title: Evaluation of the impact of support for nursing research on scientific productivity in seven Italian hospitals: A multiple interrupted time series study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nursing research is not well-developed in Italy, and knowledge of the methodologies for conducting research is lacking. In several hospitals, including those in which this study was conducted, a research center has been established to support and educate nurses on how to conduct clinical research.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  In this observational study, we sought to assess whether establishing a support center for nursing research has resulted in an increase in scientific production in terms of the numbers of protocols approved (primary outcome), articles published and nurse authors involved in the publications (secondary outcomes).
  
  
  METHODS
  Multiple interrupted time series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from 2002 to 2012 were collected in seven hospitals. Research centers have been established at various times in only four of these hospitals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A statistically significant increase in the primary outcome (the number of protocols approved by the Research Ethics Committee in which the principal investigator was a nurse) was observed in two hospitals approximately 2years after establishing a research center. The number of nursing research articles published in scientific journals with an impact factor increased but was not statistically significant. Finally, the number of nurse authors increased significantly in two hospitals with support units. Definitive conclusions could not be reached for the other two experimental hospitals because notably few post-intervention data were available. In the control hospitals, the scientific production outcomes did not change.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that establishing a support center for nursing research inside hospitals can facilitate the production of research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: paolo.chiari@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chiari
authors.affiliation: Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: cristiana.forni@ior.it.
authors.forename: Cristiana
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Forni
authors.affiliation: Infermiera Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo for the Study and Cure of Tumours, Meldola, Forlì Cesena, Italy. Electronic address: a.zeneli@irst.emr.it.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zeneli
authors.affiliation: Azienda Ospedaliero, Universitaria of Ferrara, Arcispedale S. Anna, Ferrara, Italy. Electronic address: g.gianesini@ospfe.it.
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gianesini
authors.affiliation: Azienda Ospedaliero, Universitaria of Modena, Policlinic of Modena, Italy. Electronic address: zanin.roberta@policlinico.mo.it.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zanin
authors.affiliation: Statistics Department "Infrastructure Research and Statistics", IRCCS, Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova, Reggio Emilia, Italy. Electronic address: luca.braglia@asmn.re.it.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Braglia
authors.affiliation: Statistics Department "Infrastructure Research and Statistics", IRCCS, Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova, Reggio Emilia, Italy. Electronic address: silvio.cavuto@asmn.re.it.
authors.forename: Silvio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cavuto
authors.affiliation: Azienda Ospedaliera, Arcispedale S. Maria Nuova, Istituto in Advanced Technologies and Welfare Models in Oncology, IRCCS, Reggio Emilia, Italy. Electronic address: monica.guberti@asmn.re.it.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guberti
mesh_terms: D001319:Authorship; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D055811:Journal Impact Factor; D009726:Nurses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research
keywords: Clinical Nursing Research; Education; Health Services Research; Nursing Evaluation Research