There have been numerous events on the time line of historical research in nursing. The time line begins with Florence Nightingale and her contribution to nursing research and nursing research utilization. This paper will briefly discuss five historical contributions to nursing research that this writer feels have had the most influential contributions to nursing research, Florence Nightingale, the American Nurses Association, nursing research journal publications, research funding developments as well as health promotion.
Florence NightingaleUndoubtedly the most significant key historical development in nursing research began with the work done by Florence Nightingale in 1850 at the beginning of the Crimean War. She was a pioneer in nursing research as she laid the groundwork for what nursing research has evolved into today. Her publication in 1859, Notes on Nursing, described her main focus in environmental factors that promoted physical and emotional well-being of the patient (Polit & Beck, 2003).
She researched the ill effects of poor hygiene and sanitation among the military in the war. She began to collect statistical information and epidemiological data in order to change the methods in which care was the given to the military personnel. Improvements were made to the environments in which the soldiers were attended, which had a marked impact on decreasing the mortality from wounds they had received while in battle. Because of this work of Nightingale at the time, as stated in Burns and Grove (2007) “The military began to view the sick as having the right to adequate food, suitable quarters and appropriate medical treatment. These interventions drastically reduced mortality from 43% to 2% in the Crimean War”(Chap. 1, p.9).
The Essay on Lytton Strachey’s excerpt on Florence Nightingale
Lytton Strachey’s excerpt depicts the popular misconceptions and the actual reality of who Florence Nightingale was. Strachey’s euphemism of calling Nightingale “the Lady with the Lamp” as opposed to the “agitations of her soul” portrays the idea that her reality was much more different than her false perceptions. Though he admires Nightingale with awe, he ...
Her ground work in research also demonstrates nursing research utilizations because she used her research knowledge to prompt changes in society by improving sanitation, testing public water, preventing starvation and decreasing sickness and death (Burns & Grove, 2007).
Her theories are perceived as the foundation of modern day nursing.
American Nurses AssociationAnother key contributor to nursing research and nursing research utilization over the years has been the American Nurses Association (ANA).
In 1950 the ANA was instrumental in conducting a study over a five year time span of nursing activities and functions. This was somewhat different from prior research as the nurses were studying themselves (Polit & Beck, 2003).
They were looking at what nursing was, why individuals chose nursing, how nursing was perceived, they also looked at the educational preparation of nurses. Later in 1959 the results of this study were used to define just what the professional nurse is, with statements on functions, standards and qualifications for professional nurses. The ANA was also instrumental in promoting nursing research utilization by the sharing of research findings and their use in clinical practice when they sponsored the first of a series of research conferences in 1965.
Nursing Journal PublicationsAs nursing research grew from the 1950s and on through the 1970s, an avenue for communicating and sharing the research that was taking place was needed. The American Journal of Nursing was published in 1900. In the 1930s the journal began publishing clinical case studies. A journal specific to research, Nursing Research, was published in 1952. In 1978 Advances in Nursing Science, was published sharing nursing theorists’ work and related research. A few other publications that have evolved specifically to communicate nursing research are Research in Nursing and Health, published in 1978 and Western Journal of Nursing Research, published in 1979. The list goes on of specific research journals or organizational journals that have been added since the 1980s to share research studies.
The Essay on Urbanism And Child Mental Health Journal Review
How much of an effect does your environment have on your mental health? Plenty. Does it mean you're doomed if your environment is supposedly negative? Not necessarily. What can we attribute the high rate of social and psychological problems in cities to? And, are urban areas predestined to be a hub for high social and psychological problems. The latter two are questions David Quinton is attempting ...
Funding for ResearchIn the 1980s the need for increased funding for nursing research was realized. A majority of the federal funds at the time were designated for medical research involving diagnosis and cures for diseases (Burns & Grove, 2007).
According to Milstead (2004), as explained in chapter 2 on agenda setting, in the early 1980s a report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) indicated a funding problem for nurse researches. It showed an inequity on health research money spent, five million dollars for nursing research as opposed to several billion for the National Institute for Health. To put this into perspective approximately two to three percent of federal funds were directed to nursing research as opposed to approximately 90% for medical research (Burns & Grove, 2005).
The ANA stepped up with the creation of the National Center for Nursing Research (NCRC) in 1985. The NCRC Amendment (Milstead, 2004) that was adopted has been instrumental in helping change and promote nursing research funding. Since this time other agencies have been established that promote nursing research with their mission statements and funding priorities.
Health Promotion ResearchIn recent years the focus of healthcare research and funding is expanding from the treatment of illness and moving toward health promotion and illness preventions. Healthy People 2010, a publication by the Department of Health and Human Services, has increased the visibility of and identified priorities for health promotion research. Health Indicators have been created to help identify sentinel measures of public health, and to encourage wide participation in improving health in the next decade. These indicators were chosen based on their ability to motivate action, the availability of data to measure their progress, and their relevance as broad public health issues.
The Essay on The Meanings of Health and Its Promotion
Relative and Dynamic Nature of Health Dynamic Health is the result of the continually changing process it refers to the constant fluctuations that occur in our level of health. Relative Health refer to how we judge our health compared to other people or other points of time in our life. Relative nature of health Health can be viewed as relative. Relative means in relation to another period of ...
ConclusionThe history of research in nursing is one of many compilations of different people and sources over time and their visions and perceptions about good science, sound knowledge and valid techniques needed to care for patients. This paper has provided a small snippet of historical developments in nursing research and nursing research utilization by discussing five key events on the vast list. Key contributors to nursing research along the years that have been discussed in the paper have been Florence Nightingale, the American Nurses Association, nursing journal publications, funding for nursing research and health promotion research.
References
Burns, N., & Grove, S.K. (2005).
The practice of nursing research:conduct, critique, and utilization (5th ed.).
St. Louis, : Elsevier Health Sciences.
Burns, N., & Grove, S.K. (2007).
Understanding nursing research: Building an
evidence-based practice. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. St. Louis, : Saunders Elsevier. Retrieved August 28, 2008, from University of Phoenix, NUR 429 Web site.
Milstead, J.A. (2004).
Health policy and politics a nurses guide (2nd ed.).
Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publisher Inc..
Polit, D.F., & Beck, C.T. (2003).
Nursing research: Principles and methods (7th ed.).
Philidelphia, : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
