abstract: 'Little is known about the research aspirations and experiences of

  practice nurses. The study discussed in the present paper had three main

  aims: (1) to assess the level of research interest among practice nurses

  working in Essex and East London, UK; (2) to identify practice nurses''

  research priorities; and (3) to explore factors which facilitate and

  impede the development of practice nursing research. All practice nurses

  (n = 1054) in the above areas were sent a questionnaire, and a total of

  40\% (n = 426) responded after two follow-up letters. Fifty-five

  respondents who volunteered for further participation were interviewed,

  either individually or in focus groups. About half (n = 207) of the

  survey respondents expressed an interest in undertaking research.

  One-third (n = 145) reported previous participation in research, and

  20\% (n = 85) had initiated their own research. Logistic regression

  showed that practice nurses educated to graduate level, and those

  working in practices with nurse training or participation in external

  research, were most likely to want to undertake research. Working in a

  medical training practice was found to be a negative predictor of

  research interest. Respondents prioritised research into long-term

  health problems with a high prevalence in the local population; for

  example, diabetes. Their reasons for wishing to engage in research

  included improving the service, career development, making work more

  interesting and reducing isolation. The main barriers identified were

  lack of time, lack of support from some general practitioners and poor

  access to higher education resources outside formal courses. The

  development of practice nurse research would provide a distinctive

  perspective on health need and service provision. It would contribute to

  the achievement of the national strategic objective of improving the

  quality of primary care, enhance the status of the profession, utilise

  the enthusiasm of individuals, increase job satisfaction and staff

  retention, and answer real questions.'
affiliation: 'Davies, J (Corresponding Author), City Univ London, St Bartholomew Sch
  Nursing \& Midwifery, 20 Bartholomew Close, London EC1A 7QN, England.

  City Univ London, St Bartholomew Sch Nursing \& Midwifery, London EC1A 7QN, England.

  E London \& Essex Network Researchers, London, England.

  Univ London, Queen Marys Sch Med \& Dent, London, England.

  Anglia Polytech Univ, Sch Community Hlth \& Social Studies, Chelmsford, Essex, England.'
author: Davies, J and Heyman, B and Bryar, R and Graffy, J and Gunnell, C and Lamb,
  B and Morris, L
author_list:
- family: Davies
  given: J
- family: Heyman
  given: B
- family: Bryar
  given: R
- family: Graffy
  given: J
- family: Gunnell
  given: C
- family: Lamb
  given: B
- family: Morris
  given: L
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2524.2002.00377.x
files: []
issn: 0966-0410
journal: HEALTH \& SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY
keywords: 'barriers to research; practice nurse; practice nursing; primary care

  research; research capacity; research priorities'
keywords-plus: RESEARCH PRIORITIES; NURSING RESEARCH
language: English
month: SEP
number: '5'
number-of-cited-references: '47'
pages: 370-381
papis_id: e459795902629110e15416f499a8ca86
ref: Davies2002researchpotential
times-cited: '17'
title: The research potential of practice nurses
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000178120000008
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '0'
volume: '10'
web-of-science-categories: Public, Environmental \& Occupational Health; Social Work
year: '2002'