Empowering Research Skills in Nurses to Advance Health Equity
Background
Nurses spend considerably more time with patients than any other health professional; as a result, nurses can be instrumental in identifying areas that require research to advance health equity. This interaction with people allows nurses to recognise the factors contributing to inequality in health service delivery.1 However, there is a need to strengthen their knowledge and skill in undertaking research. Lack of confidence, poor leadership support for research, lack of perceived benefit from undertaking research, limited research mentoring and restrictive ethical approval processes are the some of the identified research barriers for clinicians.2,3 Clearly, strategies are needed to facilitate research skills for nurses.
Integrating Research into the Nursing Curriculum: Currently, undergraduate nursing programs incorporate research and evidence-based practice as one of the core subjects globally. However, nursing students tend to underestimate the application of research in nursing practice. One strategy to enhance student nurses’ research skills is to provide opportunities to team up with academics in clinical research. Nursing schools should encourage student participation through research scholarship programs. The experience gained will facilitate participation in research as a future nurse clinician.4 In addition, nursing curricula should explicitly address the factors that influences population health from a social, political and economic perspective to allow nurses to understand the diverse needs of the population.1
Active Research Mentorship: Mentoring is essential in building research capacity for clinical nurses. Mentoring includes orienting mentees to the research process, identifying priority research areas and creating a positive research culture. Research facilitators could guide in developing research proposals that are feasible, appropriate and achievable. Additionally, guidance in preparing ethics applications and data collection skills could be beneficial. Mentoring on the process of refining and prioritising research areas is one of the aims of JBI, which is achieved through training on systematic review processes. By using a systematic approach, the diverse needs of vulnerable populations could be identified and addressed.
Access to Research Resources: There is a need to create research opportunities for nurse clinicians. One of the major factors limiting the generation, implementation and use of evidence in nursing is the limited knowledge about accessing research resources5 Hence, a hospital-based clinical librarian could play an integral part in assisting clinicians to access resources.
Research Support Positions: Research positions in the healthcare setting have been identified as fundamental in promoting a positive research culture.6 Investing in this role promotes evidence-informed practices. Research support positions will facilitate nurse-initiated research, which will, in turn, address the identified health needs and improve health equity.7
Interdisciplinary Research Approach: Person-centred healthcare requires a holistic and personalised approach to meet the complex needs of individuals. For example, healthy ageing and managing epidemics are two areas that can be addressed through multidisciplinary research programs. Empowering nurses with research skills will increase their confidence to collaborate with other healthcare professionals to achieve sustainable patient outcomes.8
Partnering with Academia: As hospitals are not always integrated with universities, partnering with nurse academics is an essential component of promoting evidence-based practice. Partnering with clinicians has mutual benefits for both academics and clinicians. Clinicians will benefit by achieving research competence, while academics will overcome the challenges related to lack of access to patients and clinical environments.9 Finally, nurses working in the clinical environment are better placed to understand the contemporary needs of the population and thus, to identify research gaps.
Key Messages
- Nurses could effectively identify areas requiring research to advance health equity.
- Nurse clinicians face multiple challenges in initiating and conducting research; however, nurses are motivated to become involved in research and evidence implementation.
- Creating a positive culture of research must be initiated in basic nursing education and this research skill should be fostered through mentoring support.
- Nurses should be well informed about the available resources that support evidence-based practices, and having research-focused positions to support clinicians in research is recommended.
- Patient care is a team approach, and healthcare research should facilitate interdisciplinary approaches to reduce inequality in healthcare delivery.
References
1. Hassmiller S, Darcy Mahoney A, Beard K. The future of nursing 2020–2030: global applications to advance health equity. Cham, Springer; 2023.
2. Morrison L, Johnston B, Cooper M. Mixed methods systematic review: factors influencing research activity among nurses in clinical practice. J Clin Nurs 2022;31(17-18):2450-64.
3. Musumadi L. An assessment of the barriers to research involvement among nurses at a hospital in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi J Nurs Healthc 2023;6:107-13.
4. Tingen MS, Burnett AH, Murchison RB, Zhu H. The importance of nursing research. J Nurs Educ 2009;48(3):167-70.
5. Pitsillidou M, Roupa Z, Farmakas A, Noula M. Factors affecting the application and implementation of evidence-based practice in nursing.Acta Inform Med.2021;29(4):281-7.
6. Wenke R, Mickan S. The role and impact of research positions within healthcare settings in allied health: a systematic review. BMC Health Serv Res. 2016;16(a):355.
7. Östlin P, Schrecker T, Sadana R, Bonnefoy J, Gilson L, Hertzman C, et al. Priorities for research on equity and health: towards an equity-focused health research agenda. PLoS Med 2011;8(11):e1001115.
8. McKenna HP. Nursing and interdisciplinary research: phoenix or dodo? J Multidiscip Healthc 2020;13:1075-8.
9. Halili X, Välimäki M, Li Z, Tang S, Wang H, Chen Q. Academic-practice partnerships in evidence-based nursing practice: a scoping review protocol. BMJ Open 2022;12(9):e065049.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this World EBHC Day Blog, as well as any errors or omissions, are the sole responsibility of the author and do not represent the views of the World EBHC Day Steering Committee, Official Partners or Sponsors; nor does it imply endorsement by the aforementioned parties.
