Improving health care through evaluation research: an interview with Katherine Nelson by Pamela J Wood and Lynne S Giddings

Abstract

Proposals for establishing or changing health care services are increasingly expected to include a framework for evaluating their delivery and effectiveness. Evaluation research in health care is therefore a rapidly developing area. It is crucial that nurses understand how to use this methodology effectively so they can make a case for the establishment, continuation or expansion of a health service and improve existing ones. This article describes aspects of evaluation research as interpreted by Katherine Nelson (RN, MA, PhD) in interview. It is the sixteenth article in a series based on interviews with nursing and midwifery researchers, and is primarily designed to offer the new researcher a first-hand account of the experience of using research methodologies. Kathy is a lecturer in the Graduate School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health at Victoria University of Wellington. She has undertaken several research projects evaluating different health care programmes.