Evidence-Based Practice, Nurse-led Research Key to Patient Outcomes

In a two-part series, Nurse.com provides first-hand feedback from nurses presenting posters at the Oncology Nursing Society national conference, who share guidance for other nurses interested in research practice.

One of the researchers quoted, Nalo Hamilton, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar, advises nurses to recognize the contributions they can make to research practice and to realize that all research, whether small or large, makes a difference in nursing knowledge and patient care.

“As nurses, we can examine how we can improve our nursing interventions and showcase what we do in our research,” Hamilton tells Nurse.com. “For example, we are great at health care prevention and can demonstrate through our research how, for example, patient education improves medication compliance and patient outcomes.”

All of the nurses interviewed noted that evidence-based practice projects and research in oncology nursing help nurses determine their role in improving patient care and outcomes.

Part I is available here. 
Part II is available here.  

American Nurses Foundation Supports Nursing Research Into Bullying, Loneliness, Walking

Nursing research runs the gamut from investigations into nursing processes that affect patient care to testing whether seniors are better able to age in place if their homes are adapted to meet their needs. No matter, the topic, the body of research conducted by nurses continues to grow exponentially.

The latest issue of The American Nurse highlights the studies of three nurse researchers who have received grants from the American Nurses Foundation (ANF), including RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar Laurie Theeke.

Theeke's research, funded by ANF and RWJF, involves exploring the emotions associated with loneliness, specifically among older adults living with chronic illness in Appalachia. She has found that older adults who scored high on a loneliness index felt stigma, sadness, anxiety, depression, anger, and fear. Theeke plans to test interventions that target specific components of loneliness. She suggests that further research might address whether people isolate themselves because of functional decline or whether isolation speeds that decline.

Other highlighted research studies explore how novice nurses cope with workplace bullying by nurse colleagues and whether safer walking areas influence health outcomes of low-income residents.

Better Nurse Staffing, Education and Work Environment Contribute to Magnet Hospitals' Patient Outcomes

A new study in Medical Care, conducted by Matthew McHugh, an RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar, finds that the lower mortality rates at Magnet Hospitals are achieved in part because of investments in nursing. This study reflects many of the findings of INQRI studies into the impact of nurse staffing, work environment and education on quality of patient care.

McHugh and his colleagues compared investment in nursing and patient outcomes at Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals in California, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They found significant differences in nursing at Magnet hospitals, including better work environments, higher nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, and higher proportions of nursing with bachelor's degrees and specialty certification. Magnet hospitals also had better patient outcomes, including lower "failure to rescue" and mortality rates. They also reported that the Magnet application process may also play a role in promoting higher quality care.

A summary of the study is on Science Codex.