Participating in research: the experience of a community nursing team
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Participating in research: the experience of a community nursing team

Nicola Zolnhofer Area nurse manager, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To acknowledge the importance of participating in community nursing-based research

  • To be aware of the benefits and challenges of participating in research as a nurse working in the community

  • To recognise that community nursing teams should be supported to participate in research

There is a policy focus in the NHS to provide care closer to people’s homes; despite that focus community nursing is an area of practice that is understudied. Research conducted in community nursing is required to produce an evidence base that can then be used to inform practice.

This article outlines the experience of a community nursing team participating in their first research study – a study designed to explore how the Support Needs Approach for Patients (SNAP) intervention can be used to support older people living at home. The benefits and challenges of participating in the research process are described, along with how some of the challenges can be overcome and why community-based nurses should be supported to engage in research.

Primary Health Care. doi: 10.7748/phc.2023.e1788

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@nzolnhofer

Correspondence

nicola.zolnhofer@cpft.nhs.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Zolnhofer N (2023) Participating in research: the experience of a community nursing team. Primary Health Care. doi: 10.7748/phc.2023.e1788

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the community nursing team who participated in the research study and Professor Morag Farquhar and Dr Carole Gardener from the Support Needs Approach for Patients (SNAP) research team at the University of East Anglia for their support and guidance

Published online: 18 January 2023

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