Raising research capacity for nurses interested in research

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Raising research capacity for nurses interested
in research

• Dr Anne Lacey
• Director
• Trent RDSU (Sheffield)
• ScHARR, University of Sheffield

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Promoting research in nursing and the allied
health professions (HEFCE 2001)

• Gap between evidence needed for policy and
  availability of research relating to nursing and
  AHPs
• Research capacity is increasing in nursing and
  AHPs more funding being won, more staff engaged
  in research, more postgraduates
• BUT..

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Promoting research in nursing and the allied
health professions (HEFCE 2001)

• BUT
• Research capacity in nursing and AHPs still
  compares unfavourably with that in similar
  professions such as education and social work
• 73 of nursing publications have no funding
  source
• Only around 10 of research funded by HTA, NICE
  etc relates to nursing
• No UK dedicated fund for nursing research - USA
  National Institute for Nursing Research has a
  budget of 90m annually

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Proposals for new RD strategy (DH 2005)

• National Institute for Health Research world
  class, virtual research organisation for NHS
• Faculty will include
• Senior Investigators
• Faculty Associates
• Junior Investigators
• 5 5 Academic Medical Centres
• Partnership with industry and other funders
  through UK Clinical Research Collaboration
• Research capacity building??
• Nursing and AHP research??

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What are the ingredients of research capacity?

• An essential ingredient for building research
  capacity is an environment in which research and
  its findings are valued, in which researchers are
  provided with the appropriate training, support
  and secure research career opportunities, and in
  which there is a sufficiency of high quality
  research activity to provide the evidence upon
  which high quality care can be based
• (NCCRCD website 2005)

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Current DH research capacity building
infrastructure

• National multidisciplinary network of
• Research and Development Support Units (RDSUs)
• Academic Units
• Primary Care Research Networks
• Clinical Trials Support Units

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Trent RDSU

• Advice and support individual, team and
  organisational levels
• Training and education short courses,
  structured programmes at Masters level
• Information resources advice, funding,
  literature searches
• Strategic involvement building research
  collaboration and networks with NHS and social
  care

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What is research capacity?

• Capacity building is a general term for a
  process of individual and institutional
  development which leads to higher levels of
  skills and greater ability to perform useful
  research
• Trostle 1992

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Individual and institutional development

• Which individuals?
• All nurses?
• Graduate nurses?
• Nurse consultants?
• Research nurses?
• Academic nurses?
• Which institutions?
• Academic Medical Centres?
• University Schools of Nursing?
• Hospitals/PCTs?
• Geographical and disease based networks?

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Higher levels of skills

• Undergraduate nursing courses
• Just research awareness? Critical appraisal
  skills?
• Research branch of nurse training?
• Postgraduate education
• Do all researchers need PhDs?
• Training courses in specific skills
• Unidisciplinary or multidisciplinary?
• Mentoring, involvement in projects as junior
  researchers
• What about research nurses?
• Sustainable career structure for nurse researchers

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Greater ability to perform useful research

• Nursing Research Council?
• Nurses leading research funded by MRC, ESRC, SDO
  and HTA programmes?
• Nurses setting the national, regional or local
  research agenda?
• Clinical or academic nurses doing research?
• Should all nursing research be useful?

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Examples of strategies for research capacity
development

• Trent RDSU DRTs and RCDAs
• Barnsley example
• Evidence Based Council (Sheffield Teaching
  Hospitals)

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Example 1 Trent RDSU capacity building in
primary care

• Designated Research Teams (DRTs)
• 30,000 over two years for small
  multidisciplinary team
• Provides training, dedicated time, backfill
  payments, mentorship
• Successful in funding training, releasing
  clinical staff, initiating projects, getting
  publications, building teams
• Research Capacity Development Awards (RCDAs)
• Awards of 3,000-8,000 available to individuals,
  teams or organisations
• Funds consultancy, skills training, research
  clubs, dissemination events, pilot work

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Example 2 Using RD funds to build
infrastructure (Barnsley DGH)

• RD levy funding used to employ generic research
  nurses and Research Fellow
• Support given to ongoing and new projects
  throughout the Trust (eg LREC applications, data
  collection)
• Research nurses supported to undertake masters
  level education
• Strong collaboration with university and RDSU
• Increase in research activity and funding in
  Trust
• Barnsley Research Alliance set up
• One research nurse applying for fellowship,
  others have developed their own research,
  published and become mentors for others

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Example 3 - Evidence Based Council (Sheffield
Teaching Hospitals)

• Clinically based practitioners from all
  Directorates
• Dedicated time (1 day per month)
• Council meets monthly
• Training and education in critical appraisal and
  research methods
• Topics agreed in Council to find evidence,
  appraise and implement EBP
• Generates research proposals
• Successful in gaining small grants and
  publications

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Clinically Relevant Research
Project Subgroup
Disseminate
Consultation
Evidence Based Council
Conduct Research
Research Proposal
Obtain Funding and Resources
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How do we measure research capacity development?
(Cooke 2005)

• Outcome measures
• Research grants and fellowships won
• Peer reviewed publications and conference
  presentations
• Qualifications obtained (eg PhD)
• Impact on healthcare
• Process measures
• Grant and fellowship applications made
• Establishment of research teams
• Collaborative links in place
• EBP structures functioning effectively

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Challenges for debate the future of nursing
research

• Unidisciplinary or multidisciplinary?
• Based in academia or NHS?
• Elite or inclusive model of research careers and
  activity?
• To facilitate EBP or to build theory?
• What measures of capacity development are valid?

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Contact

• Dr Anne Lacey
• e.a.lacey_at_sheffield.ac.uk
• 0114 222 8371
• www.trentrdsu.org.uk