Applied Research In Health Care
Applied Research in Other Field of Science
In an attempt to differentiate between various types of research, the scientific community uses a myriad of terms, which, however, tend to fall into a discrete classification. On the one end, terms such as basic, fundamental, and theoretical research are used to refer to research focused on discovering fundamental principles and processes governing physical and life phenomena.
On the other end, we find such terms as applied, clinical, practical, and product research. These refer to the application of the findings of basic/fundamental/theoretical research to generate research aimed at answering focused and problem-specific questions.
Though it is the subject of ongoing debate, it is assumed that there are fundamental principles and processes that are core to the nursing discipline and its central tenets of health, patient, nurse, and environment.
In addition, it is assumed that nursing draws on
fundamental principles and processes discovered in other disciplines to
generate new knowledge about nursing and patient care.
Applied Research In Nursing
Under these assumptions, applied research in nursing can be defined. The etymology of applied goes back to the Latin applicate, meaning to put something (a law, a test, etc.) into practical operation. Applied research in nursing, then, refers to research aimed at concrete and practical issues and questions of concern to the delivery of nursing care.
The most evident type of applied research is
intervention research-from exploratory investigations to rigorous clinical
trials. This type of applied research is aimed at providing answers to
questions about the effectiveness and efficacy of nursing interventions.
How Applied Research Beneficial For Nurses
The nonintervention (or descriptive) research may be categorized as applied research as well if it meets the general criterion of being focused on concrete and practical issues and questions about nursing care.
For instance, understanding the dynamics of clinical and subclinical noncompliance in transplant patients and their relationship to the occurrence of adverse posttransplant events helps nurses and other health professionals in developing interventions to enhance adherence to prescribed drug regimens (De Geest , Bargeman's, et al., 1995).
Developing risk profiles for institutionalization
among various cohorts of community-dwelling elderly furthers the knowledge base
for designing preventive strategies and models of care for patients,
caregivers, and families (Abraham, Currie, Neese, Yi, Thompson -Heisterman ,
1994; Steeman , Abraham, & Godderis , 1997).
Outcomes of Applied Research In Nursing
In addition to effectiveness and efficacy, applied research in nursing also refers to cost calculations of nursing interventions. Managing the costs of care is a major issue in health care, and health care workers need evidence about the cost-effectiveness of the interventions used.
For instance, implementation of a
modified isolation protocol incorporating only those elements with supported
effectiveness in the care of heart transplant recipients can be a source of
considerable cost savings (De Geest , Kesteloot , Degryse , & Vanhaecke ,
1995), Clinical and cost Comparisons of pre-operative skin preparation
procedures in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients provides additional
data to support the necessary process of aging routine nursing practice to
evidence-based nursing (De Geest et al., 1996).
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