NONPF 40th Annual Meeting

Nurse practitioner faculty researchers are in a unique position to conduct research because of their close proximity to academic institutions, patient care and their vast experiences with multiple populations, and health related conditions. It is important to understand the current state-of-the-science of research. To understand the current state of nurse practitioner faculty research, a survey was sent to the NONPF membership to document the type of research being conducted by the members. This symposium discusses the results of this 2012 NONPF Research SIG Surveyas well as discussing methods to increase nursing research rigor.

There was expected variance among the NONPF members regarding the use of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. However the quantitative research methods used by nurse practitioner researchers were reported as primarily descriptive and exploratory. But to study complex health determinants needed for health promotion and disease prevention research prioritized by the National Institute of Nursing Research, more sophisticated and advanced quantitative methods are warranted.

Complex research designs require significant time, thought and expertise. A statistician, who has been a member of multiple nurse practitioner led research study teams, will demonstrate the importance of understanding effect sizes in the design phase of a research study. The complex issues surrounding the use of effect sizes will be placed into a theoretical context that optimizes nursing research.

In the survey, only a small number of NONPF members identified that they utilized methods that examined the complex interplay of biological, psychosocial, and environmental factors. This is ironic given that nurse practitioners are especially effective in providing long-term care to vulnerable patient populations that often have unique healthcare barriers. A nurse practitioner faculty researcher who is an experienced geographic information systems (GIS) specialist will discuss the use of GIS in understanding complex factors that affect patient’s healthcare on a daily basis. This symposium will provide nurse practitioner faculty (both DNP and PhD prepared) with both an update of current research being conducted by the NONPF membership as well as timely material to improve rigor with nurse practitioner led studies.