Successful research capacity building in academic nursing and midwifery in Ireland: an exemplar

Research translation mentoring for emerging clinician researchers in rural and regional health settings: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Building clinician and organisation-level research translation capacity and capability is fundamental for increasing the implementation of research into health practice and policy and improving health outcomes. Research translation capacity and capability building is particularly crucial in rural and regional settings to address complex problems impacting these socially and economically disadvantaged communities. Programs to build clinicians' research translation capability typically involve training and mentoring. Little is known about the features of and influences on mentorships in the context of training for emerging clinician-researchers working in rural and regional healthcare settings. Research translation mentorships were established as part of the Supporting Translation Research in Rural and Regional settings (STaRR) program developed and delivered in Victoria, Australia from 2020 to 2021. The study sought to address the following research questions: 1) What context-specific types of support do research translation mentors provide to emerging researchers?. 2) How does the mentoring element of a rural research translational training program influence research translation capacity and capability development in rural emerging researchers and mentors, if at all?. 3) How does the mentoring element of the program influence translation capacity and capability at the organisational and regional level, if at all?

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative descriptive study. Interviews with individuals involved in the STaRR program took place approximately 12 months after the program and explored participants' experiences of the mentored training. Interviews were undertaken via telephone, audio-recorded, and transcribed. Data were analysed using a team-based five-stage framework approach.

RESULTS

Participants included emerging researchers (n = 9), mentors (n = 5), and managers (n = 4), from five health services and two universities. We identified four themes in the interview data: (1) Mentors play an educative role; (2) Mentoring enhanced by a collaborative environment; (3) Organisational challenges can influence mentorships, and (4) Mentorships help develop research networks and collective research and translation capacity.

CONCLUSIONS

Mentorships contributed to the development of research translation capabilities. The capabilities were developed through mentors' deepened understanding of the rural and regional healthcare contexts in which their emerging researchers worked, the broadening and strengthening of rural and regional research networks, and building and sharing research translation knowledge and skills.

The DELIVER study; the impact of research capacity building on research, education, and practice in Dutch midwifery

BACKGROUND

Few examples exist of research capacity building (RCB) in midwifery. As in other jurisdictions, at the turn of this century midwives in the Netherlands lagged in research-based practice. Dutch professional and academic organisations recognised the need to proactively undertake RCB. This paper describes how a large national research project, the DELIVER study, contributed to RCB in Dutch midwifery.

METHODS

Applying Cooke's framework for RCB, we analysed the impact of the DELIVER study on RCB in midwifery with a document analysis comprising the following documents: annual reports on research output, websites of national organizations that might have implemented research findings, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM)), midwifery guidelines concerning DELIVER research topics, publicly available career information of the PhD students and a google search using the main research topic and name of the researcher to look for articles in public papers.

RESULTS

The study provided an extensive database with nationally representative data on the quality and provision of midwifery-led care in the Netherlands. The DELIVER study resulted in 10 completed PhD projects and over 60 publications. Through close collaboration the study had direct impact on education of the next generation of primary, midwifery care practices and governmental and professional bodies.

DISCUSSION

The DELIVER study was intended to boost the research profile of primary care midwifery. This reflection on the research capacity building components of the study shows that the study also impacted on education, policy, and the midwifery profession. As such the study shows that this investment in RCB has had a profound positive impact on primary care midwifery in the Netherlands.

The future of cancer nursing in Europe: Addressing professional issues in education, research, policy and practice

Cancer nursing has evolved to meet the demands of rising cancer incidence, newer and more complex treatment options, and the emergence of specialist roles supporting patients from pre-diagnosis, through treatment, survivorship and end of life care. Nurses are involved in direct and in-direct care of people at risk of, and living with and after cancer in diverse contexts. As a result, nurses are positioned to have a significant influence on the processes and outcomes of cancer care, through education, research, policy, practice and leadership. However, nursing and cancer care face challenges, arising from workforce shortages, under-investment in services and under-representation in decision-making. This paper discusses the evolution of cancer nursing across education, policy, research, profession and practice, and sets an agenda for innovation and disruption across these domains to ensure sustainability of cancer care services and care for people living with and after cancer. We argue for the continued advancement of cancer nursing with critical focus on identifying and addressing inequities in role recognition and access to specialist cancer nursing education throughout Europe. Partnership, exchange of learning, and co-design will be central to progressing education, evidence and policy to support future growth in the cancer nursing workforce and embed cancer nurses in research and policy setting at local, national and international levels.

Half-time evaluation of a new 4-year Ph.D. program in nursing and midwifery at the University of Gondar, Ethiopia

A new four-year Ph.D. programme in nursing and midwifery, the first of its kind in Ethiopia, was started in 2018/2019 at the University of Gondar when eight doctoral students in nursing and midwifery entered the program. We who have been involved see this as an appropriate time to evaluate what has been accomplished to date and to look toward future possibilities. Our aim in carrying out such an evaluation and presenting our findings is in part to determine if similar programs might be developed in other similar settings and in part to learn what modifications to the present program might be considered. The key elements of a questionnaire survey with closed and open response alternatives were based on the content, structure and learning outcomes of the home university Ph.D. programme as described in the curriculum. The questionnaire responses captured changes that would be needed to maintain a fully satisfactory programme that blends onsite instruction and online access to faculty resulting in a twenty-first century blended Ph.D. programme. Improved dialogue between the home university faculty and the external supervisors is needed. The programme can provide a career pathway that midwifery and nursing educators can follow in their own country rather than having to leave to study in another country. The findings provide insight into the feasibility of extending similar Ph.D. programmes to other parts of East Africa and with the SDG 5 in mind with an increased focus on women leadership. The justification for this initiative is to meet the need for more nursing and midwifery faculty who can provide quality midwifery and nursing education in East African countries. Retention of these professionals will help to deal with the shortage of healthcare personnel and will provide better care for the general population.

Effectiveness of an Academic-Practice Team Approach on Research Capacity Building of Nurses and Public Health Professionals

The purpose of this study was to determine the need for research training among nurses and health professionals in a rural province of Thailand and to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions designed to address the identified factors. This two-phase study used a cross-sectional design with one-group pre- and post-tests. In phase I, 149 subjects from 16 subdistrict health promoting hospitals and one district hospital were sampled. As an intervention, an academic-practice team approach to research capacity building was designed. Twenty-four volunteers completed a three-time point assessment of intervention in phase II. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires and analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistics. Phase-I results indicated that 33.6% of subjects were involved in the research implementation. They had a moderate perception of research barriers and capacity. The research experiences, capacity, and barriers associated with the research implementation were described in detail (p < 0.05). The only positive predictor of research implementation was research training (p < 0.001). The intervention improved 24 participants’ competency (p < 0.05). Most of their research proposals had received ethics approval and a small grant. These findings highlight the efforts of innovative research capacity development and its impact on research and health practices among nurses and health professionals.

Evaluation of the academic achievements of clinician health services research scientists involved in "pre-K" career development award programs

Introduction

Research career development awards (CDAs) facilitate development of clinician-scientists. This study compared the academic achievements of individuals in a structured institutional "pre-K" CDA program, the Mayo Clinic Kern Scholars program, with individuals who applied for but were not admitted to the Kern program ("Kern applicants"), and awardees of other unstructured internal CDAs.

Methods

This was a longitudinal cohort study of clinicians engaged in research at Mayo Clinic between 2010 and 2019. The primary outcome was time to the 15^th new peer-reviewed publication after the program start, adjusted for baseline number of publications. Secondarily, we described successful awarding of federal funding by the NIH or VA.

Results

The median (IQR) number of baseline publications was highest among Kern Scholars compared to Kern Applicants or other CDA awardees [16 (12, 29) vs 5 (1, 11) and 8 (5, 16); P < 0.001]. After adjustment for baseline publications, the time to 15th new publication was significantly shorter for Kern Scholars than for the two comparator groups (P<0.001). Similar findings were observed with total new publications within 5 years (P < 0.001), as well as number of new first-/last-author publications within 5 years (P < 0.001). The overall frequency of K-awards, R-awards (or equivalent), or any funding were similar between groups, with the exception of R03 awards, which were significantly more common among Kern Scholars (P = 0.002).

Conclusion

The Kern Scholars program is a successful training model for clinician-scientists that demonstrated comparatively greater acceleration of scholarly productivity than other internal CDA programs.

An overview of patterns and trends in nursing publications from the People's Republic of China

Objective

To explore patterns and trends in nursing publications from the People's Republic of China.

Methods

Using the Scopus online database, the author performed two searches in August 2019. The first search identified all items in the category of nursing affiliated to China, and the second search identified publications from China within one specific nursing journal. The author used a theoretical framework to provide a more in-depth understanding of patterns and trends within these items.

Results

The number of articles categorized as nursing, with listed authorship in China, within the Scopus database was 17,506. The majority of published papers were categorized as research. Top-ranking Chinese universities, such as Peking University and Fudan University, scored high in terms of several publications listed within the database. Although categorized as nursing, the most common source titles that are mostly high-ranking journals did not feature the high-ranking nursing journals. Identified authors were generally not affiliated with nursing schools. Focused analysis of one of the top-ranking nursing journals, the Journal of Nursing Management, featured top Chinese universities and consistent nursing authorship. Nursing authors were found to have lower h-indices than international nursing professors.

Conclusions

There has been a steady increase year by year in publications categorized as nursing from China since 2009, with the majority of published papers categorized as research. There is clear evidence of scholarly activity in nursing in China, both in the published literature and anecdotally in practice. However, nursing scholars need to do more to increase dissemination and ensure that nursing professors are leading and driving nursing research, although in a multidisciplinary context. There is also a need for increased exposure of Chinese nursing scholarship in high-ranking nursing journals.

Building Research Capacity in Nursing Academia in 2020: Is the Road Less Perilous?

Background

Building research capacity in nursing academic units continues to be a challenge. There are a number of external contextual factors and internal factors that influence individual faculty as well as the collective to engage successfully in research.

Purpose

The overall aim of this opinion article is to provide an overview of the current external and internal, processes and structures, relevant to capacity of nursing faculty to engage in research.

Methods

To inform the external context, we reviewed national research funding trends for nursing. To inform the internal context, we provided an exemplar of the internal processes and structures designed to support research capacity building within our academic unit.

Results

Canadian Institutes of Health Research funding trends for research grants led by nurse principal applicants increased between 2010 and 2013, followed by a steady decline. In 2017 to 2018, there were only 24 research grants led by nurse principal applicants. These external challenges coupled with the traditional internal barriers, such as the imbalance between teaching and research time, threaten research capacity for nursing academics.

Conclusion

Organizational strategies to promote research capacity within academic nursing units are a necessary requirement to move forward.

Research capacity in nursing: a concept analysis based on a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

As the discipline of nursing has advanced, research capacity in nursing has become increasingly important to the discipline's development. However, research capacity in nursing is still commonly used as a buzzword, without a consistent and clear definition. The purpose of this study is to clarify the concept of research capacity in nursing by identifying its conceptual components in the relevant nursing literature using the Pragmatic Utility method.

DESIGN

A Pragmatic Utility concept analysis based on a scoping review.

DATA SOURCES

Academic literature retrieved from PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (PQDT).

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Qualitative studies, quantitative studies, mixed method studies or literature reviews focusing on research capacity in nursing published in English between 2009 and 2019.

RESULTS

Competence, motivation, infrastructure and collaboration for nursing research are the antecedents of research capacity in nursing. The attributes of research capacity in nursing are 'non-individual level', 'context-embeddedness' and 'sustainability'. The direct outcome of research capacity in nursing is nursing research. The allied concepts identified are nursing research competency, nursing research capability and evidence-based practice capacity in nursing.

CONCLUSIONS

Research capacity in nursing is the ability to conduct nursing research activities in a sustainable manner in a specific context, and it is normally used at a non-individual level. Research capacity in nursing is critical for the development of the nursing discipline, and for positive nurse, patient and healthcare system outcomes. More studies are needed to further explore the allied concepts of research capacity in nursing, and to better understand relationships among these allied concepts.

The contribution of nursing doctoral schools to the development of evidence 10 years after their establishment in Italy: An exploratory descriptive survey of former and current doctoral students' publications

AIM

To analyse through an exploratory descriptive survey how former and current doctoral students' publications have contributed to the development of evidence between the establishment of the doctoral schools of nursing in 2006-2015.

DESIGN

An exploratory descriptive survey.

METHODS

We analysed the papers published in peer-reviewed journals by the four Italian PhD Schools of Nursing between 2006-2015. Additional missing information was retrieved from Web of Science.

RESULTS

We identified 478 scientific papers. The papers increased from 12 in 2006-110 in 2015. Most are published in 29 journals, of which 15 had an impact factor ranging between 0.236-3.755. These results show the increasingly significant contribution of nursing doctoral programmes to the production of evidence, which can be used to improve the quality of nursing and inform health policies. Nursing doctoral schools deserve a greater recognition, especially by Italian funding agencies and political institutions.

The potential of a lecture series in changing intent and experience among health professionals to conduct research in a large hospital: a retrospective pre-post design

BACKGROUND

Promoting research capacity within public health can encourage and engage employees to undertake research, utilising their understanding of the complex needs that exist within the public health system to provide more relevant research outcomes. Despite this, there are a number of reasons cited by health care professionals as to why research is not undertaken, and a lack of support for research participation results in missed opportunities for experienced clinical and public health staff to gain research experience, expand the evidence base, and promote and support research. The aim of this study is to identify if education in research, delivered through a series of lectures at a large tertiary referral hospital, results in an increase in the experience and intent to conduct research.

METHODS

A series of six lectures to aid in the understanding and development of research were delivered to health employees, health care professionals, students and their associates within a large public Australian hospital. Following these lectures, a validated instrument was developed and asked respondents to assess their research activity, research training history, and experience in conducting research using a retrospective pre/post- test design.

RESULTS

Over half (57.1%) of respondents (n = 49) reported no previous researcher education training prior to the lectures. Following the lectures, reported researcher experience increased significantly in the areas of writing a research protocol, using qualitative research methods, publishing research, writing and presenting a research report, analysing and interpreting results, using quantitative research methods, generating research ideas, and applying for research funding. At 6 months following the lecture series intent to be involved in further research was seen in the areas of submitting an ethics application, analysing qualitative and quantitative research data, and research funding applications.

CONCLUSIONS

Six one hour face to face research lectures can improve self-reported levels of intention to become involved in research as well as research experience amongst hospital health care professionals at 6 months. This traditional modality of education should still be considered as relevant strategy in building research capacity as measured innovatively using a retrospective pre/post test methodology.

Implementing an innovative intervention to increase research capacity for enhancing early psychosis care in Indonesia

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE TOPIC?: In low- and middle-income settings (LMICs) such as Indonesia, the burden from psychotic illness is significant due to large gaps in treatment provision Mental health workers and community nurses are a growing workforce requiring new evidence to support practice and enhanced roles and advanced competencies among UK mental health nurses also requires greater research capacity Research capacity building projects can strengthen research institutions, enhance trial capacity, improve quality standards and improve attitudes towards the importance of health research. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS?: Delivering innovative, cross-cultural workshops to enhance research capacity to multidisciplinary, early career researchers in Indonesia and the UK are rated highly by attendees Supporting people in this way helps them to gain competitive grant funding to complete their own research which can improve the health of the population To our knowledge, there are no other studies reporting the attainment of grant income as a successful outcome of international research partnerships for mental health nursing so our finding is novel. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: This method could be implemented to improve networking and collaboration between UK academics and early career researchers in other lower- and middle-income settings This strategy can also strengthen existing partnerships among early career researchers in the UK to meet the demands for greater research mentorship and leadership among mental health nurses and enhance nurses capabilities to contribute to evidence for practice.

ABSTRACT

Aim To strengthen research capacity for nurses and early career researchers in Indonesia and the UK to develop a local evidence base in Indonesia to inform policy and improve the nation's health. These strategies can strengthen research institutions, enhance trial capacity, improve quality standards and improve attitudes towards the importance of health research. Methods Four days of workshops were held in Jakarta, Indonesia developing collaborative groups of academic nurses and early career researchers from the UK and Indonesia (30 people including mentors) to produce competitive grant bids to evaluate aspects of early psychosis care. Qualitative and quantitative evaluations were conducted. Results Participants evaluated the workshops positively finding benefit in the structure, content and delivery. Research impact was shown by attaining several successful small and large grants and developing offshoot collaborative relationships. Discussion These novel findings demonstrate that collaborative workshops can strengthen research capacity by developing partnerships and instigating new collaborations and networks. No other studies of international research partnerships among mental health nurses have reported this outcome to our knowledge. Implications for Practice This method could be implemented to improve networking and collaboration between UK academics and early career researchers and also with external colleagues in other LMICs.

Describing the implementation of an innovative intervention and evaluating its effectiveness in increasing research capacity of advanced clinical nurses: using the consolidated framework for implementation research

Background

Despite advanced nursing roles having a research competency, participation in research is low. There are many barriers to participation in research and few interventions have been developed to address these. This paper aims to describe the implementation of an intervention to increase research participation in advanced clinical nursing roles and evaluate its effectiveness.

Methods

The implementation of the intervention was carried out within one hospital site. The evaluation utilised a mixed methods design and a implementation science framework. All staff in advanced nursing roles were invited to take part, all those who were interested and had a project in mind could volunteer to participate in the intervention. The intervention consisted of the development of small research groups working on projects developed by the nurse participant/s and supported by an academic and a research fellow. The main evaluation was through focus groups. Output was analysed using thematic analysis. In addition, a survey questionnaire was circulated to all participants to ascertain their self-reported research skills before and after the intervention. The results of the survey were analysed using descriptive statistics. Finally an inventory of research outputs was collated.

Results

In the first year, twelve new clinical nurse-led research projects were conducted and reported in six peer reviewed papers, two non-peer reviewed papers and 20 conference presentations. The main strengths of the intervention were its promptness to complete research, to publish and to showcase clinical innovations. Main barriers identified were time, appropriate support from academics and from peers. The majority of participants had increased experience at scientific writing and data analysis.

Conclusion

This study shows that an intervention, with minor financial resources; a top down approach; support of a hands on research fellow; peer collaboration with academics; strong clinical ownership by the clinical nurse researcher; experiential learning opportunities; focused and with needs based educational sessions, is an intervention that can both increase research outputs and capacity of clinically based nurses. Interventions to further enhance nursing research and their evaluation are crucial if we are to address the deficit of nurse-led patient-centred research in the literature.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12912-017-0214-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Assessment of Research Capacity Among Nursing Faculty in a Clinical Intensive University in The Philippines

BACKGROUND

Many nursing studies are conducted in the United States, Europe, and Australia, where only a fourth of the world's population resides. There is a need to promote nursing research in Asia to enhance the contextual relevance of their evidence-based nursing interventions. A first step toward this goal is to determine the perceived research capacity among nursing faculty in academic settings in the Philippines.

METHODS

This study described the perceived research capacity among nursing faculty of the University of Santo Tomas - College of Nursing, Manila, Philippines. The study used a survey that contained four sections: subject demographics; knowledge and skill on research designs and research process; research involvement, services, and incentives; and factors affecting research involvement. Chi-square test of homogeneity and MANOVA analyzed the gathered data.

RESULTS

Findings showed that the faculty perceived themselves as knowledgeable and skillful in conducting research. However, current teaching assignments hindered their capacity to conduct research. University-sponsored incentives and college-based research services had also remained underutilized despite their availability. Overall, heavy teaching load was the greatest hindrance to research endeavors.

CONCLUSION

Actions must be taken to reconfigure effort allocations with careful consideration of existing university and institutional bylaws.