Enabling nurses' leadership of research and evaluation of change models

Edwards, Nancy C.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

C: Adanech Kidanemariam Hall (Millennium Hall)

Nancy C. Edwards, RN, PhD, FCAHS University of Ottawa, Canada

Judy Mill University of Alberta, Canada

Hester C. Klopper North-West University, South Africa

Jean Harrowing University of Lethbridge, Canada

Institutional supports and capacity-building efforts are needed to foster a critical mass of nurses in lower- and middle-income countries to actively lead research and evaluate change models. An enabling environment has individual, institutional, and national and international dimensions that support nurses’ efforts to generate evidence and contribute their experience at the research-policy interface. Necessary elements include: educational preparation, training opportunities, mentorship programs, interdisciplinary collaboration, funding for nursing research, and a participatory action research approach.

Learning Objectives: • To examine leadership hubs as a partnership model for change to address clinical and community care gaps in lower- and middle-income countries; • To identify and consider how the leadership hub model might be scaled-up to address HIV and AIDS and other health priorities; and, • To discuss the type of institutional support and capacity-building efforts required for nurses to lead research and evaluation of change models.