Influences on the development of nursing research

Abstract

Three articles in this issue illustrate some of the different dimensions of international nursing research. The first article, on developing locally based research capacity within Hospice Africa Uganda, emphasises the historical and current impact of Western colonial thinking on donor-financed aid for health research. The researchers’ deliberate efforts to focus instead on local socio-cultural norms and existing research capacity brought many challenges. The researchers met these challenges and they offer practical lessons for other nurses with similar ideals. The authors emphasise facilitating competency through access and critical appraisal of the large amount of locally available information in Uganda. This emphasis links with our Guest Editorial on the practical benefits of the Nursing Libraries for Refugee Health (NLRH). A nurse said during an evaluation that, ‘The malaria training was very good and we learned a lot. We have changed our practice in the use of malaria drugs with pregnant women and with children and also know more about managing drug reactions.’ This nurse had benefited from a review of the relevant ‘hard copy’ literature made available through the NLRH library. It is surely at this level that nursing practice in many less-developed countries will be enhanced through the application of research-based evidence. The second article emphasises the importance of networking in research, in this case specifically between the University of California, San Francisco and a group of international nurse scientists in HIV/AIDS nursing research. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) also advocates networking through its Research Network, first established in 1999. At a meeting in Geneva in 2003, 200 members of the ICN Research Network stressed the importance of research capacity building, particularly in developing countries, and ways of integrating research into nursing curricula. Yet, as Editor of the International Nursing Review (INR), I am struck by the infrequent mention of the ICN Research Network in articles submitted to our journal. I wonder how many nurses know that the Network can be accessed and membership obtained at http://www.icn.ch/resnet.htm. The third article describes the many difficulties that Turkish nurses face when trying to develop nursing research in their country. Despite being a European leader in providing facilities for undergraduate nursing, the development of postgraduate nursing education in Turkey has been slow. The author reports that political and legal influences continue to be an obstacle to professional development, including research. Nevertheless, nursing research in Turkey does make progress, despite the obstacles and the language barrier that many nurses have to overcome. They are to be congratulated for their courage and persistence. There are several lessons for nurse researchers in these three articles. First, perhaps, is the need to accept that developing research capacity is a slow business, which requires dedication in the face of inevitable setbacks. Second, research can be a lonely endeavour. Networking with colleagues provides valuable opportunities to exchange and test ideas, sometimes enabling access to scarce resources, and also helping to sustain researchers’ commitment and enthusiasm for their task. Third, and crucially, it is important to acknowledge and incorporate local norms and values in research design if research results are to be meaningful in their application to patients in their local communities.