Examining who is conducting and leading National Institute of Health-funded research in U.S. schools of nursing

BACKGROUND

Nursing science is essential for generating a unique body of knowledge that is foundational to the academic discipline of nursing.

PURPOSE

The goal of this analysis is to detail the education and licensing of faculty and leadership in research-intensive schools of nursing and to present the current data on the National Institute of Health (NIH) funding patterns in schools of nursing.

METHODS

The faculty composition analysis focused on the 40 U.S. schools of nursing receiving the most NIH funding through faculty serving as PIs on grants awarded in 2023. For the NIH funding patterns analysis, data were extracted from the NIH RePORTER database.

DISCUSSION

Of the top 30 NIH-funded Schools of Nursing, all the Deans and Associate Deans of Academic Affairs are educated or licensed as nurses; whereas only 55% of Associate Deans of Research are educated or licensed as nurses. In 2022, nearly half of the top-ranked schools of nursing had less than half of their NIH funding awarded to faculty who are trained and licensed as nurses CONLUSION: The current trends in the research enterprise in schools of nursing implore us to assess if we are adequately training nurses to advance nursing science and more importantly to serve as leaders of nursing science.

Increased adoption of smoke-free policies on campuses with schools of nursing

BACKGROUND

In 2015, the majority of U.S. American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)-accredited schools of nursing resided on campuses without smoke-free policies.

PURPOSE

To determine the presence of smoke-free policies at AACN-accredited after resolutions from AACN and the American Academy of Nursing, and the creation of online resources.

METHODS

Smoke-free policies (2015-2017) were determined through listings on the ANRF College Campus Policy Database© and survey responses from nursing deans.

RESULTS

Smoke-free policies for 689 schools of nursing increased from 36% in 2015 to 91% in 2017. There were no significant differences by nursing program types or geographic area. Twenty percent of deans reported using the resources, with over 1700-page views.

CONCLUSION

Smoke-free policies increased after support from two national nursing organizations. Learning in a smoke-free environment should be an expectation for nursing students to protect their own health, and to support their future critical role in tobacco control.

The National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence: An Evolution of a Nursing Initiative to Improve Care of Older Adults

The mission of the John A. Hartford Foundation is to improve the health of older Americans. This mission has been realized throughout the evolution of the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence-an international collaboration between Schools of Nursing and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing-whose goal is to support research, education, and practice to provide better nursing care for our aging society. The National Hartford Center is the focus of this supplement and an example of the Foundation's grant-making to prepare the nursing workforce to be competent to care for our aging society. This article traces the innovative origin and inception of the National Hartford Center, first as the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity (BAGNC) Initiative in 2000 under the leadership of two groundbreaking scholars in nursing and aging sciences: Claire M. Fagin, PhD, RN, and Patricia G. Archbold, DNSc. We continue through to today's leadership and culminate by describing the Center's influence on the gerontological nursing workforce and clinical practice; the paper also includes a brief introduction to the articles, highlighting advances in gerontological nursing science. With funding from the John A. Hartford Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Mayday Fund, and a number of creative public and nonprofit partnerships, the National Hartford Center celebrates two decades and its greatest asset-the nearly 300 gerontological nursing leaders, including Archbold nursing pre-docs, Fagin nursing post-docs, and expert faculty, along with its Hartford Centers of Gerontological Nursing Excellence across the country. We trace the transition of BAGNC to the membership-based National Hartford Center and its move to The Gerontological Society of America to become a self-sustaining, autonomous unit. Current needs, challenges, lessons learned, and strategies of the National Hartford Center are examined within the context of sustainability, which has become paramount as Hartford Foundation funding ends in 2016. Despite the auspicious beginnings of the National Hartford Center, system change has been slow. There remains a strong need to continue to grow the field of gerontological nursing and aging sciences. We are working diligently to drive health system reform, and develop and support gerontological nursing leaders and members of the National Hartford Center as exemplars for innovation in care of older adults. The contributing authors of this supplement are from member schools of the National Hartford Center or are current or past program Scholars or Fellows. Herein these authors showcase innovation for older adults through their research that addresses an array of diseases and conditions affecting human systems, embedded in a variety of environments, including in-home care, subsidized housing communities, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, memory care units, and rural community environs.