title: A systematic review of nursing research priorities on health system and services in the Americas.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To systematically review literature on priorities in nursing research on health systems and services in the Region of the Americas as a step toward developing a nursing research agenda that will advance the Regional Strategy for Universal Access to Health and Universal Health Coverage.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a systematic review of the literature available from the following databases: Web of Science, PubMed, LILACS, and Google. Documents considered were published in 2008-2014; in English, Spanish, or Portuguese; and addressed the topic in the Region of the Americas. The documents selected had their priority-setting process evaluated according to the "nine common themes for good practice in health research priorities." A content analysis collected all study questions and topics, and sorted them by category and subcategory.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 185 full-text articles/documents that were assessed for eligibility, 23 were selected: 12 were from peer-reviewed journals; 6 from nursing publications; 4 from Ministries of Health; and 1 from an international organization. Journal publications had stronger methodological rigor; the majority did not present a clear implementation or evaluation plan. After compiling the 444 documents' study questions and topics, the content analysis resulted in a document with 5 categories and 16 subcategories regarding nursing research priorities on health systems and services.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Research priority-setting is a highly important process for health services improvement and resources optimization, but implementation and evaluation plans are rarely included. The resulting document will serve as basis for the development of a new nursing research agenda focused on health systems and services, and shaped to advance universal health coverage and universal access to health.
authors.affiliation: Human Resources for Health, Health Systems and Services Department, Pan American Health Organization, Washington DC, United States of America, cassianis@paho.org.
authors.forename: Alessandra Bassalobre
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Human Resources for Health, Health Systems and Services Department, Pan American Health Organization, Washington DC, United States of America, cassianis@paho.org.
authors.forename: Silvia Helena De Bortoli
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Cassiani
authors.affiliation: Knowledge Management, Bioethics, and Research Department, Pan American Health Organization, Washington DC, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ludovic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reveiz
mesh_terms: D000569:Americas; D015706:Bibliometrics; D006078:Government Programs; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs; D015399:Nursing Research; D012106:Research