AN ACTION RESEARCH-PROJECT TO DEVELOP AND EVALUATE THE ROLE OF AN ADVANCED NURSE PRACTITIONER IN DEMENTIA

This paper outlines the first phase of a project to generate and evalu ate the role of an advanced nurse practitioner inductively from first principles. The role was developed by interviewing a wide range of hea lth-care professionals, carers and patients. The resulting role is res ponsive to perceived need at grassroots level rather than to the needs of managers with no clinical experience. Although the role might not be generalizable to other settings, the method can be applied to any r ole in any clinical area.