Evaluation of the impact of support for nursing research on scientific productivity in seven Italian hospitals: A multiple interrupted time series study

Background: Nursing research is not well-developed in Italy, and knowledge of the methodologies for conducting research is lacking. In several hospitals, including those in which this study was conducted, a research center has been established to support and educate nurses on how to conduct clinical research.

Aims and objectives: In this observational study, we sought to assess whether establishing a support center for nursing research has resulted in an increase in scientific production in terms of the numbers of protocols approved (primary outcome), articles published and nurse authors involved in the publications (secondary outcomes).

Design: Multiple interrupted time series.

Methods: Data from 2002 to 2012 were collected in seven hospitals. Research centers have been established at various times in only four of these hospitals.

Results: A statistically significant increase in the primary outcome (the number of protocols approved by the Research Ethics Committee in which the principal investigator was a nurse) was observed in two hospitals approximately 2years after establishing a research center. The number of nursing research articles published in scientific journals with an impact factor increased but was not statistically significant. Finally, the number of nurse authors increased significantly in two hospitals with support units. Definitive conclusions could not be reached for the other two experimental hospitals because notably few post-intervention data were available. In the control hospitals, the scientific production outcomes did not change.

Conclusions: This study shows that establishing a support center for nursing research inside hospitals can facilitate the production of research.