Article type
Year
Abstract
Introduction: The complementary nature of nursing science to biomedical science makes inclusion of this research in evidence synthesis advantageous. However the science of nursing is young; hence, research is often not designed as randomized control trials. Nurses began to focus on scientific scholarship only 35 years ago. Since that time, research capacity, theories, and original research have grown rapidly. Can such a young science contribute to developing the evidence base that supports best clinical decisions in health care?
Objectives: To address whether the state of nursing science is mature enough to contribute to evidence synthesis, general research trends and the existence of evidence synthesis in nursing research were examined.
Methods: Trends in nursing research were determined by one investigator who reviewed published nursing research literature since 1965, noting whether studies focused on clinical or non-clinical themes. To determine the number and topics of evidence syntheses, an automated search of the specialized nursing bibliographic database. Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) was conducted for meta analyses and systematic reviews.
Results: General trends of nursing research followed the profession's transition into the academic setting and attendant focus on scientific scholarship. Initially, nursing research was focused on faculty preparation, characteristics of nurses and students, academic programming, and human resources. In the mid 1980's, this emphasis switched to clinical issues. Meta analyses were used as an index of the maturity of the science of nursing, however, searches of CINAHL were not straightforward. Findings indicated that, prior to 1987, no meta analyses were indexed in CINAHL. Since that time, 62 meta analytic studies have been indexed. General content of these meta analyses included patient teaching, self care in chronic disease, pain management, quality of life, child development, and health promotion. These findings indicate a significant increase in the number of nursing practice research studies as well as a focus on intervention studies.
Discussion: Nurses have produced a significant corpus of original clinical research, ranging in design from exploratory to experimental to meta analysis. Current indexing of systematic reviews and meta analyses are not sufficient for ease of location in this body of research. The results of the study document the direction taken in nursing to identify research-based practices. Behavioral aspects of health care have been the most-studied topic in nursing research. Nursing research can be a contributing partner to the enterprise of EBP.
Objectives: To address whether the state of nursing science is mature enough to contribute to evidence synthesis, general research trends and the existence of evidence synthesis in nursing research were examined.
Methods: Trends in nursing research were determined by one investigator who reviewed published nursing research literature since 1965, noting whether studies focused on clinical or non-clinical themes. To determine the number and topics of evidence syntheses, an automated search of the specialized nursing bibliographic database. Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) was conducted for meta analyses and systematic reviews.
Results: General trends of nursing research followed the profession's transition into the academic setting and attendant focus on scientific scholarship. Initially, nursing research was focused on faculty preparation, characteristics of nurses and students, academic programming, and human resources. In the mid 1980's, this emphasis switched to clinical issues. Meta analyses were used as an index of the maturity of the science of nursing, however, searches of CINAHL were not straightforward. Findings indicated that, prior to 1987, no meta analyses were indexed in CINAHL. Since that time, 62 meta analytic studies have been indexed. General content of these meta analyses included patient teaching, self care in chronic disease, pain management, quality of life, child development, and health promotion. These findings indicate a significant increase in the number of nursing practice research studies as well as a focus on intervention studies.
Discussion: Nurses have produced a significant corpus of original clinical research, ranging in design from exploratory to experimental to meta analysis. Current indexing of systematic reviews and meta analyses are not sufficient for ease of location in this body of research. The results of the study document the direction taken in nursing to identify research-based practices. Behavioral aspects of health care have been the most-studied topic in nursing research. Nursing research can be a contributing partner to the enterprise of EBP.