Routledge International Handbook of Advanced Quantitative Methods in Nursing Research

Susan J Henly, Susan J Henly, Susan J. Henly

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781138552852
• eBook ISBN: 9781134700301
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Health Care Delivery

Designed to support global development of nursing science, the Routledge International Handbook of Advanced Quantitative Methods in Nursing Research provides a new, comprehensive, and authoritative treatment of advanced quantitative methods for nursing research.

Incorporating past approaches that have served as the foundation for the science, this cutting edge book also explores emerging approaches that will shape its future. Divided into six parts, it covers:

-the domain of nursing science

- measurement—classical test theory, IRT, clinimetrics, behavioral observation, biophysical measurement

-models for prediction and explanation—SEM, general growth mixture models, hierarchical models, analysis of dynamic systems

-intervention research—theory-based interventions, causality, third variables, pilot studies, quasi-experimental design, joint models for longitudinal data and time to event

-e-science—DIKW paradigm, big data, data mining, omics, FMRI

-special topics—comparative effectiveness and meta-analysis, patient safety, economics research in nursing, mixed methods, global research dissemination

Written by a distinguished group of international nursing scientists, scientists from related fields, and methodologists, the Handbook is the ideal reference for everyone involved in nursing science, whether they are graduate students, academics, editors and reviewers, or clinical investigators.

1 The Domain of Nursing Science

Patricia A. Grady and Jessica M. McIlvane

DOI: 10.4324/9781315882307-2

Nurses have an increasingly central role in the healthcare system. Changing demographics, an aging population, cultural and racial diversity, increased health disparities, and the explosion of technology are all impacting health and healthcare. In the United States, passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has increased focus on prevention. These forces synergize to underscore key roles of the nurse. Nurses constitute the largest component of the healthcare workforce, responsible for the healthcare of individuals, families, and communities around the globe. They interact with patients and families around health and healthcare, and help them to navigate often confusing healthcare systems. As scientists, nurses conduct research to improve health. At a time of increasingly complex societal, economic, and health issues, nurses and nurse scientists are well-positioned to identify pressing research questions, lead the way to discovery of innovative solutions, and translate scientific findings to improve health, healthcare, and quality of life.

This chapter discusses the domain of nursing science; elucidates links between nursing science, practice, and policy; and considers future challenges and opportunities. While not meant to be exhaustive, we consider many areas that comprise the domain of nursing science, as well as major initiatives and societal trends shaping its current and future state. The domain of nursing science is far-reaching, addressing the needs and improving the health of diverse individuals, families, and communities. The foundational motivation for nursing science is to establish the scientific basis for clinical practice through basic, clinical, and translational research, with the ultimate goal of improving health and healthcare.

Areas of focus

From bench to bedside, from clinic to community, nurse scientists conduct research addressing a broad range of issues with real-world health implications. Nurse scientists are leaders in biobehavioral research, focusing on symptom management. They investigate multiple health determinants including genomic, physiologic, psychological, familial, cultural, and environmental factors. They use a variety of methods and approaches including basic lab research; clinical intervention studies; translational, implementation, and comparative effectiveness research; and analyses of cost, outcomes, and quality of care.

Health promotion, disease prevention, and improving quality of life in health and illness are the cornerstones of nursing science. Nurse scientists conduct research to promote positive outcomes across the lifespan. They design coping-skills interventions for parents with premature infants; community-based interventions to reduce sexually transmitted infections in adolescents; psychosocial interventions for informal caregivers; and interventions to help families with decision-making in palliative and end-of-life care. They focus on improving symptom management in clinical settings and optimizing self-management of symptoms. They emphasize the active role of patients and families in their own healthcare.

Along with an emphasis on developing and testing behavioral interventions to promote health, nursing science maintains a strong foundation in basic research. Nurse scientists seek to expand knowledge of underlying biological systems, including genetic contributions to symptoms, and to health conditions such as obesity and sleep disorders. Nursing science emphasizes basic behavioral and social science research in determining the predictors of illness and identifying interventions for at-risk groups and the population at large (Rose, 1992).

Nurse scientists play an integral role in transforming the healthcare system. They are on the leading edge of research into patient-centered care, personalized medicine, and genomics, areas of research that will allow treatments and interventions to be tailored to individuals. Today’s healthcare system must cope with an increase in multiple chronic conditions and long-term care needs, requiring a greater emphasis on patient care coordination and transitional care to support individuals from hospital to home. Nurse scientists are on the forefront of developing, testing, and implementing new models of care. With an increasing emphasis on providing quality care while reducing unnecessary tests, treatments, and costs, nurse scientists are working to identify the most effective clinical treatments and behavioral interventions through comparative effectiveness research.

Communicating science to key stakeholders is critical. Nurse scientists translate, disseminate, and implement research findings into evidence-based practice; communicate science to practicing nurses, other healthcare practitioners, patients, communities, and policy makers; and inform health policy. Table 1.1 summarizes the areas of focus, populations studied, and methods used in the domain of nursing science.

Guiding initiatives

Many factors shape the state of nursing science. Research priorities set forth by the United States National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), along with other national and global initiatives, are some of the driving forces behind nursing. These initiatives provide guidance in the current and emerging content, scope, and domain of nursing science, as well as strategies for transforming healthcare. NINR’s strategic plan (2011) reflects priorities developed in collaboration with scientists across the globe; its key focal point is “the science of health.” To advance the science of health, NINR focuses on: (a) enhancing health promotion and disease prevention; (b) improving quality of life by managing symptoms of acute and chronic illness; (c) improving palliative and end-of-life care; (d) enhancing innovation in science and practice; and (e) developing the next generation of nurse scientists. NINR supports research to improve health across the lifespan, with an emphasis on underserved populations. NINR is committed to promoting health equity and eliminating health disparities by emphasizing culturally appropriate interventions that incorporate views of diverse communities.

In 2010, Sigma Theta Tau (the Honor Society of Nursing) created a global initiative in commemoration of the centennial of Florence Nightingale’s death (Beck, Dossey, & Rushton, 2010). Research priorities for this initiative include: promotion of healthy communities through health

Table 1.1 The domain of nursing science

Areas of Focus	Populations	Methods
Biobehavioral/Biopsychosocial Symptom Management (e.g., Pain, Fatigue) Acute and Chronic Illness Genetics and Genomics Infant & Maternal Health Palliative and End-of-Life Care Health Pr...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• Contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Preface
• PART I The domain of nursing science
• 1 The Domain of Nursing Science
• 2 Theorizing in Nursing Science
• PART II Measurement
• 3 Classical Test Theory
• 4 Clinimetrics
• 5 Item Response Theory A statistical theory of measurement based on fungible items
• 6 Behavioral Observation
• 7 Biophysical Measurement
• PART III Prediction and explanation
• 8 Structural Equation Modeling
• 9 General Growth Mixture Models
• 10 Multilevel Models
• 11 Analysis of Dynamical Systems The modeling of change and variability
• PART IV Experimental and quasi-experimental design
• 12 Theory-Based Nursing Interventions
• 13 Pilot Studies for Randomized Clinical Trials
• 14 Causality in Experiments and Observational Studies
• 15 Quasi-Experimental Design in Nursing Research
• 16 Third Variables Scientific meanings and modeling in non-randomized studies
• 17 Joint Models for Longitudinal Data and Time-to-Event Occurrence
• PART V e-Science methods
• 18 Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom
• 19 Big Data in Nursing Research
• 20 Data Mining and Data Visualization
• 21 Genomic, Transcriptomic, Epigenomic, and Proteomic Approaches
• 22 A Survey of the Sources of Noise in fMRI
• PART VI Special topics
• 23 Comparative Effectiveness Research and Meta-Analysis
• 24 Patient Safety Research Methodological challenges
• 25 Economic Evaluations for Nursing Research
• 26 Mixed Methods
• 27 Global Generation and Dissemination of Nursing Science
• Index