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Background: Although the increased interest in investigating the dynamics of fatherhood in developed nations has been documented in the literature, its collective meaning and implications in nursing remain largely unknown in the context of East Asia, especially in developing countries such as the Philippines., Purpose: Capitalizing on the unique power of metaphors to improve the understanding of complex and abstract ideas and to shape healthcare practices, this qualitative semiotic investigation intended to define the essence of fatherhood from the perspective of Filipino fathers., Methods: This study focused on a group of 28 first-time and 22 second-time fathers who were recruited from the largest maternal and newborn tertiary government hospital in the Philippines. To capture the richness and thickness of fatherhood as a subjective human reality, doodling and elicitation interviews were employed to promote data triangulation. Furthermore, semiosis was used as the data analytic framework to better understand the ontology and epistemology of the elicited metaphors. In addition, a member-checking procedure was employed to validate the themes that emerged from the inductive approach., Results: This study provides a conceptualization of "The House of Fatherhood," which illustrates the uniqueness of the experience of fatherhood as identity defining, maturity enabling, and duality affirming., Conclusions/implications for Practice: The pillars of fatherhood that were identified in this article provide a valuable framework for Filipino healthcare providers and program administrators in the field of maternal and child nursing to identify scaffolding measures and other support mechanisms to address the needs and concerns of Filipino fathers and their journey to fatherhood in a more effective and holistic way.

Previous studies suggest that theory-practice gap has remained to be a formidable task and a challenge to the nursing profession. While efforts to understand the nature and dynamics of theory-practice gap have been undertaken across the globe, a dearth in literature exists in the context of a developing country like the Philippines. Seemingly, no research has ventured yet to explore the theory-practice gap experiences of Filipino student nurses. Hence, the major intent of this qualitative investigation is to describe and capture how theory-practice gap is viewed by a select group of senior nursing students (n=10) in a comprehensive university in the Philippines. From the thickness and richness of the descriptions of the field text gathered in this study, an interesting conceptualization labeled as the Theory-Practice Gap Deficit Triad which consists of (a) structural, (b) pedagogical, and (c) relational deficits was emerged. Interestingly, the said model describes a clear intersection of the various concerns and dilemmas encountered by student nurses in their clinical exposures. Findings of this paper are valuable inputs to nursing educators, practitioners, and administrators in initiating realignment efforts geared toward developing nurses whose knowledge, skills and attitudes are responsive to the ever changing professional practice landscape., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Fatherhood, as a developmental process, is both a human experience and a text that needs to be read. For developing nations like the Philippines, little is known about the process undergone by first-time fathers on their transition to fatherhood, and how nurses can play a significant role in assisting them. This grounded theory study purported to conceptualize the multifaceted process of transition from the lens of Filipino first-time fathers' lived experiences. A total of 20 first-time fathers from Metro Manila, Philippines, were purposively selected to take part in an individual, semistructured, and in-depth interview. The Glaserian (classical) method of analysis was specifically used, and field texts were inductively analyzed using a repertory grid. Member checking and correspondence were done to validate the findings of the study. Six surfacing stages emerged relative to the process of transition. Interestingly, The B.R.I.D.G.E. Theory of First-Time Fatherhood Transition Space describes how these fathers progress from the beholding, reorganizing, inhibiting, delivering, grasping, and embracing phases toward successful transition. This emerged theoretical model can be used in framing health care programs where the needs of fathers during this period are met and addressed. Finally, it can also be used in guiding nurses in their provision of a more empathetic care for first-time fathers., (© The Author(s) 2015.)