29th November 2006

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A University of Ulster academic has backed calls for a Nursing Research Council to help provide a co-ordinated approach for nursing research. 

Speaking at his Professorial lecture, Kader Parahoo, Director of the Institute of Nursing Research at UU, said nursing research was poorly understood and seriously under-resourced. 

“There are more than 400,000 qualified nurses in the National Health Service (NHS) and nurses are the largest group of health professionals in the NHS,” said Professor Parahoo. 

“Three pence out of every pound in the NHS is spent on the salaries of nurses and midwives and they give 80% of direct patient care.  Yet little is known of the clinical and cost effectiveness of their work.”

Professor Parahoo renewed the call made at the Royal College of Nursing Congress earlier this year for a Nursing Research Council which can provide a co-ordinated approach to the training of nurse researchers, for funding post-doctoral research and for setting priorities for nursing research.

"Health care needs are changing as a result of people living longer with chronic illness and of the increase in lifestyle-related conditions such as obesity, sexually transmitted infections and those associated with smoking and alcohol,” Professor Parahoo said. 

“Nurses have an important role in helping to address these problems by non-pharmacological interventions and by helping people to adopt healthier lifestyles.”

Professor Parahoo also said most funders, including charities, tend mainly to fund research on drugs and medical interventions, ignoring the need for research to support people who live and cope with chronic illness. He urged the public and health professionals to question charities and others on the type of research which they fund.  

“The public wants nurses who are knowledgeable and skilful to care for them, who can provide answers to their questions and who know what they are doing.  Nurses need to know, through research, that what they do can make a difference to patients and is cost-effective. Nursing research should be properly resourced to allow it to develop further and be a force for good in helping nurses to improve the quality of life of users, carers, and society as a whole, he added.”

 

For further information, please contact:

Trina Porter
Telephone: 028 71675511
Email: Trina Porter