Editorial
Professing nursing research: The Italian experience
Nursing Ethics 2014, Vol. 21(8) 857–858 ª The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permission: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav 10.1177/0969733014560485 nej.sagepub.com
Ann Gallagher University of Surrey, UK
Loradana Sasso, Annamaria Bagnasco and Giuseppe Aleo University of Genoa, Italy
The need for, and value of, nursing should be obvious to all, both locally and globally, in extreme situations and in relation to the everyday. At the time of writing, the media is reporting on the catastrophic consequences of Ebola and on the positive contribution of nurses and doctors. The everyday care activities of local care-workers may receive less media attention but are no less important. The need for, and value of, nursing research should be as obvious too. In some countries, nursing research is well developed and acknowledged as a legitimate and necessary basis for nursing activities. In other places, positivist paradigms prevail and nurse researchers encounter resistance, scepticism and misunderstanding in relation to qualitative research and philosophical scholarship in particular. Italian nurse researchers seem a case in point. This collaborative editorial was inspired by conversations with Italian colleagues regarding the position of nurses and nursing research. Just this year, the first full professor of nursing in Italy was appointed in Rome. The first PhD programme for Italian nurses produced its first graduates only in 2010. Three lessons might be extracted from the Italian experience: nurse researchers require patience and tenacity to convey the meaning and value of qualitative research; research ethics committees as they are currently composed in most cases still do not appear to be ready to value the contribution of qualitative research; and engagement with researchers in the international research community is beneficial to all. One Italian experience we discussed was the ethical review process relating to a qualitative study on the theme of children’s experience of chronic disease. The research ethics committee members were sceptical of the scientific merit of the study. They questioned the relatively small number of research participants and the value of qualitative research. After four revisions in response to committee members’ comments, the study was eventually approved with one member declaring that this would ‘open up new horizons’. The tenacity and patience of the research team paid off, and, in the end, at least some resistance was overcome. Progress, it seems, was made in terms of an understanding of the value and potential of qualitative nursing research to explain parts of patients’ illness trajectory as well as of their family members that other research paradigms cannot reach. To overcome some of the challenges of negotiating the ethical review process, we agreed that research ethics committees require members with qualitative research expertise. A professor of nursing would be an ideal person for this role with the opportunity for mutual learning and cross-disciplinary dialogue. Regarding what a professor of nursing would profess in such a committee, we agreed that this would include the following: the value of research examining patient, family and practitioners’ experiences; the importance of research interventions that respect dignity and improve the quality of life of care-recipients and care-givers; Corresponding author: Ann Gallagher, International Care Ethics (ICE) Observatory, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7TE, UK. Email: [email protected]
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Nursing Ethics 21(8)
and the illuminating role of theoretical and philosophical approaches to throw light on the complexity of health and social care practices. International collaboration, we agreed, is essential to the advancement of nursing research, practice and education. Countries, such as Italy, where the first language is not English may be disadvantaged as English is the main language of the international research community. They may require more help to access, interpret and apply nursing research to their own care contexts. The Centre of Excellence for Nursing Research in Rome1 provides a forum with political impact to bring together Italian nurse researchers, supporting each other and disseminating locally and internationally the wide range of nursing research Italian nurse researchers are engaged in. Professors of nursing in Italy and elsewhere, then, need to not only profess the value of nursing and nursing research but also provide leadership regarding the development of local research. They need to role model confidence and creativity and, at times courage, to engage with the international research community and to be a bridge between the local and the global. No one country has all of the empirical or philosophical creativity or the ethical authority necessary to develop nursing research. There is much to be gained from cross-cultural conversations and a commitment to learn from each other. There is also much to be gained by investing in and developing nurse researchers and professors in countries such as Italy so that they can provide the leadership necessary to conduct, disseminate and engage with those in other professions and disciplines with a view to improving care for all. Reference 1. Rocco G, Affonso DD, Mayberry LJ, et al. The evolution of professional nursing culture in Italy: metaphors and paradoxes. Global Qual Nurs Res 2014, http://gqn.sagepub.com/content/1/2333393614549372.short
858
Professing nursing research: The Italian experience
Nursing Ethics 2014, Vol. 21(8) 857–858 ª The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permission: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav 10.1177/0969733014560485 nej.sagepub.com
Ann Gallagher University of Surrey, UK
Loradana Sasso, Annamaria Bagnasco and Giuseppe Aleo University of Genoa, Italy
The need for, and value of, nursing should be obvious to all, both locally and globally, in extreme situations and in relation to the everyday. At the time of writing, the media is reporting on the catastrophic consequences of Ebola and on the positive contribution of nurses and doctors. The everyday care activities of local care-workers may receive less media attention but are no less important. The need for, and value of, nursing research should be as obvious too. In some countries, nursing research is well developed and acknowledged as a legitimate and necessary basis for nursing activities. In other places, positivist paradigms prevail and nurse researchers encounter resistance, scepticism and misunderstanding in relation to qualitative research and philosophical scholarship in particular. Italian nurse researchers seem a case in point. This collaborative editorial was inspired by conversations with Italian colleagues regarding the position of nurses and nursing research. Just this year, the first full professor of nursing in Italy was appointed in Rome. The first PhD programme for Italian nurses produced its first graduates only in 2010. Three lessons might be extracted from the Italian experience: nurse researchers require patience and tenacity to convey the meaning and value of qualitative research; research ethics committees as they are currently composed in most cases still do not appear to be ready to value the contribution of qualitative research; and engagement with researchers in the international research community is beneficial to all. One Italian experience we discussed was the ethical review process relating to a qualitative study on the theme of children’s experience of chronic disease. The research ethics committee members were sceptical of the scientific merit of the study. They questioned the relatively small number of research participants and the value of qualitative research. After four revisions in response to committee members’ comments, the study was eventually approved with one member declaring that this would ‘open up new horizons’. The tenacity and patience of the research team paid off, and, in the end, at least some resistance was overcome. Progress, it seems, was made in terms of an understanding of the value and potential of qualitative nursing research to explain parts of patients’ illness trajectory as well as of their family members that other research paradigms cannot reach. To overcome some of the challenges of negotiating the ethical review process, we agreed that research ethics committees require members with qualitative research expertise. A professor of nursing would be an ideal person for this role with the opportunity for mutual learning and cross-disciplinary dialogue. Regarding what a professor of nursing would profess in such a committee, we agreed that this would include the following: the value of research examining patient, family and practitioners’ experiences; the importance of research interventions that respect dignity and improve the quality of life of care-recipients and care-givers; Corresponding author: Ann Gallagher, International Care Ethics (ICE) Observatory, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7TE, UK. Email: [email protected]
858
Nursing Ethics 21(8)
and the illuminating role of theoretical and philosophical approaches to throw light on the complexity of health and social care practices. International collaboration, we agreed, is essential to the advancement of nursing research, practice and education. Countries, such as Italy, where the first language is not English may be disadvantaged as English is the main language of the international research community. They may require more help to access, interpret and apply nursing research to their own care contexts. The Centre of Excellence for Nursing Research in Rome1 provides a forum with political impact to bring together Italian nurse researchers, supporting each other and disseminating locally and internationally the wide range of nursing research Italian nurse researchers are engaged in. Professors of nursing in Italy and elsewhere, then, need to not only profess the value of nursing and nursing research but also provide leadership regarding the development of local research. They need to role model confidence and creativity and, at times courage, to engage with the international research community and to be a bridge between the local and the global. No one country has all of the empirical or philosophical creativity or the ethical authority necessary to develop nursing research. There is much to be gained from cross-cultural conversations and a commitment to learn from each other. There is also much to be gained by investing in and developing nurse researchers and professors in countries such as Italy so that they can provide the leadership necessary to conduct, disseminate and engage with those in other professions and disciplines with a view to improving care for all. Reference 1. Rocco G, Affonso DD, Mayberry LJ, et al. The evolution of professional nursing culture in Italy: metaphors and paradoxes. Global Qual Nurs Res 2014, http://gqn.sagepub.com/content/1/2333393614549372.short
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