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Nursing research remains critical piece of the program

Foundation supports studies that can propel nursing practice

By Karen Schmidt, RN

EDITOR'S NOTE: Karen Schmidt, RN, is a freelance writer.

Making a difference for patients is what The DAISY Foundation is all about. That same purpose drives the foundation’s research and evidence-based practice grants program.

“Our goal is to support nurses doing research, whether a novice researcher — a staff nurse who has never done a study — or an experienced researcher,” said Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, The DAISY Foundation president and co-founder. “We’re supporting those who are dedicated to the treatment of patients with cancer or an autoimmune disease.” Since 2007 when the grant-funding program began, the foundation has funded 94 projects. The two primary types are research grants, funded for up to $5,000, and EBP grants, for up to $2,000. Elizabeth Bridges, PhD, RN, CCNS, FCCM, FAAN, faculty member and clinical nurse researcher at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, leads the review panel for grant funding. She said this program echoes the inquiring nature that was characteristic of J. Patrick Barnes, who is described as a “very inquisitive person by nature,” who enjoyed collecting information on various topics. Bridges volunteers her time to read and respond to the letters of intent from nurse applicants, the first step in the grant process. “I give the applicants feedback about what would make their proposal stronger,” she said.

Once the full applications arrive, two panel members perform a primary review of the application and two nurse scientists present the recommended proposals to the entire panel of 10 nurses, all volunteers. Barnes said, on average, the foundation receives 20 to 30 proposals per six-month grant cycle. Each funded project has a one-year timeline to complete the study and submit outcome reporting.

Among research projects now in process, Bridges said one intriguing study involves cases where children need to be in isolation due to treatment with radiation, which restricts the child’s access to the parents. The question under study is how nurses can support the parent and child relationship when parents can’t be physically with child. She also cited “a fascinating study” about walkability for breast cancer survivors. In this participatory study, women undergoing breast cancer treatment take pictures of barriers and facilitators of residential walkability. This project is unusual in that patients tell their story using photos. Bridges said the study is unique because, rather than asking breast cancer patients to take a written survey, the nurses asked them to photograph what hinders or compels their exercise — lack of sidewalks or street lights, for instance, or having to walk past school yards with children who laugh at their baldness due to cancer treatment. The study’s photos with patients’ vignettes are expected to be displayed at a local cancer treatment facility. Studies funded through the foundation are small scale. “We do get experienced scientists who are at the bedside, and this small study, for them, can be a stepping stone for preliminary data for a larger study in the future.” Once studies are completed, participants submit reports of their findings to the foundation. “We announce the grants we fund on our website and publish the titles, principle investigators and institutions in a brochure,” said Barnes. “Importantly, we require our grantees to submit their work to the Virginia Henderson Library of Sigma Theta Tau International.” This is done to disseminate the findings to a wider audience. Some nurse researchers publish their studies or share them as posters or conference presentations. The $2,000 Lynn Doll Grant, also available from the foundation, offers nurses with successful projects funding to disseminate their results. As studies and projects continue to be submitted, completed and shared in nursing practice, nurses caring for patients with autoimmune conditions and cancer will be able to continually evaluate their practice, seek answers to clinical questions in an effort to improve their practice, and change their practice based on evidence and evaluation of that change, ultimately improving care through their own research and findings.

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The number of applications has been increasing, said Bridges, who has volunteered with the grant program since its inception, because of her personal passion for science in the practice of nursing. In the U.S., research is growing in nursing practice, she said. “It’s an expectation that our nurses ask and answer questions. We really strive for this advanced culture of inquiry, where nurses are scientifically and systematically asking questions. This program is a targeted approach that supports that.”

“Nurses want to make a difference for their patients,” she continued. “Sometimes they need some support to bring that change to practice. Maybe a nurse needs time off to do research or needs supplies. These grants give the opportunity to ask and answer questions from nursing practice.” Bridges shared examples of studies currently underway or recently completed. One very successful EBP project, she said, was undertaken by a nurse at the University of Iowa around the nursing care of patients with mucositis as a result of cancer treatment. “The project asked the question, ‘How do we help people with mucositis?’” Bridges said that grant was particularly strong in that it came in with the nurses’ specific intervention and with a very strong methodology of how they would measure whether [the nursing care] was making a difference. The outcome resulted in EBP for use of a bundle of nursing interventions that successfully reduces the discomfort of mucositis.

Interest in research keeps growing

Fascinating projects are under way