Suzanne Bench
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, UK
Title: Orthopaedic nurses’ engagement in clinical research; An exploration of ideas, facilitators and challenges
Biography
Biography: Suzanne Bench
Abstract
Research-active healthcare organisations provide better quality care and improved clinical outcomes. Clinical staff are in an excellent position to identify research questions that matter to patients and families, but previous international studies have identified individual and organisational barriers to nurses’ research utilisation, with a paucity of data related to nurses’ engagement in research.
In 2017, our hospital created a research leadership group of directors, each with responsibility for a specific professional discipline. The aim of this qualittaive study was to explore nurses’ views regarding the research priorities for orthopaedic care and the perceived barriers and facilitators associated with nurses’ engagement in the research process. All nurses (n=373) working at the hospital were invited to participate. 75 nurses (20%) completed a questionnaire and participated in one of 14 audio recorded focus group discussions. Qualitative data underwent thematic analysis and descriptive statistics were used to present questionnaire responses.
Three key themes were identified: Other people do it; research ideas; barriers/facilitators. Although some people acknowledged its importance, research activity was not seen as part of the professional role and participants struggled to identify their own ideas. Key barriers centred around culture (priorities, motivation, support and empowerment), resources (time, competence, knowledge and confidence) and perceptions of research as scary and difficult. Key facilitators focused on resources and effective leadership.
Findings add to the body of evidence supporting the need for effective nursing research leadership. Data have informed a local nursing research strategy, which requires effective collaboration with the wider multi-disciplinary team for success.