SESTRINSKA REČ REVIEW PREGLEDNI RAD 4

NURSING RESEARCH
Despotovic Mile1, Despotovic Milena2, Kekus Divna³, Stanojevic Cedomirka¹, Marinovic Nela¹, Ilić Biljana¹
¹The Academy of Applied Preschool Teaching and Health Studies, Krusevac, Srerbia
²Faculty of Medical Sciences University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
³Academy for Applied Studies Belgrade, College of Health Sciences, Belgrade, Serbi
APSTRAKT
S razvijanjem institucija za obrazovanje medicinskih sestara, javila se potreba za kontinuiranom edukacijom i proširenjem fonda naučnog
znanja, a nakon uvođenja zdravstvene nege i sestrinstva na fakultete, naučna istraživanja u ovoj oblasti postala su neizbežni deo una-
pređenja profesije. Sestrinstvo u svoj fokus stavlja brigu o drugima i neretno se bavi temama poput ishrane, obezbeđivanja sigurnosti i bez-
bednosti, zbrinjavanja, pitanja higije i slično.
Promovisanje istraživanja i uključivanja sestara u istraživačke timove je od velikog značaja za sam kvalitet rada sestara jer podstiče rad
zasnovan na dokazima i podacima. Uopšteno govoreći, možemo reći da istorija istraživanja u sestrinstvu započinje zajedno sa modernim
sestrinstvom. Medicinske sestre koje se bave istraživanjima često doživljavaju nedostatak podrške od strane sestara mendžera i nerazume-
vanje od kolega koji smatraju da rad na istraživanju negativno utiče na kliničku praksu. Ovakva situacija ukazuje na to da istraživački rad
treba da bude ohrabrivan još za vreme školovanja.
Postoje tri velike oblasti kada su u pitanju istraživanja u sestrinstvu: obrazovanje sestara, sestrinska praksa i administracija u sestrinstvu.
Kada su u pitanju trendovi u obrazovanju sestara, prvenstveno se apostrofira znajčaj kvalitativnih istraživanja koja imaju korene u filozofiji
i humanizmu i koja mogu da pruže dokaze za praksu sestara. U oblasti sestrinske prakse, akcenat se stavlja na istraživanja koja se bave pro-
mocijom zdravlja i zdravih životnih stilova. Najzad, u oblasti administracije u sestrinstvu najčešća su istraživanja koja se bave donošenjem
odluka zasnovanih na dokazima. Najveći fokus stavljan je na teme poput nege, energetskih terapija, znanja i stavova i duhovnost, a odnos
nege i lečenja, upravljanje simptomima, kvalitet života i depresija bili su teme koje su se najčešće ispitivale.
U Srbiji, medicinske sestre su tek od nedavno dobile mogućnost da se obrazuju na akademskom nivou, a takođe i sve je veći broj visokih škola
za medicinske sestre. Ovakva situacija govori u prilog podsticanju istraživačkog rada.
KLJUČNE REČI: Sestrinstvo, istraživanje u sestrinstvu, sestinska nega

ABSTRACT
With the development of nursing education institutions, there emerged a need for continued education and expansion of the body of related
scientific knowledge. After the introduction of nursing care and nursing into the university curricula, scientific research in this area became
an inevitable part of the advancement of the profession. Nursing focuses on the care for others and deals with issues such as nutrition, security
and safety, admission and care, hygiene issues and similar.
Promoting the research and involvement of nurses in research teams is of great importance to the quality of nurses' work, as it encourages ev-
idence-based and data-based work. Generally speaking, we can say that the history of nursing research begins together with modern nursing.
Nurses involved in research are often faced with a lack of support from managerial nurses and misunderstanding from colleagues who believe
that doing research has a negative impact on clinical practice. Such a situation suggests that research work should actually be encouraged
during school.
There are three major areas with regard to nursing research: nursing education, nursing practice, and nursing administration. When it comes
to trends in nursing education, the emphasis is primarily put on the importance of quality research rooted in philosophy and humanism that
is also able to provide practically usable results. In the field of nursing practice, the emphasis is on research that promotes health and healthy
lifestyles. Finally, in the field of nursing administration, the most common is evidence-based research. The primary focus is placed on topics
such as nursing, energy therapies, knowledge and attitudes, and spirituality. The relationship between care and treatment, symptoms man-
agement, quality of life and depression are the topics most commonly examined.
In Serbia, nurses have only recently been given the opportunity to study at a university level. There is also an increasing number of nursing
colleges. This situation speaks in favor of stimulating and fostering research work.
KEYWORDS: nursing, research in nursing, nursing care

Korespondent:
Prof.dr Despotović Mile
e-mail: [email protected]
 5 PREGLEDNI RAD REVIEW SESTRINSKA REČ

INTRODUCTION cleus for the Royal College of Nursing Research Society which still
operates today.
Regardless of the rich history that has accompanied the de- Over the years, there has been an increase in the number of
velopment of nursing, it is a relatively new scientific discipline. nursing studies so that they address a variety of aspects of nursing
For many years, nurses and nursing were viewed as a supporting care. As early as the 1960s, there was research addressing skin care,
branch of medicine that involved only practical work. The found- oral hygiene and vomiting mechanisms (10).
er of modern nursing is Florence Nightingale, who believed that In the 1970s, the Brigs Report (11), which is considered by many
nursing should create the best conditions for the patient so as to to be a historical turning point for nursing, brought about a seri-
enable the nature to do its work (1). According to the Internation- ous reconsideration of nursing research. Brigs opined that nurs-
al Council of Nurses, health care is autonomous and collaborative ing must be research-based. However, decades after the report was
care for persons of all ages, families, groups and communities, published, some authors suggest that nursing has not become re-
sick or healthy, in all environments (2). A nurse works to improve search-based. They argue that nurses do not understand what re-
health, prevent disease and care for sick, disabled and dying per- search is.
sons. Advocacy, promoting a safe environment, research, involve- The authors dealing with this topic are often nursing research-
ment in health policy-making, and patient and health system man- ers themselves. Experiences vary depending on the characteristics
agement, and education are also nursing key roles. This definition of the society in which research is conducted, the cultural factors
is perhaps the most comprehensive one so far and includes various and the stage of the development of the nursing profession in a
facets of nurses' work. It includes the importance of nursing re- particular country. It is a fact that research studies are being con-
search and education and extends the lay perception of a nurse as a ducted and that their numbers are higher than before. However,
mere provider of practical procedures related to patient care. some researchers question the extent to which nurses are trained
in scientific work. Some authors find that research nurses often ex-
Research topics in nursing perience a lack of support from managerial nurses and resentment
from colleagues who believe that research work has a negative
With the development of nursing education institutions, impact on clinical practice (12). Such a situation suggests that re-
there emerged a need for continued education and expansion of search work should actually be encouraged during school, so that
the body of related scientific knowledge. After the introduction of students get introduced to the techniques employed by research
nursing care and nursing into the university curricula, scientific teams, methodology, critical thinking and necessary skills. This
research in this area became an inevitable part of the advancement would enable them to carry out their own research and to apply
of the profession. Nursing focuses on the care for others and deals the results obtained in practice.
with issues such as nutrition, security and safety, admission and
care, hygiene issues and the like. Sarkis and Koners point out that Many countries have strategic plans that address the needs of
knowledge in these fields is often passed on verbally, from one the nursing profession and provide guidance for future researchers
generation of nurses to another. They observe nurses often rely to better implement national public health policies. Clara Aaarts in
more on common sense, tradition, learning through trial and er- her “Nursing Research Strategy in Sweden” identifies the following
ror, much more often than on written documents (3). Therefore, topics of importance: life with chronic illness and multimorbidi-
it should be emphasized that promoting the research and involve- ty, mental health and health effects of migration, poor health and
ment of nurses in research teams is of great importance for the equality of care, safety, guidance and organization of nursing care,
quality of nursing work itself as it encourages evidence-based and information and communication technology (13).
data-based work. South Korean authors have analyzed the current status of evi-
In general, the history of nursing research begins togeth- dence-based nursing research (14). They surveyed twenty publi-
er with modern nursing. The 1859 work of Florence Nightingale cations, including national medical journals, masters theses and
“Notes on Nursing'' (4) is considered to be the first scientific publi- doctoral dissertations by November 2016. Most of the publications
cation on nursing. This publication contains advices and practices examined were journals (80.9%). The most common topic for the
for the following areas: ventilation and heating, domestic health, implementation of evidence-based nursing was readiness for evi-
delegating duties in absence, noise, variety (environment), eating dence-based nursing (16 papers). The most common topic in sys-
and diet, bed and bedding, lighting, room hygiene, personal hy- tematic reviews and meta-analyzes was the intervention effect of
giene, advice to the patient family and the observation of patients. exercise programs. The most common topic in the guidelines was
Also of importance is her work on the mortality and morbidity of temperature control.
soldiers during the Crimean War (5). Shobhi finds there are three major areas with regard to nurs-
ing research: nursing education, nursing practice, and nursing ad-
Most of the earlier nursing studies dealt with nursing edu- ministration. When it comes to trends in nursing education, this
cation. American Journal of Nursing was established in 1900 (6). author puts forward the importance of quality research rooted in
In 1949 the same journal reported that the most serious handicap philosophy and humanism that is also able to provide practically
of effective nursing research was the inability to draw up a defini- usable results. In the field of nursing practice, the emphasis is on
tive plan for scientific research (7). Due to the growing number of research that promotes health and healthy lifestyles. Finally, this
nursing schools, as well as the establishment of the first doctoral author states that the most common topics in the area of nursing
programs (1924 at the University of Columbia), interest in research administration have to do with evidence-based decision making.
has grown, and avenues opened to diversify and thus improve the Chinese authors analyze trends in nursing research and com-
field (8). pare China to the world. They state that nursing research in China
The need for new scientific journals continued to grow, thus is under development and the number of publications is increasing
leading to the 1952 launch of the Nursing Research. In 1959, Mar- rapidly (16). On the other hand, clinical research on nursing in
jorie Simpson (9) starts the first Nursing Research Self-help Group developed countries is at a stage of stable development or a stage
in the UK called the Research Discussion Group. It acted as a nu- of maturation, characterized by a flat curve of publication volume
 SESTRINSKA REČ REVIEW PREGLEDNI RAD 6

and a stable rate of development. The authors estimate that there is Of the total number of studies, 275 were considered holistic and
a 25-30 year difference between China and more developed coun- included in the analysis (17).
tries when it comes to the state of nursing research. The primary focus was placed on topics such as nursing, en-
Contemporary nursing research topics differ greatly from older ergy therapies, knowledge and attitudes, and spirituality. The re-
works. Increasing attention is being paid to alternative methods lationship between care and treatment, symptoms management,
in nursing. quality of life and depression were the topics most commonly ex-
In order to investigate the prevalence of holistic nursing re- amined. Overall, 56% of studies were quantitative, 39% were qual-
search, one group of authors used a consecutive sample of 579 itative and 5% were mixed. Only 32% of the studies were funded.
studies published in six journals from 2010 to 2015 that were iden- The findings of this study speak in favor of the importance of holis-
tified as the most consistent with the scope of holistic nursing care. tic studies and the benefits they may have for nursing practice.

INSTEAD OF CONCLUSION
In Serbia, nurses have only recently been given the opportunity to support nursing research and evidence based nursing. Research-
study at a university level. There is also an increasing number of es in nursing are very important link between theory and nurs-
nursing colleges. In the recent years, nursing gas become an area ing practice, because they have contribution in raising the quality
of study in both master’s and PhD programs. In these programs, of nursing care. Therefore, it is of great importance to encourage
students learn, among the other things, basic methodological and nurses to engage in research work and provide them with a wide
statistical procedures, data analysis and critical thinking. This sit- range of knowledge and skills necessary to participate in scientific
uation speaks in favor of stimulating and fostering research work. and research practice, all with the aim of achieving better health
Finally, there are also relevant national scientific journals that care services and improving the quality of life of patients.

REFERENCES:
1. Karimi H, Masoudi Alavi N. Florence Nightingale: The Mother of Nursing. Nurs Midwifery Stud. 2015;4(2):e29475.
2. International Council of Nursing, Nursing Definitions, available at: https://www.icn.ch/nursing-policy/nursing-definitions
3. Sarkis JM, Conners VL. Nursing research: historical background and teaching information strategies. Bull Med Libr Assoc.
1986;74(2):121–125.
4. Nightingale F. Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not. New York, NY: D. Appleton and Company; 1860.
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/nightingale/nursing/nursing.html
5. Fee E, Garofalo ME. Florence Nightingale and the Crimean War [published correction appears in Am J Public Health.
2011 May;101(5):776]. Am J Public Health. 2010;100(9):1591.
6. The history of Nursing education, available at:
http://downloads.lww.com/wolterskluwer_vitalstream_com/sample-content/9781496300232_Polit10e/samples/Polit10e_CS_Ch01.pdf
7. Research in nursing (editorial). Am J Nurs 1949 Dec;49(12):743-4
8. Chism, L. A. (2010) Overview of the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. In L.A. Chism (Ed.), The Doctor of Nursing Practice
(pp. 3-33). Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
9. Hopps, L.C.Review. The development of research in nursing in the United Kingdom. Journal of Clinical Nursing 1994, 3, 199–204.
10. Lučanin D, Sedić, Čukljek S Sestrinska istraživanja- pokretači profesionalnog razvoja, Zbornik radova Konferencije Perspektive
individualnog i profesionalnog razvoja u sestrinstvu, Zagreb: Zdravstveno veleučilište, 2008. str. 53-56
11. Moule P, Goodman M. Research in nursing, Available at:
https://in.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/25224_01_Moule_&_Goodman_Ch_01.pdf
12. Yates, M. (2015). Research in nursing practice. Bridging the gap between clinicians and the studies they depend on.
The American Journal of Nursing, 115(5), 11.
13. Aarts C. Strategy for nursing research in Sweden.Invest Educ Enferm. 2017 Jan;35(1):5-7.
14. Ryu S, Yun SW, Kim YS. Trends in Evidence-based Nursing Research in South Korea.
J Korean Acad Nurs Adm. 2017 Sep;23(4):385-396.
15. Shobhi S. Current Trends in Nursing Research. International Journal of Nursing Research and Practice.
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2014) January—June
16. Shi-FanHan, Rui-FangZhu,Ting-TingQin. A study on clinical nursing research trends and hotspots based on bibliometric analysis.
Chinese Nursing ResearchVolume 4, Issue 4, December 2017, Pages 162-169
17. Delaney, C., McCaffrey, R. G., Barrere, C., Kenefick Moore, A., Dunn, D. J., Miller, R. J., … (Susan) Zhu, X. (2018).
Trends in Contemporary Holistic Nursing Research: 2010-2015. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 36(4), 385–394.