Making a commitment to go public

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FOR SOME TIME, we have known the benefits of translating our research to the public. Yet, even now, there is little understanding among the “person in the street” as to either what nursing research is or its benefits to the health and welfare of all citizens.

I recently had the experience, one more time, of trying to explain what we do as nurse researchers. I discovered that many of those I talked with still considered nursing to be a subset of medicine, not health. They were not aware of the significant funding for our science through the National Institutes of Health nor or the specific focus of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). Yet, once I explained the mission of NINR, they could understand better both the science and the application of that science. This NINR mission to support clinical and basic research to establish a scientific basis for the care of individuals across the life span-from management of patients during illness and recovery to the reduction of risks for disease and disability, the promotion of healthy lifestyles, promoting quality of life in those with chronic illness, and care for individuals at the end of life (NINR, 2004) must be communicated widely for our science to be more fully understood.

Applied Nursing Research (ANR) is designed to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice in nursing. Thus, each article includes attention to the clinical applications of the science. Reviewers and authors are vigilant in their attention to this dimension, and we believe that ANR has led the disciplinary journals in this area.

We are now ready to take the next step, i.e., to make a commitment to go public with our research. Toward this goal, we are encouraging authors and readers to contact representatives of the local and national media, e.g., health care reporters, who might help us to reach the public. Send them a copy of your published article if you are the author, with a note that you would be glad to provide more details about related investigations and applicability to health care. If you are a reader, send them a copy of an article in your area of expertise, letting them know that you are willing to make additional comments on this topic. Inform the media representatives of the extent of nursing and health care research on the topic. Provide them a copy of the entire journal so that they can understand the depth and breadth of our work as nurse scientists and clinicians. And, please let us know of your contacts and if there is anything that we can do to assist you.

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References 

1. National Institute of Nursing Research. Retrieved from, www.ninr.gov, October 10, 2004.
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