Why You Should Conduct Nursing Research to Promote Quality Health

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Quality health care is a concern of health professionals, patients and insurance agencies alike. It is through nursing research that we find out whether or not quality care is being provided. Researching nursing care and its outcomes is integral to promoting quality health for all.

Nurses can also use research to help shape policy and programs both in their area and federally. It helps develop budgets and provides justification for billing to both Medicare and private insurance companies. Because of this, the American Nurses Association (ANA) has developed a research agenda mission statement.

Some important items addressed by the ANA agenda for nursing research are:

A. The value of nursing contributions to safety, reliability, quality and efficiency. Identification of:

•The economic value of nursing
•Methods that document the value of nursing care outcomes
•Factors related to the process of care that contribute to improved outcomes
•Strategies to increase the visibility of nursing care contributions
•Quality measures to assess outcomes for patients with short stays

B. Factors that increase the impact of nurses on quality and efficiency. Identification of:

•Innovative care delivery models that result in improved patient outcomes
•Measures that demonstrate the role of nurses in care coordination
•Differences among nursing units related to structural and process measures
•Institutional changes that facilitate the translation of research into practice
•Nurses’ credentials associated with patient outcomes
•Strategies for nurses to assess patient understanding of medication management and self-care

C. Use of NDNQI to facilitate patient safety, quality care and efficiency. Identification of:

•Interventions to promote improved patient outcomes
•Quality measures that should be added to NDNQI
•Data sets to complement the use of NDNQI
•Organizational characteristics of NDNQI hospitals that improve patient care outcomes

D. Nurse workforce issues. Identification of:

•Workforce characteristics that contribute to improved patient outcomes
•Right mix of nurses to meet the needs of the population
•Roles and settings in which nurses work
•Impact of workplace violence and whistle blower issues on nurse satisfaction and retention
•Impact of safe patient handling programs on nurses
•Effect of workplace stress on nurses

E. Population health issues. Identification of:

•Nurses’ contributions to reducing health disparities
•Nurses’ contributions to population health issues
•Nurses’ application of genetic and genomic information and technology in practice

The Importance of Nursing Research

Research also provides information for forming policy and gathering that research and making it available to the public helps both the public and private sector write grants and provide evidence based theory for making changes to practices.

Because nursing is a medical and scientific practice, research is an integral part of it. Without providing necessary outcome measures, no growth in the area of nursing can occur effectively. Being able to show what has worked and what has not is important to the progression of the nursing field. It is also integral to substantiating means and funding.

So much of our funding in the health field depends upon proof of efficacy. It is through the research provided by those who take the time to review charts, interview workers and in the field collecting notes that we justify charging for and paying nursing staff.