Donia Baldacchino was recently appointed associate professor of nursing by the University of Malta.
Ms Baldacchino is a registered nurse who has worked in the Intensive Therapy Unit and contributed towards the opening of the Renal Dialysis Unit in Malta.
Following her graduation in adult education from Garnett College London, Prof. Baldacchino started teaching at the nursing school in 1984.
Following the transfer of nursing and paramedical courses into tertiary education in 1989, she graduated BSc (Hons) Nursing from the University of Malta, MSc from King’s College London, and PhD from the University of Hull, Yorkshire, the UK.
Her research addressed holistic care, especially embracing the spiritual dimension of care in stress and illness of patients.
The Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale, developed by Prof. Baldacchino in her PhD studies, has been translated by foreign researchers in Italian, Spanish and Persian languages, and is being used to collect data from patients with Christian and Islamic religious affiliations.
Prof. Baldacchino’s expertise extends to nursing education and practice, including supervision and examination of PhD students in Malta and foreign countries.