Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jun 21;21(1):159.
doi: 10.1186/s12912-022-00922-1.

Participation of nurses and allied health professionals in research activities: a survey in an academic tertiary pediatric hospital

Matteo Amicucci #  1 , Immacolata Dall'Oglio #  2 , Valentina Biagioli  3 , Orsola Gawronski  3 , Simone Piga  4 , Riccardo Ricci  3 , Anna Angelaccio  5 , Domenica Elia  6 , Mario E Fiorito  7 , Luigi Marotta  8 , Massimiliano Raponi  9 , Emanuela Tiozzo  3 ; Research Study Group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Participation of nurses and allied health professionals in research activities: a survey in an academic tertiary pediatric hospital

Matteo Amicucci et al. BMC Nurs. .

Abstract

Background: Involvement in research activities is complex in pediatric nursing and allied health professionals (AHPs). It is important to understand which individual factors are associated with it to inform policy makers in promoting research.

Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted to describe the level of participation in research activities over the last ten years of nurses and AHPs working in a tertiary pediatric hospital. A large sample of nurses and AHPs working in an Italian academic tertiary pediatric hospital completed an online self-report questionnaire between June and December 2018. Three multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to predict participation in research projects, speaking at conferences, and writing scientific articles.

Results: Overall, data from 921 health professionals were analyzed (response rate = 66%), of which about 21% (n = 196) reported participating in a research project, while 33% (n = 297) had attended a scientific conference as a speaker, and 11% (n = 94) had written at least one scientific paper. Having a Master or a Regional Advanced Course, working as an AHP or a ward manager, as well as regularly reading scientific journals and participation in an internal hospital research group or attendance in a specific course about research in the hospital, significantly predicted participation in research projects, speaking at conferences and writing scientific papers. It is important to foster research interest and competencies among health professionals to improve participation in research projects, speaking at conferences, and writing scientific papers.

Conclusions: Overall, we found a good level of attendance at conferences as speakers (33%), a moderate level of participation in research (21%), and low levels for writing scientific papers (11%). Our study highlighted the need to support participation in research activities among nurses and AHPs. Policymakers should identify strategies to promote research among nurses and AHPs, such as protected rewarded time for research, specific education, strengthened collaboration with academics, and financial support. Moreover, hospital managers should promote the development of research culture among health professionals, to improve their research competencies and evidence-based practice.

Keywords: AHPs; Nurses; Research; evidence-base nursing; pediatric hospital.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Forest Plot of the characteristics of the sample associated with participation in research projects based on multivariate regression analysis
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Forest Plot of the characteristics of the sample associated with attendance as a speaker at conferences based on multivariate regression analysis
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Forest Plot of the characteristics of the sample associated with writing scientific papers based on multivariate regression analysis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bravo G, Grimaldo F, López-Iñesta E, Mehmani B, Squazzoni F. The effect of publishing peer review reports on referee behavior in five scholarly journals. Nat Commun. 2019;10:322. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-08250-2. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dall’Oglio I, Vanzi V, Tiozzo E, Gawronski O, Biagioli V, Tucci S, et al. Five years of journal clubs with pediatric nurses and allied health professionals: a retrospective study and satisfaction Survey. J Pediatr Nurs. 2018;41:e2–e7. doi: 10.1016/j.pedn.2018.03.003. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wenke R, O’Shea K, Hilder J, Thomas R, Mickan S. Factors that influence the sustainability of structured allied health journal clubs: a qualitative study. BMC Med Educ. 2019;19:6. doi: 10.1186/s12909-018-1436-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Balakas K, Bryant T, Jamerson P. Collaborative research partnerships in support of nursing excellence. Nurs Clin North Am. 2011;46:123–128. doi: 10.1016/j.cnur.2010.10.006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Leão ER, Farah OG, Reis EAA, de Barros CG, Mizoi CS. Academic profile, beliefs, and self-efficacy in research of clinical nurses: implications for the Nursing Research Program in a Magnet Journey™ hospital. Einstein Sao Paulo Braz. 2013;11:507–513. doi: 10.1590/S1679-45082013000400018. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources