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Research resources
Nursing research: meeting
today’s health challenges –
perspectives from the
International Council of Nurses
Article by Judith A Oulton (pictured) and Patricia Caldwell
Today’s health systems face an ever burgeoning number
of challenges, ranging from health care reform to the
demands of shifting demographics; the growing burden
of chronic, noncommunicable diseases; emerging and reemerging
health problems; shrinking resources; and health
workforce shortages. The quest for quality and cost-effective
health care has brought evidence-based practice and nursing
research to the forefront.
This article begins by briefly exploring nursing’s
contribution to health research. It highlights nursing research
priorities and concludes with an overview on strengthening
nursing’s contribution to research and offering suggestions on
the way forward from an international perspective.
Nursing’s contribution to health research
Nursing research plays a major role in optimizing the health
and welfare of individuals, families, communities and
populations, and in reducing inequalities in health. Nursing
research encompasses inquiry into all aspects, components,
activities and phenomenon relating to health and of interest
to nurses 1 . It covers all facets of health and disease, spanning
from health promotion and illness prevention, to curative,
rehabilitative and supportive care 2 . Nursing research examines
the provision of care across all health settings including
hospitals, long-term care facilities, workplaces, schools,
community health centres, clinics, rehabilitation centres and
homes 3 . The knowledge generated through nursing research
provides the scientific basis and evidence that help shape
nursing practice, enhance delivery models and systems, guide
health service planning and policy, inform education and,
most importantly, improve patient safety and quality of care.
Nurses are active in various aspects of research. They serve
as principal investigators, project directors and co-principal
investigators. As well they participate as advisory board and
committee members on research projects and function as data
collectors. Nurses may work independently, together with other
nurses or in multidisciplinary research teams alongside other
disciplines such as medicine and pharmacy. Increasingly,
nurses are employed by the pharmaceutical industry to
coordinate clinical trials evaluating new medications.
Box 1 provides a number of examples illustrating the varied
expertise and contribution nurse researchers are making to
nursing, health and health systems research.
Indeed, the past decade has witnessed an exponential
growth in both the quantity and quality of nursing research.
Its development has been influenced in part by the
recognition of the importance of research to the profession
and an expansion in the number of graduate and doctoral
programmes available to nurses. A rise in the number of
institutions funding, supporting and conducting nursing
research has also been a good indicator of its growth and
development. Examples of such organizations include the
United States National Institute of Nursing Research; the
International Center for HIV/AIDS Research and Clinical
Training in Nursing; the Research Centre for Nursing and
Midwifery Practice in Australia; the Canadian Health Services
Research Foundation; the World Health Organization
Collaborating Centres for Nursing Research and
Development; and the Working Group of European Nurse
Researchers. Also noteworthy is a steady increase in the
number of high-quality journals and text books devoted to
nursing research and the growth in scientific events at
national, regional and international levels. In addition, more
countries have begun developing and adopting national
research plans for nursing, such is the case in Ireland and
Denmark 14,15 .
Nursing research priorities
The International Council of Nurses’ (ICN) position with
respect to nursing research is embodied in the 1987
statement on the organization’s role in research and
considered equally relevant today:
“ICN is convinced of the importance of nursing research as
a major contribution to meeting the health and welfare needs
of people. The continuous and rapid scientific developments
in a changing world highlight the need for research as a
means of identifying new knowledge, improving professional
education and practice, and effectively utilizing resources
[….] ICN believes that nursing research should be socially
relevant. It should look to the future while drawing on the
118 ✜ Global Forum Update on Research for Health Volume 4