CLINICAL-PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES IN 4 DISTRICT HEALTH AUTHORITIES

This review is based on findings from a postal survey undertaken betwe en March and September 1993 to elicit information from nurses in four district health authorities regarding development and research activit y in which they were involved. The objectives of the review were to ob tain baseline information on the extent, variety and scope of work bei ng carried out, to provide staff with a mechanism for networking good practice and to identify any areas of replication. A snowball sampling technique was used to obtain information from nursing personnel. A to tal of 141 responses were received out of which 4% (n = 5) reported no activity. Response rates varied between organizations and specialist groups but were similar in terms of the number of small-scale clinical practice developments undertaken without identified support or superv ision. Fifty-five per cent (n = 75) of the reported developments relat ed to the organization and management of services while 11% (n = 15) f ocused on consumer-related issues. Few studies identified disseminatio n strategies and there was generally a lack of clarity over expected b enefits of the study in terms of measurable outcomes to the organizati on, nursing staff or patients. Funding for clinical practice developme nt and research in nursing was found to be very sparse; the reasons fo r this were not identified. Overall the review confirmed statements fr om other sources (DoH, 1993a,b) that nursing development and research tends to be small scale and unsupported with nursing staff trying hard to implement research findings or be innovative in their practice wit hout the necessary expertise and support. Such findings have implicati ons for the current drive to implement research into practice.