Abstract: The aim of this study was to examine nursing in New Zealand and to see whether aspects of the work environment are associated with health status. A total of 225 registered nurses in a general hospital completed the Revised Nursing Work Index (NWI-R) and Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Ratings indicated that the New Zealand hospital environment was characterized by less autonomy and control and better nurse-physician relations than in USA hospitals. Results of correlations demonstrated that more positive ratings of the three workplace attributes were associated with better health status amongst the nurses. The results of regression analyses were indicative either of a confounding relationship or of a mediating relationship such that nurses' relations with physicians, administration and other departments mediate the associations between autonomy, control and health status.

Abstract: This article outlines some key aspects of the practice of a number of nurse educators and researchers, and their commitment to the needs of their specific region. The group has been based at the Waikato Institute of Technology (WINTEC) over the last decade and have worked collaboratively across primary health, cultural safety, and child and family health domains of the nursing curriculum. They share a common philosophy underpinned by notions of diversity and health equity. The philosophy informs their theoretical inquiry, practice and research interests, and pedagogical concerns. In this article, the nurse researchers begin by situating themselves within the region, its people, and influences before moving into a consideration of the wider political and policy environment. They then consider the destabilising effects of cultural safety education and the tension between biculturalism and multiculturalism in their context. Finally, they reflect on how these ideas inform their work with postgraduate child and family nurses.