Describing the implementation of an innovative intervention and evaluating its effectiveness in increasing research capacity of advanced clinical nurses: using the consolidated framework for implementation research

Abstract

BackgroundDespite advanced nursing roles having a research competency, participation in research is low. There are many barriers to participation in research and few interventions have been developed to address these. This paper aims to describe the implementation of an intervention to increase research participation in advanced clinical nursing roles and evaluate its effectiveness.MethodsThe implementation of the intervention was carried out within one hospital site. The evaluation utilised a mixed methods design and a implementation science framework. All staff in advanced nursing roles were invited to take part, all those who were interested and had a project in mind could volunteer to participate in the intervention. The intervention consisted of the development of small research groups working on projects developed by the nurse participant/s and supported by an academic and a research fellow. The main evaluation was through focus groups. Output was analysed using thematic analysis. In addition, a survey questionnaire was circulated to all participants to ascertain their self-reported research skills before and after the intervention. The results of the survey were analysed using descriptive statistics. Finally an inventory of research outputs was collated.ResultsIn the first year, twelve new clinical nurse-led research projects were conducted and reported in six peer reviewed papers, two non-peer reviewed papers and 20 conference presentations. The main strengths of the intervention were its promptness to complete research, to publish and to showcase clinical innovations. Main barriers identified were time, appropriate support from academics and from peers. The majority of participants had increased experience at scientific writing and data analysis.ConclusionThis study shows that an intervention, with minor financial resources; a top down approach; support of a hands on research fellow; peer collaboration with academics; strong clinical ownership by the clinical nurse researcher; experiential learning opportunities; focused and with needs based educational sessions, is an intervention that can both increase research outputs and capacity of clinically based nurses. Interventions to further enhance nursing research and their evaluation are crucial if we are to address the deficit of nurse-led patient-centred research in the literature.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12912-017-0214-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Research capacity in nursing: a concept analysis based on a scoping review

“…The following articles provided data sources for concept analysis: Akerjordet et al 2012,27 Begley et al 2014,20 Corchon et al 2011,22 Crozier et al 2012,18 Edwards et al 2009,29 Fullam et al 2018,1 Goeppinger et al 2009,21 Gullick and West 2016,25 Hauck et al 2015,35 Jamerson and Vermeersch 2012,31 Kulage and Larson 2018,2 Landeen et al 2017,17 Lee and Metcalf 2009,28 Lode et al 2015,5 Martínez 2012,23 McAllister and Brien 2017,32 McKee et al 2017,7 Moore et al 2012,24 O'Byrne and Smith 2011,3 Renwick et al 2017,33 Torres et al 2017,19 Wilkes et al 2013 26…”

“…In the past three decades, many countries and organisations have made concerted efforts to develop and improve research capacity in the discipline of nursing 5. However, these policy-level supports provided by countries and organisations are insufficient for significantly improving the limited research capacity in nursing6 7; interventions to strengthen research capacity in nursing must be informed by scientific research. Therefore, more studies focusing on how to improve nursing research capacity are needed in order to provide evidence for policymakers, as well as to develop and refine interventions for improving research capacity in nursing 3 5.…”

Caught between a rock and a hard place: An intrinsic single case study of nurse researchers’ experiences of the presence of a nursing research culture in clinical practice

“…Patients with more complex and multiple chronic conditions spend less time in hospital, and many are expected to increase self-care by, for instance, monitoring their own symptoms and communicating with expert professionals via telemedical solutions (Sorknaes et al, 2013). However, these only be provided if there is sufficient research capacity among nurses (McKee, Codd, Dempsey, Gallagher, & Comiskey, 2017) and if a culture of inquiry exists (Patterson, Mason, & Duncan, 2017). As a result of this, there are greater demands on competence, and reflective and evidence-based practices, including research capacity in clinical nursing practice, are crucial (Hølge-Hazelton, Kjerholt, Berthelsen, & Thomsen, 2016).…”

“…As a result of this, there are greater demands on competence, and reflective and evidence-based practices, including research capacity in clinical nursing practice, are crucial (Hølge-Hazelton, Kjerholt, Berthelsen, & Thomsen, 2016). However, these only be provided if there is sufficient research capacity among nurses (McKee, Codd, Dempsey, Gallagher, & Comiskey, 2017) and if a culture of inquiry exists (Patterson, Mason, & Duncan, 2017).…”

Evaluation of Clinical Team Competence: Case of Saudi Arabia

“…However, the rationale behind their efforts and integration is usually reactive for remedial action and systemic weaknesses (Killaspy et al, 2015). For instance, the development of ward-based improvement interventions was one of the models to follow a series of high-profile public queries into the quality of United Kingdom (UK) healthcare systems (McKee, Codd, Dempsey, Gallagher, & Comiskey, 2017). Instead, the integration of such interventions is usually not managed.…”