hospital staffing issues - nurse retention
Practice-based Research Networks (PBRNs) are groups of
practices that primarily provide patient care but also are
affiliated with each other to study the clinical problems and
practice patterns within the group's practices. The number of
PBRNs is growing in primary care, but these networks are governed
by doctors who created them and address research questions that
reflect doctors' practices and perspectives.
The establishment of the first PBRN for advanced practice
registered nurses (APRNs), who routinely provide primary care for
underserved and minority populations, provides a forum for
studying practice problems and processes related to nursing care.
The development of this PBRN, called APRNet, which is supported in
part by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (HS11196),
is described in a recent article by Margaret Grey, Dr.P.H.,
F.A.A.N., C.P.N.P., and colleagues at the Yale University School
of Nursing.
The APRNet includes nurse practitioners from five other
university schools of nursing and is governed by a planning
committee, a volunteer advisory board, and a community advisory
board. The first APRN Advisory Board meeting was held in May 2001.
APRNet's purpose is to conduct and facilitate practice-based
research relevant to APRN primary care practice; develop
culturally competent, evidence-based practice models for APRNs;
and enhance the translation of research findings into primary care
practice.
APRNet has initiated two studies: a modification of the
National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey—which is fielded by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for
Health Statistics—and a study of data privacy and confidentiality
issues of APRNs and their patients. Other studies in the planning
stages focus on depression in primary care settings, childhood
asthma, and parenting of chronically ill children; each of these
topics has clear implications for nursing practice. Ultimately,
APRNet will link with other PBRNs to do comparative and
collaborative studies.
See "Establishing a practice-based research network of advanced
practice registered nurses in southern New England," by Terry
Deshefy-Longhi, B.S.N., M.S., Martha K. Swartz, M.S., R.N.C.S.,
P.N.P., and Dr. Grey, in the May 2002 Nursing Outlook 50,
pp. 127-132.
Reprints available from the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse.
These are excerpts from the AHRQ Research Activities,
you can read the full report at
http://www.ahrq.gov/research/dec02/1202RA22.htm |