Research
Research in nursing.
Team leader
Adelaida Zabalegui
(Hospital Clínic)
AZABALEG(ELIMINAR)@clinic.ub.es
Strategic objectives
Research in nursing is essential for responding to the healing demands of the current healthcare system. Its complexity in the hospital setting is derived from the associated increase in patient severity upon admission, the reduction in hospital stay, the incorporation of new technologies, the aging of the population, patient requests for information, social change, and the global crisis.
Main lines of research
Internationally, research activity in nursing is improving thanks to the definition of priorities, the identification of groups and the focusing of their research lines, increased funding, and integration of the results obtained in the clinical practice setting. Accordingly, an increase is being observed in the number of publications in international journals, documented in the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAH) and the Medline database, affording credibility and acknowledgement to our research activities. This improved scientific production has been achieved through the competitive funding of projects and the development of research training programs on the part of the professional and government organizations, and the generalized application of anonymous and rigorous peer review of the results of the investigations made.
Research in nursing presents differential paradigmatic elements with respect to other types of research in the health sciences, such as its particular patient focus (rather than disease-based focus), and the study of physiological, psychological, sociocultural and/or spiritual aspects of the individual, with a view to improving healing. The effort to secure this unique approach has resulted in the definition of priority research areas in nursing, which in this country comprise the following: evaluation of the efficacy of nursing interventions; the promotion of health and the development of strategies designed to implicate patients in their own healing; healing based on evidence; the implementation and evaluation of results in clinical practice; and measurement of the quality of nursing care.
In Spain, research in nursing is still an emergent activity. Its consolidation will be facilitated by the recent introduction of degree programs, masters and doctorate courses specifically targeted at nursing, with the participation of professionals accredited for teaching in research. For the first time, nurses following a doctorate program will be able to access extensive and rigorous training in the scientific method, to ensure the quality of their scientific production in the field of nursing care. Our present challenge is application to the healthcare setting: nurses should understand research as a driving force in their professional development and in the improvement of their care of patients and their families – incorporating it into their daily clinical practice.
We are aware of the enormous task awaiting us. In this context, we are inspired by the brilliant trajectory of research in nursing in the United States or Europe (United kingdom, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, etc.) – countries where nursing has been capable of attracting financial support, gaining access to mentors, and consolidating its lines of research. Nursing in the Clinic Hospital can lead the process of incorporating research to clinical practice, based on a solid institutional reference and a strongly-rooted scientific culture. The recent creation of the Nursing Research Committee aims to visualize and reinforce this activity. We already have competitive projects financed by national and European agencies, and have ambitious plans for improvement that should result in an increase in the number and relevance of our publications. In sum, our hospital has the motivation and scientific leadership needed to face the challenge of research in nursing.