Overview and Future of Nursing Research

Editor's Notes

• #7: The committee issued the GOLDMARK REPORT which identified educational inadequacies and concluded that advanced educational preparation was essential in nursing.
• #9: Ms.Edith Buchanan, Vice Principal, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (RAK) College of Nursing, New Delhi. Ms.Margaretta Craig, Principal, College of Nursing, New Delhi.
• #10: 1960: Clinical studies were even being carried out on short-term basis by the beginning-level postgraduate nursing students. 1964: Dr.Marie Ferguson, a public health nurse from New Delhi
• #13: 1982: First National Conference and was held at College of Nursing, Bangalore 1984: This workshop was open to All Teachers of All The Nursing Colleges In India.
• #16: 2011: Increasing number of nurses started publishing their research work in these journals. It helped nurses to disseminate the research evidences generated by them.
• #17: 2015: to help nurse researchers to overcome barriers to implementing evidence based practices.
• #21: Steps: Formulate the research question based on issues of current practice. 2. Locate the best evidence to the research question. 3. Compare the available sources. 4. Apply synthesized evidence to create change in practice. 5. Evaluate new evidence and continue improvement.
• #22: Hospital-acquired infection is a common problem to hospitalized patients. Nurses play a key role in helping to prevent illness before it happens Adhering to evidence-based infection-control policies like: keeping the healthcare environment clean, wearing personal protective clothing, using barrier precautions and practicing correct hand washing.
• #23: There is a belief that administering oxygen to COPD patients can create serious issues such as hypercarbia, acidosis or even death. Evidence-based protocol developed to provide oxygen to COPD patients can help prevent hypoxia and organ failure. Giving oxygen, which is the correct treatment based on the evidence, can enhance COPD patients’ quality of life and help them live longer.
• #24: Measuring children’s blood pressure involves auscultatory method, then comparing with oscillometric method. Nurses should measure blood pressure according to evidence-based practice because accurate measurements are an essential part of effective treatment.
• #25: Nurses should follow EBP when using intravenous catheters to administer blood for packed red blood cell transfusions (PRBC). Because new research and evidence become available on an ongoing basis, EBP must adapt to the latest evidence. Often, old practices may need to change if new research overturns the principles behind them. Evidence-based practice in nursing will continue to advance in the future.
• #26: Systematic reviews are a foundation of EBP and will continue to be importance in all health care disciplines. The purpose of a systematic review is to accumulate and incorporate research information on a topic, to draw conclusions about the evidence.
• #27: systematic review answers a research question by collecting and summarising ALL EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE that fits eligibility criteria. Nurses are increasingly using systematic reviews to guide their practice and develop policy.
• #28: The steps of a systematic review include: 1. Formulating a well-defined question 2. Developing relevance and validity tools (Eligibility Criteria) 3. Conducting a comprehensive search to retrieve published and unpublished reports 4. Screening the reports using relevance and validity tools 5. Data extraction and Synthesis of the findings (Quality Assessment) 6. Presenting Findings
• #30: The use of meta-analysis in studies has been increasing exponentially in recent years. This rapid development of meta-analysis is also related to the increasing use of evidence-based practice approaches.
• #31: A systematic review answers a defined research question by collecting and summarizing all empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria. A meta-analysis uses statistical methods to summarize the results of these studies.
• #33: Most nurses and nursing researchers are not aware of every research finding. Therefore, meta-analysis is a valid method of finding evidences researchers can have as a basis in solving health-related issues.
• #34: The term translational research usually refers to “from bench to bedside” The end point of this type research is production of new interventions that can be used clinically or commercially. Example: In Cancer research: Basic Research focuses on knowledge in cancer biology. Clinical Research focuses on new treatment modalities. Translational Research is a bridge between basic research and clinical research and even health decision making.
• #35: There are Four Steps: T1 refers to the translation of basic research into a potential clinical application. T2 refers to efficacy studies, in which new interventions are trialed under optimal conditions. T3 refers to effectiveness studies, where promising phase 2 interventions are trialed in ‘real world’ settings; T4 refers impact studies, which examine the impact of new intervention/guideline at population level.
• #36: T1: Nurse Identified Mothers with infants having sleep problems had double chances of developingpostnatal depression. T2: A nurse developed a Sleep Intervention Program and did a randomized controlled trial - (efficacy trial) T3: A larger effectiveness trial was conducted with 92 nurses delivering the intervention. T4: Government recommended the intervention for all mothers during 8 month visit. And training for all Nurses to deliver the Sleep Intervention Program.
• #37: The study of Bergstrom and Braden to devise a tool to predict pressure-ulcer risk. Led to the development of The Braden Scale for predicting pressure sore risk. The Braden Scale became the “Gold Standard” for pressure ulcer risk assessment around the globe. Translational research holds great promise for improving care of patients worldwide. Nursing researchers are encouraged to take initiative to contribute to translational research.
• #38: Through conducting the same studies with different clients, in different clinical locations and at different times, ensures that the evidence is Strong. Another confirmatory strategy is to conduct multisite studies by researchers in several locations. Such multisite studies are at the rising trends in Nursing Research. Multi-site studies of nursing personnel are challenging due to existing infrastructure and several barriers but they can be overcome with strong planning.
• #39: A multi-site, randomized clinical trial was conducted in 27 nursing homes. (In the US) More than 900 patients participated in the study. There was no significant difference between pressure ulcer formation and repositioning intervals.
• #40: There is a rising trend in an expansion of small, localized research to find solution to immediate problems. Nurses are working in diverse healthcare settings come across several problems. Nurses take up small research projects to solve problems to their local areas. Such research work can be shared with nurses in other areas facing the same problems.
• #41: Nurses conduct such small and local research in their healthcare settings to find solutions to problems. Nurses in other areas coming across same problems can try these solutions. Such local researches are increasing and will continue in the future.
• #42: The rapid advancements of health care sector in the 21st century has been the result of on-going research and development. This interdisciplinary collaboration of nurses with other researchers in the healthcare field is an increasing trend.
• #43: Interdisciplinary collaboration is widely recognized and considered essential for optimizing the development of knowledge and practice. Such partnership could lead to nurse researchers playing a more prominent part in national and international healthcare policies.
• #44: There are more than hundreds of Nursing Journals available today, which nurses can use to disseminate their Research Findings. Universities are developing databases to maintain the research work of post graduate and doctoral nurses.
• #45: There are several Online Nursing Journals which have a great impact on disseminating research information. The new generation nurses of today know very well to use the internet. And Nurses can publish their research findings free of cost on the several free online journals. As technology advances there will be increased dissemination of research findings in the future.
• #46: In the past most people were not aware that nurses are scholars and researchers. But with the increase in the number of nurses doing post-graduation and doctoral programs, more research is generated. In recent times nurse’s research works are being recognized and many and nurses innovations are coming to visibility of the public.
• #47: So in UK even the government has recognised Nurses Research Work to title them “Research Champions” This has come in the news this month.