Research and its relationship to nurse education: focus and capacity

Research capacity for everyone? A case study of two academic nursing schools' capacity building strategies

This paper reports the findings of a comparative case-study project which evaluated the development of nursing research capacity in two academic schools in the United Kingdom. The research compared the approaches used, explored the experiences of staff during the implementation process, and identified the outcomes which were achieved. The methods employed were in-depth interviews, focus groups and documentary analysis. A literature review was undertaken to inform the design and conduct of the study (Segrott et al., 2006).

The project's findings are divided into five sections. We begin by discussing the strategies implemented by the two schools, and their overall success. We then examine the wider development of a research culture, explore the problems and challenges experienced, and consider the management and organisation of capacity building. The final theme concerns the role played by the schools' wider institutional and political contexts.

The paper explores the relative strengths of inclusive and exclusive approaches to staff development, and the importance of integrated academic leadership and effective management. The study highlights the need for academic schools to forge strong connections between experienced researchers and novices, as well as between teaching and research activities.

Developing a best practice framework to benchmark research and development activity in nursing and midwifery

Clinical and social care governance provides a strategic climate in which research and development (R&D) is a key component. Within this context, nurses and midwives have the opportunity and responsibility to make a difference to the quality of patient care by raising the profile of their R&D activity. The R&D Best Practice Framework advanced in this paper has been developed as a mechanism to identify good practice and to help build a more positive culture within which nursing and midwifery research and development can flourish. The aim of the Framework was to identify explicit criteria for developing the nursing and midwifery R&D agenda, against which organisations can benchmark activity. The R&D Best Practice Framework was developed using a systematic approach, and resulted in the formulation of best practice statements relating to key stakeholder groups including health and care providers, education providers and R&D funders. Statements were themed under six headings: strategy development; building capacity; infrastructure; partnership working; research in practice; and outcome assessment. The potential exists for the Framework to be translated across a range of settings, to be used by organisations as a benchmark for current activity, and as a tool which can facilitate future planning.

Barriers and facilitators of nursing research utilization in Iran: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

According to professionalization in nursing profession, the nursing researches expanded dramatically and rapidly in a very short period. Research results showed improvement in quality of provided care by using research findings. But there is still a gap between nursing research and practice, which led scientists to explore the barriers and facilitators of research utilization that could affect the application of research results. The aim of this review was to appraise and synthesize evidences of studies about the facilitators and barriers to research utilization in Iranian nurses.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies about the barriers and facilitators of nursing research utilization in Iran was undertaken.

RESULTS

The results showed that items such as "The nurse is isolated from knowledgeable colleagues with whom to discuss the research," "There is insufficient time on the job to implement new ideas," "The nurse does not have time to read research," "The nurse does not feel she/he has enough authority to change patient care procedures," "The facilities are inadequate for implementation," "Physicians will not cooperate with implementation," and "The relevant literature is not compiled in one place" were rated as the main barriers.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of 10 studies about research utilization in Iran showed that the barriers and facilitators remained constant through time and across different locations. The rank orders of barriers and facilitators were the same approximately. The nurse managers and administrators could utilize the findings of this review to allocate human resources and other sources and promote nursing research utilization in clinical field.

Research utilisation among nursing teachers in Finland: a national survey

Evidence-based nursing practices using the latest knowledge require nursing education and further education based on the latest research findings. Anyhow, research utilisation by nursing teachers is poorly known. The aim of this study was to assess research utilisation by nursing teachers and connections of teachers background, further education and research activity variables to research utilisation on nursing education. A descriptive, cross-sectional survey design was used. A structured questionnaire specifically designed for this study which focused on research utilisation by nursing teachers were used. Data were collected from all nursing schools in Finland using a survey via the Internet. Participating nursing teachers totaled 339, with a response rate of 46%. The mean age of teachers was 51years and most had master's degrees, although 12% had a licentiate or PhD. Most nursing teachers had taken further education, were members of research and development teams and had publications. Research utilisation in nursing teaching was connected to teachers age, nursing diploma, academic degree, work experience, official title, further education, research and development activities and publication activity. Conclusion is that nursing teachers with doctoral degrees make better use of research on nursing education than those with master's degrees.

Iranian nurses' attitudes toward research utilisation

Research utilisation poses significant challenges for the nursing profession in Iran. Nurses' attitudes toward research and their motivation to engage in research utilisation have repeatedly been identified as potential barriers. Yet little is known about the attitudes of Iranian nurses' regarding research. Therefore, there is a need for a study that focuses particularly on Iranian nurses' attitudes toward research utilisation. The objective was to assess the attitude of Iranian clinical nurses and nurse educators towards nursing research. A self-administered questionnaire based on a cross-sectional survey conducted on 410 respondents from 15 educational hospitals and nursing schools affiliated to Tehran Medical Sciences University, Iran. According to the self-report, nurses generally held positive attitudes toward research. Education, professional role and research activities had a statistically significant relationship with their research attitudes. Although the attitudes towards research were positive, they do not perceive that research is relevant to the day-to-day work of nursing and research is not applicable to nursing as well. The majority of nurses are still not convinced of the importance of research to nursing practice and to the nursing profession. This, in turn, means that nurses do not implement research findings in clinical practice. There is an immediate need to improve research training in our teaching hospital to facilitate the development of the local literature both in terms of research utilisation and production.

Harnessing collaboration to build nursing research capacity: a research team journey

This paper discusses a qualitative evaluation study, designed to explore nursing lecturers' research capability development through their engagement as co-researchers in a larger case study project (referred to as the 'main project'). It explores the justification for supporting research capacity development using this collaborative approach, the process and experience of undertaking collaborative research, and the effectiveness of this model of collaboration in developing new researchers. The paper also makes connections between the process of undertaking the research (designed to offer opportunities for inexperienced researchers to be involved) and the main project findings (which explored the ways in which academic schools develop research capacity). We first set the main project in its wider context and map key issues relating to research capacity development and collaboration in the literature, before outlining how we involved neophyte and 'midiphyte' researchers. The evaluative study, which is the focus of this paper, discusses the experiences of the neophyte researchers, and explores the synergies between the main project's key findings and the process of undertaking it. We conclude with some principles for using collaboration to build research capacity, visualised through a conceptual model. While this project was located within two universities in the UK, the development of research skills amongst nurses is likely to have broad international relevance. NB1 References to 'nursing', 'nursing research', and 'nursing education' are taken throughout to apply equally to midwifery, midwifery research, and midwifery education. NB2 For the purpose of this project, neophyte researchers are defined as staff needing formal training in research and involvement in others' research, and 'midiphyte' researchers as those with some training but needing support to develop research ideas.

Capacity building in nursing and midwifery research and development: an old priority with a new perspective

AIM

This paper is a report of a study to identify strategic priorities to inform the development of a regional strategy for nursing and midwifery research and development.

BACKGROUND

Research capacity has been highlighted internationally as a crucial element in the advancement of nursing and midwifery research and development. Research capacity has been defined as that which relates to the ability to conduct research. In a strategic context, however, there is a broader perspective that encompasses activities related both to 'using' and 'doing' research.

METHODS

A modified nominal group technique was employed. Three rounds were used to identify the main strategic priorities for nursing and midwifery research and development. Round one was based on the Delphi Technique and further rounds were based on the nominal group technique approach. Data were collected during February 2005. Participants (n = 105) were those involved in the research and development agenda for nursing and midwifery in Northern Ireland.

FINDINGS

Capacity building was highlighted as a central component from the final 12 priorities, with three key areas identified: (1) the importance of strong and visible leadership; (2) developing research expertise that will enable the profession to deliver programmes of research and (3) increasing the capacity of individuals and organizations to engage in development activity.

CONCLUSION

The 12 priorities identified emphasize the need for a broad perspective on building capacity that reflects involvement in a range of activities that span 'research' and 'development'. This has important implications globally if nurses and midwives are to develop the knowledge and skills required to engage in research and development as an integral part of their practice. Embracing this broader perspective has the potential to enhance performance that will contribute to continuous quality improvement.

Ethically involving students in faculty research

Students in nursing education programs have a right to privacy as they engage in their learning. At the same time, their faculty may be engaged in nursing education research in order to facilitate student learning. These two goals may conflict when faculty engage students as participants in nursing education research while at the same time facilitating their learning. Faculty as researchers with their students may encounter a conflict of interest in collecting data for their research while providing learning experiences for the same students. As a basic principle, students must be engaged as participants in an ethical manner that respects their rights for privacy. In this article, we explore the issues of faculty as researchers of their students and suggest strategies for addressing these issues.

Challenges and strategies in developing nursing research capacity: A review of the literature

OBJECTIVES

This paper reports the findings of a critical overview of the development of nursing research capacity in academic departments. It examines the major barriers to developing research capacity, the capacity building strategies adopted (or proposed) within the literature, and considers the wider context within which such endeavours take place.

DESIGN

The literature review forms part of a longitudinal project utilising case study methodology. A key word search was used to locate relevant journal articles for the period 1999-2004, derived from the project's research question and an earlier literature review. A number of manual 'shelf searches' were conducted.

DATA SOURCES

Bibliographic data were retrieved from The Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health literature, The Social Science Citation Index, and Medline.

REVIEW METHODS

Approximately 150 articles were retrieved, of which 47 were included in the study. Given the paucity of work in this area papers were not excluded on the grounds of methodological weakness. Major themes were identified in each paper and an analytical framework was developed.

RESULTS

Two main challenges affecting research capacity development were identified-material constraints and organisational contexts, and the changing roles and expectations of nurse educators. The importance of developing an overall strategic approach, clearly communicated, and accompanied by effective leadership was a point of common agreement. Debate existed on how research support should be managed, particularly the merits of inclusivity and the reconcilement of individual and organisational needs. Specific capacity strategies identified in the literature were the creation of infrastructures, the fostering of research cultures and environments, and the facilitation of training and collaboration.

CONCLUSIONS

The literature offers many examples of capacity building strategies. However, more empirical studies are needed to understand the situated process of implementing and evaluating capacity building in individual academic departments, and how this process differs between geographical settings.

Evidence-Based Nursing Education: Myth or Reality?

This article explores the concept of evidence-based nursing education. Because nurse educators incorporate evidence-based practice as a basic tenet of their programs, they assume nursing education itself is evidence based. Nursing education has a body of knowledge on which nurse educators base teaching, educational strategies, and curricular designs, but most of this knowledge is tacit, experiential, and based on practice. This knowledge relates to the art of teaching in nursing and can warrant the practice of nurse educators. However, research is also necessary to demonstrate the effectiveness of teaching approaches and strategies. Nurse educators need to develop the science of nursing education through qualitative and quantitative research, to add to the tacit knowledge underpinning nursing education strategies. When the science of nursing education is adequately developed through rigorous research, we will truly be able to say that nursing education is evidence based. Until then, it may be only a myth.