Toward research-based nursing practice: the Denver Collaborative Research Network

Describing the evidence-base for research engagement by health care providers and health care organisations: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Having a research-engaged health and medical workforce is associated with improvements in clinical outcomes for patients. As such, there has been significant government investment internationally to support health care organisations and services to increase staff engagement with research.

OBJECTIVES

This scoping review sought to provide an overview of the literature describing strategies employed to increase research engagement by health care providers and organisations, and to undertake a qualitative analysis to generate a list of research engagement strategies.

METHODS

A scoping review using systematic search strategies was undertaken to locate peer-review publications and grey literature related to research engagement by health care providers and organisations. Research engagement was defined as a 'deliberate set of intellectual and practical activities undertaken by health care staff and organisations to conduct research'. A database search of electronic records was performed with no limit on publication date. Publications were included regardless of study type (excluding systematic reviews) and categorised as either databased (presenting data or new analysis of existing data) and non-databased (no new data or analyses). Databased publications were further classified according to study type, study design and setting. A qualitative synthesis using a Framework Approach was undertaken with all studies that described a strategy to improve research engagement.

RESULTS

A total of 152 publications were included in this study with 54% categorised as non-databased. Of the databased articles, the majority (72%) were descriptive studies describing prevalence of correlates of research engagement, 17 (25%) described intervention studies where only two were controlled studies. The following research engagement strategies were identified: i) dual skilled team/staff, ii) resources or physical infrastructure, iii) incentives, iv) leadership support of research, v) education/training, vi) networks, vii) forming partnerships or collaborations and viii) overall leadership structure of entity.

CONCLUSIONS

The literature on research engagement is primarily opinion-based and descriptive in nature. To provide the evidence needed to inform strategies, this needs to progress beyond descriptive to more rigorous well-designed intervention research.

How to develop and sustain a peer-mentored research work group

Most collaborative research models in nursing focus on hierachical structures in which an identified expert or leader directs and/or guides others in conducting research. The authors propose a peer-mentored model of collaborative research that promotes collegial participation, maximizes the use of each member's expertise, and enhances skill development within the group. This article is a description of the evolution of the Dementia Research Work Group within the Decker School of Nursing at Binghamton University. Emphasis is placed on how to create and nurture a peer-mentored research work group as well as what has been learned from the process.

Research utilization: an overview

Nursing practice needs to be research based, not only to provide the best possible care to patients but also to ensure that nursing as a profession continues to grow. Criteria to help nurses determine how and when to implement research-based practice changes are presented. Forces that facilitate research utilization are discussed, as are barriers to research utilization. Areas of research that are ready to be implemented in women's health, obstetric, and neonatal nursing are presented.

Collaboration: integrating practice and research in public health nursing

The need to integrate clinical practice and research has been stressed for many years in both public health and nursing. This article describes such a collaborative project between two rural upper Midwest public health nursing agencies and public health nursing faculty from a small, liberal arts, baccalaureate nursing program. The high-risk prenatal research project provided an opportunity for nursing staff and faculty research consultants to work together on a clinical study. A model for collaborative research is illustrated, and advantages and disadvantages for practice, administration, and research are discussed.

Scholarly pursuit in the clinical setting: an obligation of professional nursing

Scholarly pursuit in the clinical setting is an essential component of the development of nursing as a profession. All nurses have a professional obligation to participate in the generation and testing of nursing knowledge. The success of such scholarly efforts calls for collaboration between nursing education and nursing service, new partnerships between academicians and clinicians, and the development of an array of research participation skills. As in other practice disciplines, nursing has experienced difficulty in translating its research into the practice setting. The lack of relevance of research to clinical practice, and the historic separation of academia and service have slowed the growth of scholarly activities in the clinical setting. However, changing attitudes about nursing research are creating new opportunities for scholarly pursuit in the clinical setting. Successful clinical research programs foster new roles for researchers and demonstrate planned social change to support positive attitudes about research among nurses. This paper will also examine how a few of these new paths of scholarly pursuit have been operationalized in one setting.