Headlines from the NLN: NINR/NLN Co-Sponsor 2015 National Nursing Research Roundtable: The Nexus of Practice, Research, and Education for the Health of the Nation

Abstract

The National Nursing Research Roundtable (NNRR) has met annually since 1987 to provide an opportunity for leaders of nursing organizations with a research mission to discuss and disseminate research findings to improve health outcomes. The NNRR mission is to serve public's health through development of a strong research-based nursing practice. The annual NNRR brings together clinicians, scientists, educators, scholars, and policy leaders to discuss priorities in science, practice, and policy and to envision future.The 2015 NNRR, co-sponsored by National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) of National Institutes of Health and National League for Nursing, brought together more than a dozen professional nursing societies to discuss importance of health care transitions within context of nursing practice, research, and education. Scientific presentations on latest advances in transitional care were followed by break-out sessions to discuss science of health care transitions and policy, practice, and education implications of these transitions as critical aspects of health care.2015 PRESENTATIONSNINR ResearchNINR Director Dr. Patricia Grady provided an update on NINR research in which she summarized NINR-supported studies focused on health care transitions following treatment in acute care settings. She noted that recent changes in health care policy have catalyzed need for more research and that field of transitional care research has been pioneered by nurses. Citing Transitional Care Model (TCM) developed by Dr. Mary Naylor from University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Grady noted that TCM has contributed to improvements in health outcomes and patient satisfaction for seniors suffering from multiple chronic illnesses. By demonstrating that nurse-managed transitional care reduces hospital readmissions and can substantially reduce total health care costs, TCM has garnered attention of third-party payers (Naylor, Aiken, Kurtzman, Olds, & Hirschman, 2011).Dr. Grady cited other examples of nursing research in transitional care in hospital as well as community settings. One example was Discharge Decision Support System, embedded in electronic health records systems to identify patients in need of follow-up after hospital discharge to improve health outcomes and reduce hospital readmission costs (Holland, Knafl, & Bowles, 2013; Holland, Rhudy, Vanderboom, & Bowles, 2012). Researchers are currently developing systems, tailored to end-user, for continuous evaluation and improvement - an approach with potential for broad implementation and dissemination.Intersection Among Research, Education, and PracticeIn her keynote address, Dr. Eileen Sullivan-Marx of New York University discussed critical intersection between research, education, and practice and how these areas can be combined with two current health care priorities - improved delivery of health care services and use of technology - to enhance undergraduate nursing education. Dr. Sullivan-Marx cited opportunities through curricula to include students with experiences in technology, posing question of how to harness their capabilities in designing future efforts rather than fitting them into ongoing projects.Dr. Sullivan-Marx recommended teaching research skills at all levels of education to make research careers exciting. She emphasized case-based learning with integration of research and highlighted importance of tying nursing and nursing outcomes to data, informatics, and health care financing.Science of Health Care TransitionsDrs. Barbara Riegel, Arlene Butz, and Debra Barksdale provided scientific presentations on science of health care transitions and policy and practice implications of health care transitions as a critical aspect of health care.Dr. Riegel (School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania) defined transitional care as the range of time-limited services and environments designed to ensure coordination and continuity among at-risk populations as they experience care transitions, for example, moving from one level of care to another (e. …