Florence Nightingale is the forerunner of modern nursing. She was the first nursing theorist where she develop the environmental theory in nursing that focuses on healing, leadership, and global action. (Peres et al., 2021)At the time, the population considered nursing a low-class job, but she changed all this since she was from an upper-class family. More so, she focused on the holistic approach to nursing care where the patient was at the center, not the condition that afflicted the patient. She also applied statistics and mathematical principles to measure the impact of patient care. (Peres et al., 2021) In a sense, she introduced research to nursing. However, this field has undergone various changes over the years.
During Florence Nightingale’s era, research in nursing stalled as the field was seen mostly as an apprenticeship. The study was nonexistent then, while most nurses acquired their skills from hospital-based settings. However, in the 1950s, nursing theorists started to define nursing and the development of nursing theories. There were still nursing researchers, and nursing education was confined to hospital-based settings (Peres et al., 2021). In the 1970s, nurses started seeking higher education elsewhere, thus, beginning the era of nurse physiologists and anthropologists. These nurses were astute in research, but they did not research specifically in the field of nursing(Glasper, 2020). At the turn of the decade, there was a change in nursing education where it shifted from hospital-based settings to university settings. In so doing, nursing models and research into the nursing field crept up in a bid to develop a standardized curriculum. In the 1990s, there was a revolution in nursing research as more nurses sought to redefine problems in their practice and delineate gaps in the knowledge (Glasper, 2020). More so, using qualitative and quantitative methods, nurses started using their findings to educate and create awareness among their patients and the public. They use research findings as the basis for treatment and patient care, a concept termed evidence-based practice (Dios-Aguado et al., 2021).
Research is the process used to generate new knowledge or validate existing knowledge. It involves systematic scientific inquiry to answer specific research questions or test hypotheses using disciplined, rigorous methods (Horntvedt et al., 2018). The research follows a series of steps. It begins with identifying compelling questions about a particular phenomenon and identifying a gap in the knowledge base. Subsequently, a literature review is carried out that will then define the study method and study design to be employed. A researcher then conducts the study and obtains data they will analyze and report. The process of research is complete when the researcher publishes his findings.
Evidence-based practice is the process of translating existing evidence and applying it to clinical decision-making. The purpose is to utilize the best evidence available to make patient care decisions. Evidence-based practice not only relies on research but also includes clinical expertise, patient preferences, and values (Horntvedt et al., 2018). Evidence-based practice involves innovation in terms of finding and translating the best evidence into clinical practice
One historical breach of research conduct is the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, where from 1932 to 1972, researchers in the US studied the progression of syphilis in African American men without their informed consent or treatment, even when effective treatment became available. This unethical study led to long-term health consequences for participants and contributed to mistrust of medical research among African American communities (Barrow et al., 2022).
To ensure the care of study participants, a researcher could apply the ethical principle of informed consent. This means ensuring that participants fully understand the nature of the study, its risks and benefits and that they can choose whether or not to participate freely. By obtaining informed consent, researchers can respect the autonomy and dignity of participants and prevent exploitation and harm (Barrow et al., 2022)
References
Barrow, J. M., Brannan, G. D., & Khandhar, P. B. (2022). Research Ethics. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459281/
Dios-Aguado, M. de L. M. de, Gómez-Cantarino, S., Queirós, P. J. P., & Peres, M. A. de A. (2021). The light of Florence Nightingale in the care for COVID-19 patients in primary health care. Revista Gaucha De Enfermagem, 42(spe), e20200303. https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-1447.2021.20200303
Glasper, A. (2020). Recognising Florence Nightingale’s contribution to nursing. British Journal of Nursing (Mark Allen Publishing), 29(14), 832–833. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2020.29.14.832
Horntvedt, M.-E. T., Nordsteien, A., Fermann, T., & Severinsson, E. (2018). Strategies for teaching evidence-based practice in nursing education: A thematic literature review. BMC Medical Education, 18(1), 172. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-018-1278-z
Peres, M. A. de A., Aperibense, P. G. G. de S., Dios-Aguado, M. de las M. de, Gómez-Cantarino, S., & Queirós, P. J. P. (2021). The Florence Nightingale’s nursing theoretical model: A transmission of knowledge. Revista Gaúcha de Enfermagem, 42. https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-1447.2021.20200228
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