title: Cancer nursing research in Queensland, Australia: barriers, priorities, and strategies for progress.
abstract: Nursing research is an integral component of improving the care of people with cancer; however, the literature suggests that many organizational, resource, and attitudinal barriers to research remain. The aim of the present study was to systematically describe the research experience, attitudes, and opinions of nurses in Queensland, Australia, about priorities and strategies for developing cancer nursing research. A mail survey was sent to all 589 members of the Oncology Nurses Group of Queensland to assess their research knowledge, experience, and attitudes. A response rate of 54.2% (319 nurses) was obtained. Results suggest that many nurses in this study have access to and are reading available research regularly. However, many nurses reported only limited education and skills in research, scarce resources, and limited time to participate in research. Few nurses were involved in developing research proposals, were presenting at conferences, or were writing for publication. Despite these constraints, most of the sample indicated high levels of interest in participating in conducting research. Furthermore, most nurses in this study viewed research as important to patient care and as being an important role for clinical nurses. The top 3 priority areas for cancer nursing research were identified as psychosocial support, pain management, and symptom management. Specific strategies identified for developing nursing research included providing information, support, mentorship, and resources. Professional groups were viewed as having an important role in the development of nursing research in education, lobbying, and facilitating networking among researchers.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Australia.
authors.forename: Patsy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yates
authors.forename: Dilys
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.forename: Leanne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Christie
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Dewar
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Middleton
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Glennys
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stallan
authors.forename: Gail
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bennetto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015399:Nursing Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D011793:Queensland; D012109:Research Support as Topic