Have you glanced at a copy of the American Journal of Nursing lately?

Perhaps you have perused an issue of Nursing Spectrum, or clicked on some articles at Medscape Nursing online.

If so, you have been reading the work of National Institute of Nursing Research sponsored researchers!

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Say you are a nurse researcher looking for funding.

What can the NINR provide to you?

The extramural funding falls into four categories, two which I will describe here:

• Research grants. These are initiated by the individual investigator who is responsible for developing the protocol, concept, method and approach of the investigation/research.

• Training grants. These provide funding in specific areas to pre and post-doctoral researchers and can be awarded to institutions or to individuals.

The Institute funds studies in the following seven areas:

• Chronic illness/long term care (example: diabetes)

• Health promotion/risk reduction in adults (smoking)

• Cardiopulmonary health and critical care (COPD/trauma)

• Neuro function/sensory issues (pain management)

• Immune response/Oncology (HIV/transplantation)

• Reproductive health/Child health (Family health - includes quality of hospital care and pt outcomes)

• End of Life/environmental (ethics, delivery of care at the end of life)

What have nurse researches contributed to our practice with NINR funded studies? This list is just an example of the varied studies that have been funded by the NINR. It’s an eclectic and amazing list. It barely scratches the surface. NINR researchers have:

• Studied ways to decrease blood pressure in young, black males.

• Promoted self-management of arthritis in the Hispanic population.

• Researched pediatric cardiovascular health.

• Found ways to improve endotracheal suctioning.

• Improved the health of young, low-income mothers through home visits.

• Studied gender differences in the effects of pain medications.

• Increased lung transplant survival with home monitoring.

• Increased urinary continence in women.

• Decreased aggressive behavior in children.

• Researched coping skills for women experiencing PMS.

• Increased the parental skills and premie health in researching direct skin contact.

There isn’t a nurse among us who hasn’t thought “there must be a better way” or asked themselves “what if…?” The National Institute for Nursing Research funds those “better ways” and helps answer the “what ifs” by allowing nurses the financial freedom to research these topics/goals.

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Resource: National Institute Of Nursing Research. (16). Developing Nurse Scientists. Retrieved June 25, 2007, from National Institutes of Health Web Site: http://www.ninr.nih.gov/Training/OnlineDevelopingNurseScientists/