Addressing “research-phobia” among nurses in the clinical area

Abstract

Nursing literature indicates that the involvement of nurses in research has the potential to inform practice, improve quality care, and enhance positive patient outcomes, but the number of nurses engaging in research appears low. This deficit involves conducting and utilising research which may be associated with limited or lack of research knowledge, training, funding, incentives and poor motivation for nurses to conduct research. Although there is a growing demand for nurses in the clinical service areas to conduct research independently and collaboratively, many nurses find it difficult to start the process. In this article, we suggest ways by which nurses working in the clinical service area can start to plan to become actively engaged in research.