Development of nursing research in Jordan (1986-2012)

Abstract

Aim: To provide an overview of nursing research in Jordan based on the topic researched, source and setting of data collection, methodology, theoretical framework used and source of funding.

Background: Nursing research contributes to nursing education, clinical practice, health policy and the establishment of nursing research priorities in Jordan to guide future research.

Methods: Databases such as MEDLINE, CINAHL, Google Scholar, PubMed and national sources were searched for published articles related to nursing in Jordan through a range of keywords. Articles were included in the analysis if they were published in English or Arabic through December 2012.

Findings: The search resulted in the identification of 999 publications, from which 462 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The highest percentage of studies (23% of articles) focused on nursing management issues. Forty-four per cent were conducted in a hospital setting; only six studies used a nursing theory. Seventy-seven per cent of the studies were quantitative and 29.0% were funded mostly by universities. Twenty-one per cent were not directly related to improving nursing education or practice in Jordan. A Jordanian Database for nursing research was developed as a result of this review.

Discussion: Jordanian nurses have slowly started to build nursing research, the real nursing research work in Jordan started with the return of the first PhD graduate to Jordan in 1986.

Conclusion: Jordanian nurses in collaboration with international colleagues were motivated to publish research and build the body of nursing knowledge.

Keywords: Database; Jordan; Literature Review; Nursing; Overview; Research.