Practicing nurses who have special expertise concerning clinical problems generally have minimal involvement in clinical nursing research. As a step toward increasing their research participation and, therefore, the relevancy of clinical studies, this study surveyed 1,217 nurses employed at nine health care agencies concerning their research attitudes, work environment, and research involvement. Descriptive statistics indicated that nurses value nursing research and want more time for research-related activities. Discriminant function analysis revealed that prior research instruction, awareness of support for research, and positive attitudes toward research were predictive of nurses' participation in research activities.

This study describes the experience of young adults' adaptation to living with the chronic sexually transmitted disease genital herpes. Interview data from 70 adults with a diagnosis of genital herpes were analyzed using constant comparative analysis. Findings from the study indicated that the process of adaptation to living with genital herpes involves regaining a valued sense of self. The process occurs in three stages. In the first stage, young adults strive to protect themselves from devaluation due to the stigmatization connected with the disease. In the second stage, they try to renew their sense of self by reaching out and balancing their lives. In the third stage, they adopt a management style that enables them to preserve their sense of self Implications for further research and for practice are suggested.

Clinical features of genital herpes, perceived causes, stress symptoms, treatments, and psychosocial factors in 70 young adults as compared to normative data for non-patient controls are described. The clinical features of the disease were congruent with those of other groups studied. Stress was viewed as the major cause of recurrence, headaches the major stress symptom, and acyclovir (an antiviral drug), was the major treatment. Statistically significant differences were found between scores obtained from the sample of young adults with genital herpes on three of four standardized psychological instruments when compared with normative data for non patient controls. Young adults with genital herpes had a lower self concept, more psychopathology, a greater frequency of daily hassles, and less intensity of uplifts. No differences were found, however, between the two groups in scores on depression.

Grounded theory methodology was used to study nursing interventions in a methadone maintenance clinic. Participant-observation as a clinic staff nurse over four months was the principal method of data collection. A substantive theory called "managing vulnerability" was developed to describe nursing treatment of heroin addicts during methadone maintenance. Managing vulnerability has three parallel stages for the client and nurse. These stages are (a) learning to be vulnerable, (b) living with vulnerability and (c) beyond vulnerability. Basic conditions for this process are dispensing (giving) medication; therapeutic neutrality, which is the attitude assumed by the nurse; effective staff communication and clear clinic policy. Managing vulnerability illustrates the complexity of a therapeutic psychological nursing process.

The process dimension in nursing is far more complex than currently recognized. Lack of knowledge about process in nursing has consequences for professional development and nursing theory. A method for generating theory from systemic observation, description, identification and analysis of nursing practice is presented.