global South (WHO, 2024).
Mentorship has emerged as a global, transformative strategy for developing and retaining nurses and midwives across the career continuum (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2021). However, there is a growing need to shift from traditional mentorship models to reciprocal mentorship with nurses and midwives from the Global South and Global North sharing ideas, resources, and power structures, promoting a two-way exchange of knowledge and experience (Geiger, 2024).
Purpose: This scoping review synthesized evidence related to reciprocal and sustainable mentoring of nurses and midwives through Global North and Global South partnerships. Three questions guided this review: (1) What types of global mentoring partnerships exist, and what are their common characteristics? (2) What facilitators and barriers are identified? and (3) What mentorship outcomes are measured and evaluated?
Method: A team-based approach (Westphaln et al., 2021), and PRISMA-ScR (Page et al., 2021) informed article selection and analysis. A directed content analysis and narrative synthesis approach explored data relationships and theoretical applications.
Results: The reviewed literature (n=44) captured Global North with Global South partnerships across 75 countries. Effective mentorship comprised: (a) structured planning and implementation (n=31); (b) capacity strengthening (n=18); (c) relationship-centered and bidirectional learning (n=15); (d) cultural responsiveness and local relevance (n=10); and (e) sustainability through multi-phase strategies (n=7). Domains encompassing included structural and relational dimensions, capacity strengthening, sustainability, and transformation of personal and professional environments, shared goals of professional development, academic advancement, and sustainable systems change.
Conclusion: Although a rich diversity of mentorship models was evident in the evidence, most articles lacked a theoretical operational model underpinning the partnership. Few articles specifically addressed elements of reciprocity and sustainability. These findings underscore the need for an operational model that fosters sustainable and reciprocal mentoring.
Notes
Presenter notes available in attached slide deck.
Reference list included in attached slide deck.
Sigma Membership
Lambda Chi
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Mentoring and Coaching, Health Equity or Social Determinants of Health, Global Leadership
Recommended Citation
Upvall, Michele J.; Markaki, Adelais; Garner, Shelby L.; Fildes, Elizabeth E.; Ouner, Jerry J.; Hain, Debra; Sullivan, Courtney; and Walsh, Allison, "Global Partnerships as Catalysts for Reciprocal Mentoring in Nursing: A Scoping Review" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 1.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/presentations_2026/1
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-07-20
Global Partnerships as Catalysts for Reciprocal Mentoring in Nursing: A Scoping Review
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Background: Despite a global increase in the number of nurses, disparities persist in educational preparation and distribution across regions and countries (World Health Organization [WHO], 2025). Distribution gaps are projected to be most severe in the Global South (WHO, 2024).
Mentorship has emerged as a global, transformative strategy for developing and retaining nurses and midwives across the career continuum (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2021). However, there is a growing need to shift from traditional mentorship models to reciprocal mentorship with nurses and midwives from the Global South and Global North sharing ideas, resources, and power structures, promoting a two-way exchange of knowledge and experience (Geiger, 2024).
Purpose: This scoping review synthesized evidence related to reciprocal and sustainable mentoring of nurses and midwives through Global North and Global South partnerships. Three questions guided this review: (1) What types of global mentoring partnerships exist, and what are their common characteristics? (2) What facilitators and barriers are identified? and (3) What mentorship outcomes are measured and evaluated?
Method: A team-based approach (Westphaln et al., 2021), and PRISMA-ScR (Page et al., 2021) informed article selection and analysis. A directed content analysis and narrative synthesis approach explored data relationships and theoretical applications.
Results: The reviewed literature (n=44) captured Global North with Global South partnerships across 75 countries. Effective mentorship comprised: (a) structured planning and implementation (n=31); (b) capacity strengthening (n=18); (c) relationship-centered and bidirectional learning (n=15); (d) cultural responsiveness and local relevance (n=10); and (e) sustainability through multi-phase strategies (n=7). Domains encompassing included structural and relational dimensions, capacity strengthening, sustainability, and transformation of personal and professional environments, shared goals of professional development, academic advancement, and sustainable systems change.
Conclusion: Although a rich diversity of mentorship models was evident in the evidence, most articles lacked a theoretical operational model underpinning the partnership. Few articles specifically addressed elements of reciprocity and sustainability. These findings underscore the need for an operational model that fosters sustainable and reciprocal mentoring.
Description
Focus: Academic
Status: Completed Work/Project
Mentorship through reciprocal partnerships strengthens global health capacity. The purpose was to synthesize evidence related to reciprocal mentoring of nurses and midwives through partnerships between the Global North and the Global South. The findings encompassed the characteristics, facilitators, barriers, and outcomes of mentorship, including both structural and relational dimensions, capacity strengthening, sustainability, and the transformation of personal and professional environments.