The evolution of nursing research in Portugal

Abstract

Introduction: The subject would merit a historical analysis as much as theoretical methodological and bibliometric analysis. Considering a short communication, we will focus quickly on the last two decades and the current situation, with a brief perspective of the future. We propose 4 subject analysis dimensions: referring to Nursing Education, the context of Nursing Care Practices, Epistemological understanding and Nursing and Health scientific policies. Nursing research: context of nursing education: “Nursing research is needed to generate new knowledge and advance nursing science, evaluate existing practice and services, and provide evidence that will inform nursing education, practice, research and management” [1]. Despite several reforms on education, including specialization courses and a recommendation for Nursing Schools could be converted into Nursing Higher Schools, Nursing stands outside national education system until 1988. In that year, nursing schools were integrated in Higher Education, in Polytechnic subsystem, and nursing course becomes bachelor degree. Today, basic education is in first cycle (since 1999), and nurses can access to master and PhD degrees in Nursing, connecting education, clinical practices and scientific development. Nursing research: context of clinical nursing: In the Regulation of the competency profile of the general care nurse it is stated that “In the decision-making process in Nursing and in the implementation phase of the interventions, nurses incorporate the results of the research into their practice” and the competences profile includes research in relation with quality of care. Should be clear that practice/clinical settings are not only “places of knowledge application”; it is on clinical contexts wherein nurse-patient encounters generate important data for building and produce nursing knowledge. Nursing research: nursing epistemology: Therefore, nursing knowledge production involves abstract thought and generation or refinement of nursing theory - reason why some authors are defending a «practice turn» on nursing epistemology. Nevertheless, nursing have several knowledge sources, including research (which generates scientific knowledge), tradition, experience sharing, experiential knowledge as well as intuition or intuitive perception; and intellectual operations that produce and develop knowledge, namely: reflection, imagination and heuristic thinking [2]. Nursing research: science policy: In its position on Nursing Research, the Ordem dos Enfermeiros (2006) identified four priority areas for research: “1. Adequacy of general and specialized Nursing care to the needs of the citizen (…) 2. Health education in capacity learnng (…) 3. Innovative management / leadership strategies (…) 4. Nursing in the development of competences” [3]. No matter this orientations, only last year Nursing was considered a scientific domain in our country, meaning can be evaluate and financed nursing research projects. Meaning, there is a strong relation between science national policy, funding and development. Bologna process and the implementation of European Higher Education Area affected education as well as European Research Area seems to affect research, access and transfer of scientific knowledge. Nowadays we have several units or research centers dedicated to nursing discipline. Tendencies (or conclusions): Nursing have some methodologies in common with Medicine and Health Sciences - the star model of knowledge transformation, evidence-based, knowledge production, synthesis, transfer and disseminate. As other disciplines and professions in health, face barriers to knowledge translation. However, in our own reality, research is very relevant and - in one hand, we are facing new knowledge increasing production (linked to research and doctoral studies) and, on the other hand, the main purpose of research is to expand knowledge, in order to improve the quality and results of interventions. So we could be facing the major challenge of transference and implementation processes, because probably, we have more knowledge and evidence-based- guidelines than we have been able to put in practice.