Page 260 - Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

HISTOry OF NUrSING reSeArcH n 227

nursing research addresses issues with a com- covers research topics that are broad and focus
munity or public health focus. NINr’s pri- on various aspects of the organization and
mary activity is clinical research, and most of administration of nursing service. Further work H
the studies directly involve patients. The basic to incorporate nursing research into the Navy
science is linked to patient problems. Nurse corps became prominent in 1987, when
The nursing programs of the USpHS the navy conducted a review of billets and iden-
stimulated the postwar expansion of nurs- tified the need for doctorally prepared nurses.
ing services through pilot studies, nursing The history of nursing research in the air
research, and community health services. force is found primarily through the review
The Division of Nursing resources, with a of unpublished mimeographed documents
modest budget of $95,000 and a small staff, covering research at the School of Aerospace
was able to undertake a number of landmark Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas.
studies to find solutions to postwar nursing Among the research topics reported are the
problems in hospitals and health agencies. development of equipment for aeromedical
During the years 1949 to 1955, a number of evacuation (such as examination lamps, oxy-
state surveys of nursing needs and resources gen and humidity apparatus, hand disinfec-
were conducted in almost all states. tion devices, patient monitoring and blood
In 1954, among the many studies and tools pressure measurement, litter lift, and trans-
developed by the USpHS Division of Nursing portable airborne stations). physiological and
resources (now the Division of Nursing) psychological changes experienced by air force
was a cooperative study carried out with the nurses associated with flying duty on jet and
commission on Nursing of cleveland, Ohio, propeller aircraft and ways to evaluate patient
to discover the reasons for the understaffing care in flight are other areas of research.
of nursing departments. A by-product of the In the fall of 1990, representatives from
study was that it produced the outcome mea- the army, navy, and air force met to discuss
sure satisfaction study. Another study involved collaborative research among the services.
the use of disease classification for nursing This group formed the Federal Nursing
planning. The diagnoses were then coded and research Interest Group, which later became
classified into 58 groups representing discrete the Tri-Service Nursing research (TSNr)
nursing problems. A similar methodological Group. The TSNr Group was made respon-
approach was followed in the development sible for finding ways to promote military
of the problem-oriented medical record more nursing research both collectively and indi-
than a decade later and in the development vidually, within and across the services.
of Diagnostic related Groups. In 1955, the The initial appropriation for the TSNr pro-
congress earmarked $625,000 for nursing gram under S.r. 102–154 was $1 million for
research and fellowships that were awarded fiscal year 1992, and it increased to $5 mil-
directly to universities, hospitals, health agen- lion in fiscal year 1996, $6 million thereaf-
cies, and professional associations. ter, authorizing the TSNr program as part
The Army Nurse corps initiated nursing of the Department of Defense Health care
research in the military and has been a major pro gram, administered by the TSNr Group
contributor to the evolution of both military and established at the Uniformed Services
and civilian nursing research. The Army University of the Health Sciences. In 2000,
developed a program designed to concen- the council for the Advancement of Nursing
trate on clinical nursing research in addition Science created the research policy and
to fostering participation in the collaborative facilitation arm of the American Academy
studies of other disciplines. of Nursing.
The history of nursing research in the
Navy (primarily unpublished master’s theses) Faye G. Abdellah