project topics on community health nursing

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Exploring Community Health Nursing Research Topics: A Comprehensive Guide for Nursing Students

Carla johnson.

• August 25, 2023
• Essay Topics and Ideas

Community health nursing is a dynamic and vital field within the nursing profession, focused on providing holistic care to populations within a defined community. This specialized branch of nursing goes beyond individual patient care, extending its reach to families, groups, and entire communities. This article will delve into community health nursing, explore its significance, and provide valuable resources for nursing students to engage in research, evidence-based practice (EBP) projects, capstone projects, research paper topics, research questions, and essay ideas.

What You'll Learn

Understanding Community Health Nursing: A Holistic Approach

Community health nursing emphasizes preventive care , health promotion, and disease prevention within a specific community. This holistic approach involves understanding the community’s unique needs, cultures, and challenges to provide targeted interventions that improve health outcomes. As nursing students, you will find this field to be a gateway to understanding the broader healthcare landscape and the interconnectedness of various factors that influence health.

PICOT Questions on Community Health Nursing

• P: Adult population in psychiatric care ; I: Implementation of daily RS questionnaire; C: Units without the daily survey; O: Reduction in utilization of restraint and seclusion; T: 6 months. Can the implementation of a daily RS (Restraint and Seclusion) questionnaire for adults in psychiatric care lead to a significant decrease in the utilization of restraint and seclusion within a period of 6 months?
• P: Pediatric population in school settings; I: Introduction of daily exercise regimen; C: Schools without daily exercise; O: Improvement in BMI and overall fitness; T: 1 academic year. Does introducing a daily exercise regimen in school settings for pediatric populations result in a noticeable improvement in BMI and overall fitness over the course of 1 academic year?
• P: Elderly population in assisted living facilities; I: Implementation of fall prevention program; C: Facilities without fall prevention program; O: Reduction in fall-related injuries; T: 1 year. Is there a significant reduction in fall-related injuries among the elderly residing in assisted living facilities after the implementation of a comprehensive fall prevention program within 1 year?
• P: Low-income pregnant women; I: Provision of prenatal education classes; C: Those without access to prenatal education; O: Increase in prenatal knowledge and healthier pregnancy outcomes; T: Throughout gestation. Can providing prenatal education classes to low-income pregnant women lead to increased prenatal knowledge and improved pregnancy outcomes when compared to those without access to such education?
• P: Diabetic population within the community; I: Establishment of a mobile diabetic clinic; C: No mobile clinic available; O: Enhanced diabetic management and reduced hospitalizations; T: 2 years. Does the establishment of a mobile diabetic clinic within the community lead to better diabetic management and a decrease in hospitalizations over a span of 2 years?
• P: Adolescent population in schools; I: Implementation of comprehensive sexual education; C: Schools with standard sexual education; O: Reduction in teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs); T: 3 years. Over a period of 3 years, does the implementation of comprehensive sexual education in schools result in a significant decrease in the rates of teen pregnancies and STIs among adolescents compared to schools with standard sexual education?
• P: Homeless population; I: Launch of mobile healthcare unit; C: No access to regular healthcare; O: Improvement in overall health status and decrease in emergency room visits; T: 1 year. Can the introduction of a mobile healthcare unit for the homeless population improve their overall health status and a noticeable reduction in emergency room visits within a year?
• P: Rural elderly population; I: Initiation of telehealth services ; C: Lack of telehealth services; O: Enhanced access to healthcare and better management of chronic conditions; T: 18 months. Does the introduction of telehealth services for the rural elderly population lead to increased access to healthcare services and improved management of chronic conditions over the course of 18 months?
• P: New mothers; I: Implementation of postpartum support groups; C: No postpartum support groups available; O: Reduction in postpartum depression rates and improved maternal well-being; T: 1 year. Can the implementation of postpartum support groups for new mothers lead to a significant reduction in postpartum depression rates and an overall improvement in maternal well-being within a year?
• P: LGBTQ+ youth; I: Creating safe spaces in schools; C: Absence of designated safe spaces; O: Decreased mental health challenges and higher academic achievement; T: Ongoing. Does creating safe spaces within schools for LGBTQ+ youth lead to a noticeable decrease in mental health challenges and a rise in academic achievement over an ongoing period?

Evidence-Based Practice Projects Ideas

• Evaluating the effectiveness of community-wide vaccination drives in reducing vaccine-preventable diseases.
• Assessing the impact of a smoke-free policy in public spaces on community members’ respiratory health.
• Investigating the outcomes of a nutrition education program in improving dietary habits among low-income families.
• Analyzing the effectiveness of a community-based mental health awareness campaign in reducing stigma and increasing help-seeking behavior.
• Exploring the outcomes of a diabetes management intervention using mobile health apps in urban communities.
• Studying the effects of a community gardening initiative on physical activity levels and nutrition awareness.
• Investigating the utilization and impact of telemedicine services in remote rural areas.
• Assessing the benefits of a community fitness program on cardiovascular health and overall well-being.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of a school-based anti-bullying campaign on students’ mental health.
• Analyzing the outcomes of a community-driven initiative to increase access to clean drinking water in underserved areas.

Nursing Capstone Project Ideas

• Developing a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan for a local community.
• Designing and implementing a culturally sensitive prenatal care program for immigrant populations.
• Creating a curriculum for training community health workers in identifying and addressing social determinants of health.
• Establishing a support network for caregivers of elderly individuals living at home.
• Designing a mental health first aid training program for community leaders and volunteers.
• Implementing a community-based program to promote physical activity among children with obesity.
• Creating a resource guide for LGBTQ+ youth to access healthcare services without discrimination.
• Developing a community-wide initiative to combat opioid misuse and overdose.
• Establishing a telehealth platform for remote health consultations in underserved regions.
• Designing a comprehensive sexual education curriculum for high schools to address varying cultural norms.

Nursing Research Paper Topics

• The impact of community health nursing interventions on reducing health disparities .
• Exploring the role of community health nurses in disaster response and recovery.
• Analyzing the effectiveness of school-based health clinics in improving student health outcomes.
• Investigating the barriers and facilitators of healthcare access in underserved rural communities.
• The role of community health nursing in promoting healthy aging and elderly care.
• Addressing mental health stigma through community-based interventions led by nurses.
• Analyzing the outcomes of community health education programs on reducing tobacco use .
• Exploring the relationship between community engagement and positive maternal-child health outcomes.
• The effectiveness of telehealth services in bridging healthcare gaps in remote areas.
• Investigating the impact of community health nursing in preventing and managing chronic diseases.

Community Health Nursing Research Questions

• How does the presence of community health nurses influence health outcomes in underserved urban neighborhoods?
• What are the key components of successful school-based vaccination programs , and how do they impact disease prevention?
• How do cultural competence and sensitivity affect the effectiveness of community health nursing interventions?
• What are the main challenges community health nurses face in addressing social determinants of health ?
• How does community engagement contribute to the sustainability of community health initiatives led by nurses?
• What strategies effectively promote mental health awareness and reduce stigma within communities?
• How do telehealth services improve access to healthcare for individuals in geographically isolated regions?
• What role do community health nurses play in detecting and managing chronic diseases ?
• How do community health interventions impact healthcare utilization patterns and costs?
• What are the outcomes of community health nursing programs focused on improving maternal and child health?

Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

• The Role of Community Health Nursing in Promoting Population Health.
• Addressing Health Disparities: The Impact of Community Health Nursing.
• Community-Based Approaches to Preventing Teenage Pregnancy .
• Telehealth: Bridging Healthcare Gaps in Underserved Communities.
• Cultural Competence in Community Health Nursing: Challenges and Strategies.
• Disaster Preparedness and Response: The Critical Role of Community Health Nurses.
• The Influence of Social Determinants of Health on Community Health Nursing Interventions.
• Community Health Education: Strategies for Promoting Healthy Lifestyles.
• Exploring the Connection Between Mental Health and Community Well-being.
• Innovations in Community Health Nursing: Harnessing Technology for Better Outcomes.

As nursing students, you are poised to become the next generation of community health nurses, armed with the knowledge and skills to impact the health and well-being of diverse populations positively. Community health nursing offers numerous opportunities for research, practice, and advocacy. By delving into PICOT questions, evidence-based practice projects, capstone projects, research paper topics, and research questions, you can deepen your understanding of this vital field and contribute to its growth. Don’t hesitate to seek our writing services if you need assistance with your community health nursing assignments or essays. We understand the demands of nursing education and are here to support you in your academic journey. Your dedication to improving community health is commendable, and together, we can pave the way for healthier, more vibrant communities.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Community Health Nursing

• Is community health nursing the same as nursing? Community health nursing is a specialized branch of nursing that focuses on providing holistic care to populations within specific communities. While nursing is a broader field encompassing various specialties, community health nursing is distinct in its emphasis on preventive care and health promotion within communities.
• What are the qualifications of a community health nursing? To practice community health nursing, one typically needs a registered nurse (RN) license. Many community health nurses also hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, and advanced practice may require additional education such as a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) with a specialization in community health.
• Do community health nurses work in hospitals? While community health nurses primarily work in community settings like public health departments, schools, and clinics, they can also collaborate with hospitals to provide education, preventive care, and continuity of care to patients transitioning from hospital to home.
• Can a community health nurse become a doctor? Community health nurses can certainly pursue further education and career advancement, but the path to becoming a doctor is different. Becoming a doctor requires completing medical school and earning a medical degree (MD) or a doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) degree, whereas community health nursing involves nursing education and training.

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120 Community Health Nursing Topics, Ideas plus Research Paper Examples

James colson dnp, rn.

• May 15, 2024
• Nursing Topics and Ideas

Community health nursing is a vital and dynamic field of healthcare that focuses on providing comprehensive nursing care to individuals, families, and communities in diverse settings. This specialty area of nursing emphasizes preventive care, health promotion, and the well-being of the entire community. Community health nurses play a pivotal role in bridging gaps in healthcare access, education, and advocacy, ultimately contributing to the overall health and vitality of society.

In this article, we explore Community Health Nursing Topics, Ideas and give Nursing Research Paper examples on Community Health Nursing. We also cover PICOT questions examples, EBP & capstone project ideas, research questions, and essay topics idea about community health nursing.

Community Health Nursing Topics

Community health nursing is rooted in the principles of public health, aiming to improve the health outcomes of populations by addressing a wide range of health issues. This field involves working closely with individuals and communities to assess their unique healthcare needs and develop strategies to meet those needs effectively. The community health nurse serves as a liaison between healthcare providers, local government agencies, and the community, ensuring that health services are accessible, culturally sensitive, and evidence-based.

Community health nursing practice is guided by a holistic approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of physical, mental, and social factors influencing health. Nurses in this field work in diverse settings such as schools, public health clinics, home healthcare agencies, and community centers. They provide services that range from health education and preventive care to disease management and crisis intervention.

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PICOT Questions Examples on Community Health Nursing

• In urban communities (P), how does the implementation of community health clinics (I) compared to traditional hospital-based care (C) affect the management of chronic diseases (O) within a five-year period (T)?
• In pregnant teenagers (P), what is the effect of prenatal education programs (I) on reducing preterm births (O) compared to standard prenatal care (C) within a one-year timeframe (T)?
• In low-income neighborhoods (P), how does access to affordable fresh produce (I) compared to limited access (C) affect the prevalence of childhood obesity (O) within two years (T)?
• In elderly individuals living independently (P), what is the impact of regular home visits by community health nurses (I) on reducing hospital readmissions (O) compared to no home visits (C) within a six-month period (T)?
• In schools (P), how does implementing mental health education programs (I) compared to not having such programs (C) affect the mental well-being of students (O) within a school year (T)?
• In homeless populations (P), what is the effectiveness of providing shelter, healthcare, and rehabilitation services (I) on improving overall health outcomes (O) compared to solely providing emergency shelter (C) within a three-year timeframe (T)?
• In rural communities (P), how does telehealth technology (I) compared to traditional in-person healthcare consultations (C) affect access to healthcare services (O) within a one-year period (T)?
• In individuals at risk of substance abuse (P), what is the impact of community-based prevention programs (I) on reducing the initiation of substance use (O) compared to no intervention (C) within a two-year timeframe (T)?
• In immigrant populations (P), how does culturally tailored health education (I) compared to generic health information (C) influence healthcare utilization (O) within a six-month period (T)?
• In schools (P), what is the effect of implementing a comprehensive sexual education curriculum (I) compared to abstinence-only education (C) on reducing teenage pregnancies (O) within a three-year timeframe (T)?

You can also check out Pathophysiology PICOT Questions Examples

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) Project Ideas on Community Health Nursing

• Assessing the impact of community health nurse-led vaccination clinics on vaccine coverage in underserved populations.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of home-based diabetes management programs in improving glycemic control among patients.
• Investigating the outcomes of school-based mental health interventions for adolescents.
• Analyzing the influence of community health education programs on smoking cessation rates.
• Developing and implementing a fall prevention program for the elderly in residential care facilities.
• Studying the effectiveness of community health nurse-led weight management programs.
• Assessing the impact of telehealth services on reducing healthcare disparities in rural areas.
• Implementing a community-wide exercise initiative and measuring its effect on physical fitness and overall health.
• Evaluating the outcomes of community health nurse-led prenatal care in reducing preterm births.
• Investigating the effectiveness of community-based substance abuse treatment programs.
• Assessing the impact of nutrition education programs on childhood obesity rates.
• Developing and implementing a culturally sensitive sexual health education program for immigrant populations.
• Evaluating the outcomes of community health nurse-led hypertension management clinics.
• Investigating the effectiveness of community-based mental health crisis intervention teams.
• Assessing the impact of community health nurse-led smoking cessation clinics.
• Developing and implementing a school-based immunization awareness campaign.
• Studying the effectiveness of community health nurse-led medication adherence programs.
• Evaluating the outcomes of community-wide disaster preparedness initiatives.
• Investigating the impact of telehealth mental health services on reducing stigma and improving access to care.
• Assessing the effectiveness of community health nurse-led nutrition and exercise interventions in reducing cardiovascular disease risk.

Nursing Capstone Project Ideas on Community Health Nursing

• Assessing the role of community health nursing in addressing health disparities among minority populations.
• Developing a comprehensive community health assessment and improvement plan for a specific urban neighborhood.
• Evaluating the impact of community health nurse-led interventions on reducing hospital readmissions in elderly populations.
• Investigating the effectiveness of school-based health promotion programs on improving students’ overall health.
• Designing and implementing a community-wide disaster response plan.
• Analyzing the outcomes of community health nurse-led maternal and child health programs.
• Evaluating the impact of telehealth services on increasing access to mental health care in rural areas.
• Assessing the effectiveness of community health nurse-led substance abuse prevention programs.
• Investigating the role of community health nurses in promoting vaccination coverage and herd immunity.
• Developing and implementing a culturally tailored sexual health education program for a specific immigrant community.
• Evaluating the outcomes of community health nurse-led chronic disease management clinics.
• Studying the impact of community-based mental health crisis teams on reducing psychiatric hospital admissions.
• Assessing the effectiveness of community health nurse-led smoking cessation programs in various settings.
• Designing and implementing a school-based mental health promotion program.
• Investigating the outcomes of community health nurse-led weight management interventions.
• Evaluating the impact of community health nursing interventions on improving access to primary care in underserved areas.
• Assessing the role of community health nurses in addressing food insecurity in low-income neighborhoods.
• Investigating the effectiveness of community health nurse-led hypertension control programs.
• Developing and implementing a community-wide physical fitness and wellness initiative.
• Analyzing the outcomes of community health nurse-led health education programs for specific populations.

Nursing Research Paper Topics on Community Health Nursing

• The Impact of Community Health Nursing on Reducing Health Disparities.
• Evaluating the Effectiveness of School-Based Mental Health Interventions.
• Community Health Nursing Approaches to Maternal and Child Health.
• Telehealth Services in Rural Areas: Bridging Healthcare Gaps.
• Community Health Nursing and Substance Abuse Prevention.
• Vaccination Promotion Strategies in Underserved Communities.
• Cultural Competence in Community Health Nursing Practice.
• Disaster Preparedness and Response in Community Health Nursing.
• Home-Based Diabetes Management Programs: A Research Review.
• Community Health Nurse-Led Smoking Cessation Programs: Outcomes and Best Practices.
• The Role of Community Health Nursing in Addressing Childhood Obesity.
• Mental Health Crisis Intervention Teams: Impact and Effectiveness.
• The Influence of Community Health Nursing on Immunization Rates.
• Promoting Medication Adherence in Chronic Disease Management.
• Community Health Nursing and Hypertension Control.
• Telehealth Mental Health Services: Reducing Stigma and Increasing Access.
• Nutrition Education Programs in Community Health Nursing.
• Health Promotion Initiatives in Low-Income Neighborhoods.
• Community Health Nursing and Fall Prevention in the Elderly.
• The Role of Community Health Nurses in Addressing Food Insecurity.

Other readers also checked out Nursing Research Paper Topics on Health Assessment

Nursing Research Questions on Community Health Nursing

• How can community health nursing interventions effectively reduce health disparities among underserved populations?
• What are the key factors influencing the success of school-based mental health interventions in improving student well-being?
• How do community health nursing approaches impact maternal and child health outcomes?
• What are the barriers and facilitators to the adoption of telehealth services in rural areas, and how do they affect healthcare access?
• What strategies are most effective in preventing substance abuse in various community settings?
• How can community health nurses enhance vaccination rates in underserved communities, and what are the associated challenges?
• What are the essential components of culturally competent community health nursing practice?
• How do community health nurses contribute to disaster preparedness and response efforts?
• What are the outcomes of home-based diabetes management programs, and how do they compare to traditional care models?
• What are the best practices for implementing and evaluating community health nurse-led smoking cessation programs?
• What role can community health nursing play in addressing childhood obesity, and what interventions are most effective?
• How do mental health crisis intervention teams impact psychiatric hospital admissions and patient outcomes?
• What strategies can community health nurses employ to promote vaccination and immunization in their communities?
• How can community health nurses improve medication adherence among individuals with chronic diseases?
• What are the most effective approaches to hypertension control in community health nursing practice?
• How do telehealth mental health services reduce stigma and increase access to care in rural areas?
• What are the outcomes of nutrition education programs implemented by community health nurses?
• How can community health nurses promote health and wellness in low-income neighborhoods?
• What interventions are effective in preventing falls among the elderly in residential care facilities?
• What strategies can community health nurses employ to address food insecurity in their communities?

Community Health Nursing Essay Topic Ideas

• The Role of Community Health Nursing in Promoting Health Equity.
• Challenges and Opportunities in School-Based Health Promotion Programs.
• The Impact of Community Health Nursing on Maternal and Child Health Outcomes.
• Telehealth Services: A Game-Changer in Rural Healthcare Access.
• Substance Abuse Prevention Strategies in Community Health Nursing Practice.
• Cultural Competence in Community Health Nursing: A Critical Component.
• Vaccination Promotion: Strategies for Success in Underserved Communities.
• Disaster Preparedness and Response: The Role of Community Health Nurses.
• Home-Based Diabetes Management Programs: Benefits and Challenges.
• Smoking Cessation Programs Led by Community Health Nurses: Success Stories.
• Tackling Childhood Obesity: The Community Health Nursing Approach.
• Mental Health Crisis Intervention Teams: An Essential Service.
• Immunization Rates in the Community: The Impact of Community Health Nurses.
• Medication Adherence in Chronic Disease Management: Challenges and Solutions.
• Hypertension Control in Community Health Nursing: Best Practices.
• Breaking Down Barriers: Telehealth Mental Health Services in Rural Areas.
• Nutrition Education Programs: Empowering Communities Through Knowledge.
• Promoting Healthy Lifestyles in Low-Income Neighborhoods.
• Fall Prevention in the Elderly: A Priority for Community Health Nurses.
• Food Insecurity: Addressing the Needs of Vulnerable Populations.
• Community Health Nursing and the Social Determinants of Health.
• The Importance of Community Health Assessment in Nursing Practice.
• Promoting Mental Health Awareness in Schools: The Role of Community Health Nurses.
• Community Health Nursing Interventions for Homeless Populations.
• The Power of Community Partnerships in Achieving Public Health Goals.
• Addressing Health Disparities Through Community Health Nursing.
• Community Health Nursing in the Digital Age: Harnessing Technology for Better Care.
• Disaster Preparedness in Community Health Nursing: Lessons Learned from Recent Events.
• The Impact of Community Health Nursing on Chronic Disease Management.
• Building Resilient Communities: A Core Goal of Community Health Nursing.

You can also check out Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Essay Topic Ideas

Community Health Nursing Research Paper Examples

• Community Health Nursing
• Concepts In Community And Public Health Nursing
• Community Health And Population Focused Nursing Action Report
• Interventions by a community health nursing faculty while transitioning to effective community health nursing practice
• Community Settings and Community Health Nursing Roles

Get your nursing homework and papers crafted by expert writers. Fast delivery, original content, and  student-friendly prices guarantee

Community health nursing is an essential component of the healthcare system that focuses on improving the health and well-being of entire communities. By addressing health disparities, promoting preventive care, and advocating for vulnerable populations, community health nurses play a crucial role in creating healthier and more equitable societies. The PICOT questions, evidence-based practice project ideas, capstone project ideas, research paper topics, and research questions provided here offer a broad array of avenues for nursing professionals and students to explore and contribute to this vital field of nursing.

1. What are the 4 components of the community health nursing process?

Community assessment, program planning, program implementation, and program evaluation.

2. What are the functions of a community health nurse?

The responsibilities of these nurses differ in each career path, but all community health nurses promote healthy living, disease prevention, and necessary medical treatment. Additionally, community health nurses create programs that promote community health and collect data to identify community needs.

3. What are the factors affecting community health?

Natural factors such as air, water, soil pollution, radiation and noise, Social factors such as income, education, political & economic system in the society, social & cultural system and health care services.

4. What are the ethical principles of community health practice?

There are four main principles of ethics: autonomy, beneficence, justice, and non-maleficence

• Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2020). Public Health Nursing – E-Book: Population-Centered Health Care in the Community. Elsevier Health Sciences.
• Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2019). Community/Public Health Nursing: Promoting the Health of Populations. Elsevier Health Sciences.
• Allender, J. A., Rector, C., & Warner, K. D. (2018). Community Health Nursing: Promoting and Protecting the Public’s Health. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
• Mauer, P. K. (2020). Community Health Nursing: An Alliance for Health. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
• Maurer, F. A., & Smith, C. M. (2017). Community/Public Health Nursing Practice: Health for Families and Populations. Elsevier Health Sciences.

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40 Community Health Nursing Research Topics

Generally, community health nurses work toward providing successful outcomes for critical circumstances. In providing their duties, community health nurses serve as agents of healthful changes in different communities. This is because of their interaction with underserved communities, these nurses can advocate for better services as well as inform policymakers on the needed reforms in healthcare.

What is a Community Health Nursing Research?

A community health nursing research focuses on a community health nursing-relevant topic instead of a general nursing-relevant research topic. As such, this nursing research paper tackles the topic from a community health nursing standpoint.

Additionally, researchers undertake nursing research to produce new knowledge in community nursing or confirm existing knowledge based on community nursing theory by testing hypothesis or answering research questions, which is major distinction with EBP and quality improvement projects .

When writing a community health nursing research paper, you must adhere to the laid nursing research paper writing standards. This means that your community health nursing research paper contains all the vital components, it is appropriately formatted and structured and the citations are formatted according to APA style commonly used in nursing papers.

Types of Community Health Nursing Research

There are two types of community health nursing research: qualitative and quantitative research . The difference between these two types of nursing research arises from the research design one intends to use.

Quantitative research in community health nursing

Quantitative research in community health nursing aims at gaining empirical evidence through deduction and generalization. In this case, you will gather evidence to either support or refute a certain theory and decide to what extent the outcome can be generalized to a larger population. Quantitative research can either be experimental or non-experimental in design.

Experimental designs imply the research exercise (experiments) requires strict control from the researcher. This design can be used to establish cause-and-effect relations or predictions. However, the experiments done are often blind to help avoid bias. Experimental designs are categorized as:

• True-experimental designs : In these designs, cause-and-effect relationships are examined in a controlled setting. These designs entail studying two groups of the population who got different treatments that we assigned randomly.
• Quasi-experimental designs : These designs differ from true experimental designs in that they lack random assignment.

Non-experimental designs focus on describing what happens naturally. These designs are used to detect causes and effects but are not effective for making predictions. Non-experimental designs are categorized as:

• Descriptive : Descriptive non-experimental designs are focused on under-researched topics, subjects, or phenomena. In this case, you describe it, examine how often it occurs, and classify the information you have acquired.
• Correlational : Correlational research focuses on the examination of relationships between variables. Therefore, you ought to measure the variables, analyze the outcomes, and present statistics.

Qualitative research in community health nursing

Qualitative research in community health nursing focuses on individual experiences and is done through observation and interaction with patients through interviews, diaries, and notes. An induction method is usually used to allow you to acquire evidence to support a theory without generalizing the outcomes. qualitative research design is classified into four types:

• Grounded Theory : Grounded theory research entails the influence of social processes on individuals. As such, you will need to interview the individuals themselves, their relatives, spouses, etc. before synthesizing the data into one theory.
• Phenomenology : This is a research design that focuses on describing the phenomena as they are experienced by a subject. In this research, you are required to select people who are familiar with the particular health issue. You will then gain information from each individual the make an informed conclusion.
• Narrative Inquiry: This is a research study design that is grounded in the interpretation of the personal accounts of the participants. As such, you will ask your subjects to talk about their health experiences and then analyze their narratives. Be sure to take into account the contents and structure of their narratives.
• Ethnography : This research design is connected to the influence of a specific health culture on individuals. Therefore, it involves describing the unique attributes of the health culture from an insider’s viewpoint.

With these types of community health nursing research in mind, you can confidently choose your nursing research topic without a hassle. Now, let’s look at how to choose a good community health nursing research topic.

How to Choose a Suitable Topic for Community Health Nursing Research?

To craft w well-articulated and relevant community health nursing research paper, you need to first choose a suitable topic. So, how do you choose the right research topic? Well, here are the steps to choosing the most appropriate research topic for your community health nursing research paper.

• Firstly, identify an ideal community health nursing research area you are passionate about
• Secondly, from your preferred community health nursing research area, collect enough research ideas
• Brainstorm all the gathered research topic ideas and eliminate the topics with less or no research scope
• From the research ideas you have shortlisted, pick one community health nursing research topic that you feel comfortable exploring and writing about.
• The community health nursing research topic you settle on should satisfy the research paper writing guidelines shared by your lecturer or college.

Alternatively,

you can inquire from our DNP writing service for free assistance on developing emerging and innovating research topic.

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• Simulation as an interactive tool in community health nursing to improve societal health outcomes – a review
• Health and lifestyle advice – a look at nurse scope of responsibility in community health to promote well being
• Mental health nursing in the US – an investigation of the personal challenges in pursuing the profession and how these are managed
• Psychiatric care by nursing professionals within community settings – review of literature
• How are nurses trained to deal with depression in inpatient settings in the US? An investigation
• The mental health nurse – scope of responsibilities and challenges faced in outpatient settings
• A review of nursing practices and challenges encountered in adolescent and women’s prisons in the US
• The position of the family in community health service provision – an exploratory investigation
• Reporting and disclosure policies in community health nursing – a literature reviews
• Ethics in community health nursing – a review
• An assessment of social outcomes based on community health nursing care—how valid are the measurements?
• Communication and community health service and care provision – establishing the link and its outcomes
• Evidence-based community health nursing-literature review on deviations and complements of the regulatory frameworks and guidelines
• Best practice standards in community health care in the US– Review of literature
• An investigative perspective on the historical evolution of community-based health care and nursing provision in the US
• An investigation of the global progress in standards of community health nursing
• Community health nursing – going through the motions or provisions of care and empathy?
• An investigation into the outcomes of the use of assessment and education tools by community health nurses in the US
• The role of community support in maintaining emotional health during pregnancy
• An analysis of HIV risk practices amongst women of childbearing age
• Knowledge and attitude of black pregnant women towards antenatal exercise: A cross-sectional survey
• The effects of dietary counseling on gestational weight gain and glucose metabolism in obese pregnant women
• The role of school-based interventions in preventing childhood mental health problems
• Occupational preferences, cognitive and affective factors in female students in the US: A comparative study
• Patient perception and satisfaction with healthcare professionals at primary care facilities
• Maternal comprehension of home-based growth charts and its effect on growth
• The assessment of the nutritional status of the community; Case study
• Socioeconomic differentials in child nutrition and morbidity in remote areas of the US
• The predictors of pregnancy-associated change in physical activity in a rural white population
• Pre-pregnancy weight and the risk of adverse pregnancy outcome
• A randomized controlled trial to prevent excessive weight gain in pregnant women
• Retention of pregnancy-related weight in the early postpartum period: Implications for women’s health services

How to Write a Winning Community Health Nursing Research Paper?

If you are unsure of how to write a brilliant community health nursing research paper, then this section is a must-read. We have outlined basic steps to help you write a top-grade community health nursing research paper without a hassle.

• Now that you have your ideal community health nursing research topic, perform an in-depth analysis of your topic to derive a powerful thesis statement for your research paper.
• Secondly, using appropriate nursing research methods, do in-depth research on your chosen topic and collect the most relevant and valuable points, sources, and materials in support of your thesis statement.
• With the gathered ideas, sources, and materials, craft a well-structured essay outline including the introduction, body, and conclusion.
• With the draft, write a comprehensive community health nursing research paper with adherence to the outline. Be sure to exhaustively explain all the main points relevant to the thesis statement while supporting it with reliable evidence and references.
• Once you finish writing your research paper, edit and proofread it. Make sure your nursing research paper is flawless and plagiarism free before submission.

Final Thought

When choosing a community health nursing research topic , you can feel like you have nowhere to start from or even under a lot of pressure. Without a doubt, choosing a community health nursing research topic can prove difficult. However, with good guidance, you can settle on your most interesting and researchable topic.

Hopefully, you will find our list of 40 best community health nursing research topics inspirational and worthy of your consideration when writing your nursing research topic. Besides, if you don’t have the time to research ad write your winning community health nursing research paper by yourself, you can ask us to help with writing nursing paper for you. Our nurse writers are dependable and provide high-quality research paper writing services.

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Addressing Community Health Needs

Ideas into action.

To help North Dakota communities address the top health needs identified through their Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), models and examples are listed on this page as potential resources. Not all ideas listed will apply or be practical for all communities; rather it is a list of ideas that could be modified to fit your needs, or serve as a springboard for new ideas.

These ideas are not evidence-based best practices. Rather, they serve as additional qualitative data and can act as conversation starters to help think of activities that may have worked in other rural settings in North Dakota. For more information on evidence-based practices, check out County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, "What Works For Health." It may be helpful to look at those and then cross-reference to these ideas for what is feasible in a rural context.

If you are looking for funding resources for implementation, view the Center for Rural Health's State Office of Rural Health Grants page, and Rural Health Information Hub's Rural Funding & Opportunities .

On This Page:

Do You Have An Innovative Idea?

• Access to needed equipment/facility update
• Aging population services
• Attracting & retaining young families
• Chronic disease management
• Concerns of low customer service & quality of care
• Cost and adequacy of health insurance
• Elevated level of uninsured adults
• Elevated rate of adult smoking
• Elevated level of excessive drinking/alcohol use
• Emphasis on wellness, education & prevention
• Healthcare workforce shortages (physicians, visiting specialists, healthcare professionals)
• Financial viability of hospital
• Higher costs of healthcare for consumers
• Lack of affordable housing
• Lack of collaboration with community
• Lack of daycare

Maintaining EMS

• Marketing/Promotion of hospital services
• Mental health (including substance abuse)
• Not enough jobs with livable wages
• Obesity & physical inactivity
• Sexually transmitted infections/spreadable disease
• Traffic safety & elevated motor vehicle crash death rate

Access to Needed Equipment/Facility Update

• Acquire new or updated equipment (i.e. CT scanner)
• Publicize when new equipment has been purchased to explain how it is beneficial to community
• Update website to include information about new equipment and technology acquisitions

Aging Population Services

• Promote public transportation services
• Offer mobile screening services so seniors don't have to leave their home
• Offer Meals on Wheels
• Find support and services through the Rural Aging Action Network
• Guide to Medicare Benefits

Attracting & Retaining Young Families

• Develop hospital sponsored day care opportunities for staff and community members
• Develop and offer health and wellness programs
• Collaborate with other community organizations such as the school to offer health education programs and exercise equipment.
• Promote Bismarck-Mandan Young Professionals Network
• Market and promote the rural community culture – feeling of safety (low crime), strong education systems, active faith community, strong and vital health sector, lower cost of living
• Contact North Dakota Department of Commerce for economic development ideas
• Create leadership opportunities for community members in their 20's and 30's – hospital board, community health task force, membership and chairing a committee
• Develop a community job site wellness program – contact North Dakota Health and Human Services and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota
• Fund (with other community organizations) a health career scholarship program with an obligation to return to the community for service for a specified period of time.
• Consider State Office of Rural Health Grants to address a number of ideas for both the community but also a regional network to address common issues.
• Anti-Bullying Guidebook
• Bullying By the Numbers
• Bullying Prevention Guide and Resources
• Form cancer support groups for patients and caregivers
• Promote online support groups though Cancers Survivors Network sponsored by American Cancer Society
• Promote skin cancer awareness at local events
• Form a Knitting for Charity group to knit hats and blankets for chemotherapy patients

Chronic Disease Management

• Provide space and equipment for fitness center
• Offer mobile diabetic screenings in community
• Organize a community event related to physical activity and/or nutrition, such as walk/run-a-thon, healthy food potluck, etc.
• Organize speaker for community Senior Group to raise awareness of diabetes, serve a healthy meal, and distribute healthy eating recipes
• Institute a wellness page on hospital website
• Implement comprehensive, sustainable wellness and disease management program based on improving baseline health numbers (e.g., weight, BMI, body composition, cholesterol, glucose, blood pressure) through evidence-based practices, shared medical appointments, and a health coach
• Implement health coach program in which coaches work with patients on self-management skills, nutrition counseling, etc. during the four-week period following hospital or clinic discharge; through either telemedicine or home visits

Concerns of Low Customer Service & Quality of Care

• Provide comment box in waiting room to allow for anonymous customer feedback
• Ensure a clean and quiet waiting room with updated magazines
• Hold employee trainings on confidentiality

Cost and Adequacy of Health Insurance

• Promote open enrollment of Marketplace
• Promote North Dakota Health and Human Services website for financial assistance and healthcare coverage application
• Launch marketing campaign to increase access and awareness of Marketplace and other options such as sponsoring education, articles in the paper, interviews on radio

Elevated Level of Uninsured Adults

• Hire financial service counselor who can educate patients about insurance policies
• Hire a Medicaid Expansion Navigator
• Post requirements of Affordable Care Act on hospital website, along with resources relating to meeting those requirements
• Distribute flyers in clinic about requirements of Affordable Care Act
• Organize a speaker for senior groups or other community clubs about the requirements of the Affordable Care Act

Elevated Rate of Adult Smoking

• Use social media to advertise availability of smoking cessation assistance
• Promote nicotine replacement therapies in hospital waiting rooms
• Set up tobacco prevention booth and give cessation presentations at oil field/business health fairs
• Place information about quitting at “man camps”
• Display visual representation of healthy vs. diseased lung at high school
• Create smoke-free environments through policy changes

Elevated Level of Excessive Drinking/Alcohol Use

• Partner with Safe Communities Program for beer goggle simulation and reaction simulation
• Develop public service announcement and videos of real alcohol- related accidents from own communities
• Collaborate with student groups to produce video/media campaign to educate that “buzzed driving is drunk driving”
• Park “drunk driving car” (car that has been damaged as the result of an alcohol-related crash) outside of high school
• Collaborate with law enforcement to increase random checkpoints for driving under the influence
• Collaborate with law enforcement to perform no-consequence breathalyzer tests in bars to promote awareness and education about levels of intoxication, along with distributing information about excessive and binge drinking
• Collaborate with city council to make the approval of liquor licenses contingent on all servers taking server training
• Develop poster to use at fair booth about prescription drug abuse and proper disposal of prescription drugs
• Develop media campaign (based on CDC and attorney general’s office models) to present on local cable and radio about prescription drug abuse and proper disposal of prescription drugs

Emphasis on Wellness, Education & Prevention

• Engage with employers in area to offer blood pressure checks, promote awareness of physical therapy services, and offer prevention education services (e.g., prevention of diabetes, chronic disease, and back injury)
• Offer one or more cooking classes to educate participants about healthy eating and diabetic meals
• Dedicate space in hospital newsletter, as well as space on hospital website, to a “Wellness Update”
• Use hospital newsletter and website to educate community members about services and facilities available within the community and from consumers’ health insurance companies
• Send hospital staff member to wellness program training
• Host booth at community festival which highlights alternative, healthy cooking and baking options
• Partner with senior center and other community organizations to offer dinner and dance class to encourage wellness and healthy recipes
• Engage with county extension service and public health to find ways to promote community wellness events and activities
• Launch media campaign through radio, newspaper and website to raise awareness and education about cancer screening services and obesity services
• Implement weight management program that includes meal replacement program and nutrition coaching
• Offer “Stepping On” program, which helps older people reduce falls and increase self confidence in situations where they are at risk of falling
• Offer 12-week weight management program that features comprehensive health evaluation along with detailed exercise prescription, dietary/eating suggestions, three months of fitness center membership, ongoing monitoring of health measures, mobile phone apps for recording progress, follow-up phone calls, weekly weigh-ins, and one-on-one guidance with a physical therapist to teach use of exercise equipment
• Renew Bariatrics created a student health guide tailored to the unique needs of college students. Their goal is to empower students with the knowledge and tools they need to thrive in their college years, both academically and personally.

Healthcare Workforce Shortages (physicians, visiting specialists, healthcare professionals)

• Increase postings on hospital’s social media sites, including Facebook, that convey vision of future healthcare delivery and present a positive message of where the hospital is going
• Form Marketing Group involving hospital, economic development, Chamber of Commerce to promote strengths of community
• Hold meeting/workshop with community members who meet with physician candidates and share a consistent, positive vision of the future of healthcare delivery in the community
• Support local student in medical school
• Prepare written and visual materials about the future medical facilities to share with physician candidates that will present the short-term and long-term vision of what future healthcare will look like
• Engage with medical school residents to encourage them to return to community to practice medicine
• Work with Center for Rural Health on physician recruitment
• Work to build stable, well-liked staff of nurse practitioners and physician assistants that includes both female and male providers
• Implement or increase use of Telehealth programs, including emergency Telehealth
• Present recruitment efforts in a better light by using professionally designed and printed marketing materials that include information about hospital services, clinic services, and community information
• Create a video to highlight the hospital’s work and community’s assets, to recruit providers as well as educate community members about available services; send it on a flash drive to prospective provider candidates and show it at the local theater prior to movies
• Apply for grant funding to assist with travel costs (airfare, hotel, etc.) associated with community visits by physicians (and their spouses) being recruited by the hospital

Financial Viability of Hospital

• Meet with stakeholders and community groups to help disseminate information and tell story of hospital’s strengths/value of to community (tourism, economic development)
• Increase promotion and marketing of current services by improving web presence, developing marketing campaign (possibly featuring patient testimonials), sponsoring weekly newspaper column, and using local electronic marquee
• Promote locally available services to discourage local residents to travel for specialty healthcare services (e.g., surgery, etc.)
• Explore alternate uses for hospital
• Implement strategy to effectively communicate with community about hospital’s challenges
• Communicate about finances and what’s behind “bad debt”
• Educate community to help people understand why sales tax is needed
• Reduce dependence on locum physicians through promotion and greater use of existing nurse practitioners and physician assistants
• Expand geographic service area by marketing new nurse practitioners and physician assistants to nearby communities

Higher Costs of Healthcare for Consumers

Lack of affordable housing.

• Partner with North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA) to increase stock of affordable housing
• Advertise funds available from Housing Incentive Fund (HIF) administered by NDHFA
• Appeal for more federal low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) in oil patch
• Research zoning models in other U.S. cities for affordable housing policies and solutions

Lack of Collaboration with Community

• Increase hospital presence at community events through sponsorship of events or information booths
• Form steering committee with hospital representatives, public health, and other local healthcare providers to promote collaboration

Lack of Daycare

• Offer incentives in the form of subsidies for licensed home daycare providers
• Promote Child Care Aware of North Dakota as resource to find local child care centers
• Offer extended Clinic hours, in evenings and weekends, for working parents
• Research potential funding sources to assist with first responder training
• Work with high school to encourage students to volunteer for emergency service careers
• Organize event to recruit ambulance drivers
• Explore alternate models of emergency care, such as community paramedicine

Marketing/Promotion of Hospital Services

• Announce hospital services and schedule of visiting specialists on outgoing hospital phone line and run while callers are put on hold
• Advertise clinic hours, visiting specialists on electronic signs in town (banks, community buildings)
• Create hospital Facebook page
• Distribute flyer listing services to local businesses
• Partner with area businesses to host health fair and offer free food, screenings and advertise services
• Develop professionally printed marketing materials that include information about hospital and clinic services, community information, and provider bio cards; distribute them to clients, patients, at community events, and at recruitment and health fairs
• Run advertisements in local newspaper that promote and educate the public about some of the underutilized, and sometimes unknown, services offered by hospital
• Create a video to highlight the hospital’s work and community’s assets to recruit providers as well as educate community members about available services; send it on a flash drive to prospective provider candidates and show it at the local theater prior to movies

Mental Health (including substance abuse)

• Promote 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline – 988 has been designated as the new three-digit dialing code that will route callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
• Promote and utilize the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration as a resource
• Employment Resources for People Recovering From Substance Abuse Issues
• Mental Health for College Students
• Substance Abuse Resources and Support for College Students
• North Dakota's Health and Human Services Behavioral Health Division Mental Health Program Directory helps North Dakotans locate and access mental health services in the state. The directory allows users to search for mental health programs by location, population served, type of mental health specialty, and treatment and interventions options. Users can also search for programs that offer telehealth services.
• Promote the website for free mental health and substance abuse resources for North Dakotans at any stage of their recovery journey, including resources/treatment, warning signs, how to talk to a family member, definitions of different types of treatment and a local treatment center directory.
• 15 alcohol & drug rehab centers in Grand Forks and Fargo areas
• Quality Health Associates of North Dakota is providing Mental Health First Aid Training to increase the capacity of rural communities including the workforces of Critical Access Hospitals, long-term care facilities, and community service providers to use this evidence-based practice to recognize the signs and symptoms of individuals experiencing mental illness, respond to acute needs, and refer to additional available resources.
• Inventory available community services including oil companies' safety offices and conflict resolution assistance
• Develop mental health screenings in schools; research granting agencies (Gates Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Helmsley Foundation)
• Promote national suicide hotline
• Develop network/resources for runaways
• Increase promotion, through advertising and public relations efforts, of counseling services that currently are available, including those through Telehealth
• Collaborate with schools on educational seminars for students about mental health issues and increase interaction with school counselors
• Continue collaboration with ministerial groups, including potential training of group by social worker
• Train Emergency Room personnel on how to effectively facilitate mental health committals, transportation, and other responses, including training on paperwork and patient interactions
• Establish support groups (such as families with mental health crises, grief group) led by a social worker
• Tips on How to Find a Job After Rehab

Not Enough Jobs with Livable wages

• Promote jobs in healthcare as they tend to provide high paying jobs. CareerBuilder website lists all jobs by North Dakota community
• Create a liaison between hospital and area economic or jobs development corporation to promote economic impact of healthcare jobs. North Dakota CAHs have an average economic impact of $6.4 million and contribute about 220 jobs to the community
• Start a local scholarship for health education with understanding recipient returns to the community for service for a specified period of time

Obesity & Physical Inactivity

• Create and promote community facility available for indoor walking
• Grant community access to school fitness center that includes weight and cardio equipment
• Organize adult co-ed volleyball, pickleball, and basketball leagues
• Promote availability of fitness opportunities though hospital website, cable television, post office signage, and via schools and churches
• Partner with Extension Office to plant community or school garden
• Develop community farmer’s market
• Host a 5K or 10K race (running, walking, rollerblading, biking)
• Pilot wellness programs using hospital staff with the idea, “How can you get your community healthy if your staff is not healthy?”
• Hold monthly cooking classes focused on better nutrition choices with take-home recipes, informational materials, and placemats; incorporate blood pressure checks and cholesterol tests into the class time

Sexually Transmitted Infections/Spreadable Disease

• Contact North Dakota Health Department for STD informational material and supplies
• Discuss with public health and primary care clinic how to collaborate to address the issue for the community
• Work with the local school on sex education curriculum
• Contact business community as part of worksite wellness education – include STD screenings
• Use social media to raise awareness, especially among young people, of STDs and prevention strategies

Traffic Safety & Elevated Motor Vehicle Crash Death Rate

• Sponsor defensive driving course through Highway Patrol for community members
• Partner with ND Safety Council on projects
• Promote Distracted Driving course at high school
• Reinstate SADD (Students Against Distracted/Drunk Driving) at high school
• Display wrecked vehicle during community events
• Offer Defensive Driving course with speaker's panel consisting of DUI victim and those who have been affected by drunk driving to share experience of loss and impact of loss
• Have high school student create video about distracted driving and show movie as trailer at local movie theater. Hold community contest to see who can make most effective video
• Promote public transportation on hospital's webpage
• Partner with Cut It Out: The Beauty Community Against Domestic Abuse to get training materials for hair stylists and other professionals to get employees to recognize signs of abuse
• Contact Community Violence Intervention Center (in Grand Forks) for programming ideas, education, treatment and collaborative work for peace to prevent violence

Best Nursing Research Topics for Students

What is a nursing research paper.

• What They Include
• Choosing a Topic
• Best Nursing Research Topics
• Research Paper Writing Tips

Writing a research paper is a massive task that involves careful organization, critical analysis, and a lot of time. Some nursing students are natural writers, while others struggle to select a nursing research topic, let alone write about it.

If you're a nursing student who dreads writing research papers, this article may help ease your anxiety. We'll cover everything you need to know about writing nursing school research papers and the top topics for nursing research.  

Continue reading to make your paper-writing jitters a thing of the past.

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• MSN - Nursing Education
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• MSN - Public Health Nursing
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GCU's College of Nursing and Health Care Professions has a nearly 35-year tradition of preparing students to fill evolving healthcare roles as highly qualified professionals. GCU offers a full spectrum of nursing degrees, from a pre-licensure BSN degree to a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program.

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• MBA & MSN - Nursing Leadership in Health Care Systems
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• BSN-to-MSN - Family NP
• BSN-to-MSN - Psychiatric Mental Health NP
• BSN-to-MSN - Nursing Education
• RN-to-MSN - Nursing Education
• RN-to-MSN - Nursing Leadership & Management

• BSN-to-MSN - Nurse Admin
• BSN-to-MSN - Nurse Educator
• BSN-to-MSN - Nursing Informatics
• BSN-to-MSN - Community Health
• BSN-to-MSN - Health Policy

A nursing research paper is a work of academic writing composed by a nurse or nursing student. The paper may present information on a specific topic or answer a question.

During LPN/LVN and RN programs, most papers you write focus on learning to use research databases, evaluate appropriate resources, and format your writing with APA style. You'll then synthesize your research information to answer a question or analyze a topic.

BSN , MSN , Ph.D., and DNP programs also write nursing research papers. Students in these programs may also participate in conducting original research studies.

Writing papers during your academic program improves and develops many skills, including the ability to:

• Select nursing topics for research
• Conduct effective research
• Analyze published academic literature
• Format and cite sources
• Synthesize data
• Organize and articulate findings

About Nursing Research Papers

When do nursing students write research papers.

You may need to write a research paper for any of the nursing courses you take. Research papers help develop critical thinking and communication skills. They allow you to learn how to conduct research and critically review publications.

That said, not every class will require in-depth, 10-20-page papers. The more advanced your degree path, the more you can expect to write and conduct research. If you're in an associate or bachelor's program, you'll probably write a few papers each semester or term.

Do Nursing Students Conduct Original Research?

Most of the time, you won't be designing, conducting, and evaluating new research. Instead, your projects will focus on learning the research process and the scientific method. You'll achieve these objectives by evaluating existing nursing literature and sources and defending a thesis.

However, many nursing faculty members do conduct original research. So, you may get opportunities to participate in, and publish, research articles.

Example Research Project Scenario:

In your maternal child nursing class, the professor assigns the class a research paper regarding developmentally appropriate nursing interventions for the pediatric population. While that may sound specific, you have almost endless opportunities to narrow down the focus of your writing. 

You could choose pain intervention measures in toddlers. Conversely, you can research the effects of prolonged hospitalization on adolescents' social-emotional development.

What Does a Nursing Research Paper Include?

Your professor should provide a thorough guideline of the scope of the paper. In general, an undergraduate nursing research paper will consist of:

Introduction : A brief overview of the research question/thesis statement your paper will discuss. You can include why the topic is relevant.

Body : This section presents your research findings and allows you to synthesize the information and data you collected. You'll have a chance to articulate your evaluation and answer your research question. The length of this section depends on your assignment.

Conclusion : A brief review of the information and analysis you presented throughout the body of the paper. This section is a recap of your paper and another chance to reassert your thesis.

The best advice is to follow your instructor's rubric and guidelines. Remember to ask for help whenever needed, and avoid overcomplicating the assignment!

How to Choose a Nursing Research Topic

The sheer volume of prospective nursing research topics can become overwhelming for students. Additionally, you may get the misconception that all the 'good' research ideas are exhausted. However, a personal approach may help you narrow down a research topic and find a unique angle.

Writing your research paper about a topic you value or connect with makes the task easier. Additionally, you should consider the material's breadth. Topics with plenty of existing literature will make developing a research question and thesis smoother.

Finally, feel free to shift gears if necessary, especially if you're still early in the research process. If you start down one path and have trouble finding published information, ask your professor if you can choose another topic.

The Best Research Topics for Nursing Students

You have endless subject choices for nursing research papers. This non-exhaustive list just scratches the surface of some of the best nursing research topics.

1. Clinical Nursing Research Topics

• Analyze the use of telehealth/virtual nursing to reduce inpatient nurse duties.
• Discuss the impact of evidence-based respiratory interventions on patient outcomes in critical care settings.
• Explore the effectiveness of pain management protocols in pediatric patients.

2. Community Health Nursing Research Topics

• Assess the impact of nurse-led diabetes education in Type II Diabetics.
• Analyze the relationship between socioeconomic status and access to healthcare services.

3. Nurse Education Research Topics

• Review the effectiveness of simulation-based learning to improve nursing students' clinical skills.
• Identify methods that best prepare pre-licensure students for clinical practice.
• Investigate factors that influence nurses to pursue advanced degrees.
• Evaluate education methods that enhance cultural competence among nurses.
• Describe the role of mindfulness interventions in reducing stress and burnout among nurses.

4. Mental Health Nursing Research Topics

• Explore patient outcomes related to nurse staffing levels in acute behavioral health settings.
• Assess the effectiveness of mental health education among emergency room nurses .
• Explore de-escalation techniques that result in improved patient outcomes.
• Review the effectiveness of therapeutic communication in improving patient outcomes.

5. Pediatric Nursing Research Topics

• Assess the impact of parental involvement in pediatric asthma treatment adherence.
• Explore challenges related to chronic illness management in pediatric patients.
• Review the role of play therapy and other therapeutic interventions that alleviate anxiety among hospitalized children.

6. The Nursing Profession Research Topics

• Analyze the effects of short staffing on nurse burnout .
• Evaluate factors that facilitate resiliency among nursing professionals.
• Examine predictors of nurse dissatisfaction and burnout.
• Posit how nursing theories influence modern nursing practice.

Tips for Writing a Nursing Research Paper

The best nursing research advice we can provide is to follow your professor's rubric and instructions. However, here are a few study tips for nursing students to make paper writing less painful:

Avoid procrastination: Everyone says it, but few follow this advice. You can significantly lower your stress levels if you avoid procrastinating and start working on your project immediately.

Plan Ahead: Break down the writing process into smaller sections, especially if it seems overwhelming. Give yourself time for each step in the process.

Research: Use your resources and ask for help from the librarian or instructor. The rest should come together quickly once you find high-quality studies to analyze.

Outline: Create an outline to help you organize your thoughts. Then, you can plug in information throughout the research process. 

Clear Language: Use plain language as much as possible to get your point across. Jargon is inevitable when writing academic nursing papers, but keep it to a minimum.

Cite Properly: Accurately cite all sources using the appropriate citation style. Nursing research papers will almost always implement APA style. Check out the resources below for some excellent reference management options.

Revise and Edit: Once you finish your first draft, put it away for one to two hours or, preferably, a whole day. Once you've placed some space between you and your paper, read through and edit for clarity, coherence, and grammatical errors. Reading your essay out loud is an excellent way to check for the 'flow' of the paper.

Helpful Nursing Research Writing Resources:

Purdue OWL (Online writing lab) has a robust APA guide covering everything you need about APA style and rules.

Grammarly helps you edit grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Upgrading to a paid plan will get you plagiarism detection, formatting, and engagement suggestions. This tool is excellent to help you simplify complicated sentences.

Mendeley is a free reference management software. It stores, organizes, and cites references. It has a Microsoft plug-in that inserts and correctly formats APA citations.

Don't let nursing research papers scare you away from starting nursing school or furthering your education. Their purpose is to develop skills you'll need to be an effective nurse: critical thinking, communication, and the ability to review published information critically.

Choose a great topic and follow your teacher's instructions; you'll finish that paper in no time.

Joleen Sams is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner based in the Kansas City metro area. During her 10-year RN career, Joleen worked in NICU, inpatient pediatrics, and regulatory compliance. Since graduating with her MSN-FNP in 2019, she has worked in urgent care and nursing administration. Connect with Joleen on LinkedIn or see more of her writing on her website.

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Public Health Nursing Research Paper Topics

This page offers a thorough list of 100 public health nursing research paper topics , categorized into ten distinct sections, each focusing on different facets of public health nursing. The spectrum of topics encompasses everything from communicable diseases and maternal and child health to global health and health policy and management. This comprehensive list is designed to assist students and researchers in selecting an appropriate topic for their research paper and contributing to the expanding body of knowledge in this vital nursing specialty. The article also explores the importance of public health nursing, examining various aspects such as health promotion, prevention, and community health. Additionally, iResearchNet’s writing services are introduced, providing students the opportunity to order a custom public health nursing research paper on any topic, coupled with a call-to-action encouraging students to leverage this service.

100 Public Health Nursing Research Paper Topics

The field of public health nursing is vast and multifaceted, encompassing a wide range of topics that address the health and well-being of communities and populations. Research in this area is critical for the development of evidence-based interventions and strategies that can lead to improved health outcomes. In this section, we present a comprehensive list of public health nursing research paper topics, categorized into ten distinct areas, to help students and researchers find a topic that resonates with their interests and contributes to this essential field.

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• Communicable Diseases
• The role of public health nurses in controlling the spread of infectious diseases.
• Strategies for tuberculosis prevention and management in high-risk populations.
• The impact of vaccination campaigns on reducing the incidence of infectious diseases.
• Strategies for managing antimicrobial resistance in community settings.
• The role of public health nursing in the prevention and control of sexually transmitted infections.
• Strategies for preventing and managing outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on the spread of vector-borne diseases.
• Strategies for managing and preventing healthcare-associated infections.
• The role of public health nursing in the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases.
• Strategies for managing infectious diseases in vulnerable populations, such as homeless individuals and refugees.
• Non-communicable Diseases
• The role of public health nursing in the prevention and management of cardiovascular diseases.
• Strategies for preventing and managing diabetes in community settings.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on cancer prevention and control.
• Strategies for managing chronic respiratory diseases in community settings.
• The role of public health nursing in the prevention and control of obesity.
• Strategies for preventing and managing mental health disorders in the community.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on the prevention and control of musculoskeletal disorders.
• Strategies for managing chronic kidney disease in community settings.
• The role of public health nursing in the prevention and control of oral diseases.
• Strategies for preventing and managing eye and vision problems in the community.
• Maternal and Child Health
• The role of public health nursing in promoting maternal and child health.
• Strategies for preventing and managing complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on reducing infant and child mortality.
• Strategies for promoting breastfeeding and proper nutrition in infants and young children.
• The role of public health nursing in the prevention and control of childhood diseases.
• Strategies for promoting healthy growth and development in children and adolescents.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on reducing adolescent pregnancy and its associated risks.
• Strategies for preventing and managing injuries in children and adolescents.
• The role of public health nursing in promoting mental health and preventing mental health disorders in children and adolescents.
• Strategies for preventing and managing substance use and abuse in adolescents.
• Mental Health
• The role of public health nursing in promoting mental health in the community.
• Strategies for preventing and managing depression and anxiety in community settings.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on suicide prevention.
• Strategies for preventing and managing substance use and abuse in community settings.
• The role of public health nursing in the prevention and control of mental health disorders in vulnerable populations.
• Strategies for promoting mental health and preventing mental health disorders in the elderly.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on reducing stigma associated with mental health disorders.
• Strategies for preventing and managing stress and burnout in healthcare workers.
• The role of public health nursing in promoting mental health in schools and workplaces.
• Strategies for preventing and managing post-traumatic stress disorder in survivors of natural disasters and conflicts.
• Environmental Health
• The role of public health nursing in promoting environmental health.
• Strategies for preventing and managing health problems associated with air pollution.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on reducing the incidence of waterborne diseases.
• Strategies for preventing and managing health problems associated with exposure to hazardous substances.
• The role of public health nursing in promoting healthy housing and reducing health problems associated with poor housing conditions.
• Strategies for preventing and managing health problems associated with climate change.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on reducing the incidence of vector-borne diseases associated with environmental changes.
• Strategies for promoting food safety and preventing foodborne diseases.
• The role of public health nursing in promoting occupational health and preventing work-related health problems.
• Strategies for preventing and managing health problems associated with exposure to radiation.
• Health Promotion and Prevention
• The role of public health nursing in promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing health problems.
• Strategies for promoting physical activity and preventing sedentary behavior in the community.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on smoking cessation and preventing tobacco use.
• Strategies for promoting healthy eating and preventing obesity in community settings.
• The role of public health nursing in promoting sexual health and preventing sexually transmitted infections.
• Strategies for promoting mental health and preventing mental health disorders in the community.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on preventing injuries and accidents in the community.
• Strategies for promoting healthy aging and preventing health problems in the elderly.
• The role of public health nursing in promoting immunization and preventing vaccine-preventable diseases.
• Strategies for preventing and managing infectious diseases in the community.
• Community Health
• The role of public health nursing in promoting community health and well-being.
• Strategies for promoting social cohesion and reducing social inequalities in health.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on reducing health disparities in disadvantaged populations.
• Strategies for promoting community engagement and participation in health promotion activities.
• The role of public health nursing in promoting healthy environments and reducing environmental health hazards in the community.
• Strategies for promoting health literacy and empowering individuals and communities to take control of their health.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on promoting healthy behaviors and reducing risk factors for chronic diseases.
• Strategies for promoting access to healthcare services and reducing barriers to healthcare in the community.
• The role of public health nursing in promoting the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, refugees, and homeless individuals.
• Strategies for preventing and managing health problems in rural and remote communities.
• Global Health
• The role of public health nursing in promoting global health.
• Strategies for preventing and managing infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on reducing maternal and child mortality in low- and middle-income countries.
• Strategies for promoting access to healthcare services and reducing barriers to healthcare in low- and middle-income countries.
• The role of public health nursing in promoting global health security and preventing the spread of infectious diseases across borders.
• Strategies for promoting health equity and reducing health disparities in low- and middle-income countries.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries.
• Strategies for promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing health problems in low- and middle-income countries.
• The role of public health nursing in addressing the social determinants of health and promoting health equity in low- and middle-income countries.
• Strategies for preventing and managing health problems in humanitarian emergencies and conflicts.
• Health Policy and Management
• The role of public health nursing in health policy and management.
• Strategies for promoting evidence-based policymaking and practice in public health nursing.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on improving the quality of healthcare services.
• The role of public health nursing in promoting healthcare workforce development and capacity building.
• Strategies for promoting interprofessional collaboration and teamwork in public health nursing.
• The impact of public health nursing interventions on reducing healthcare costs and improving healthcare efficiency.
• Strategies for promoting the integration of public health and primary care services.
• The role of public health nursing in promoting health equity and reducing health disparities in the community.
• Strategies for promoting the use of health information technology in public health nursing.
• Health Information Technology
• The role of public health nursing in promoting the use of health information technology.
• Strategies for promoting the use of electronic health records in public health nursing.
• The impact of health information technology on improving the quality of care in public health nursing.
• Strategies for promoting the use of telehealth and mobile health applications in public health nursing.
• The role of health information technology in promoting data sharing and interoperability in public health nursing.
• Strategies for promoting the use of big data and analytics in public health nursing.
• The impact of health information technology on reducing healthcare costs and improving healthcare efficiency.
• Strategies for promoting the use of health information technology in health promotion and disease prevention activities.
• The role of health information technology in promoting access to healthcare services and reducing barriers to healthcare in the community.
• Strategies for promoting the use of health information technology in emergency preparedness and response.

Research in public health nursing is critical for the development of effective interventions and strategies that can lead to improved health outcomes for individuals and communities. The public health nursing research paper topics listed above encompass a wide range of issues affecting the health and well-being of populations, reflecting the current challenges faced by public health nursing professionals. By conducting research in these areas, students and researchers can contribute to the growing body of knowledge in this essential field of nursing and help address the pressing health challenges faced by communities around the world.

The Range of Public Health Nursing Research Paper Topics

Introduction

Public health nursing is a critical and distinct field of nursing practice that focuses on the promotion of health and prevention of diseases in communities and populations. Public health nurses work in various settings, including health departments, schools, community health centers, and non-profit organizations, to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities. Their role involves assessing the health needs of a community, developing and implementing health promotion and disease prevention programs, and advocating for policies that support public health. The significance of public health nursing in the community cannot be overstated, as it plays a pivotal role in addressing the current public health challenges faced by communities around the world.

Broad Range of Public Health Nursing Research Paper Topics

Public health nursing encompasses a wide range of topics, reflecting the diverse and multifaceted nature of public health challenges. As such, public health nursing research paper topics can vary widely, from communicable diseases and maternal and child health to environmental health and health policy and management. The research conducted in these areas is essential for the development of evidence-based interventions and strategies that can lead to improved health outcomes for individuals and communities.

• Communicable Diseases: Research in this area focuses on the prevention and control of infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and influenza. Public health nursing research paper topics in this area may include strategies for preventing and managing outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases, the impact of vaccination campaigns on reducing the incidence of infectious diseases, and the role of public health nursing in the prevention and control of sexually transmitted infections.
• Non-communicable Diseases: Non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer, are a major public health concern worldwide. Research in this area may focus on strategies for preventing and managing these diseases in community settings, the impact of public health nursing interventions on the prevention and control of these diseases, and the role of public health nursing in promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing risk factors for non-communicable diseases.
• Maternal and Child Health: Maternal and child health is a critical area of public health nursing that focuses on the health and well-being of mothers, infants, and children. Research in this area may focus on strategies for preventing and managing complications during pregnancy and childbirth, the impact of public health nursing interventions on reducing infant and child mortality, and the role of public health nursing in promoting breastfeeding and proper nutrition in infants and young children.
• Mental Health: Mental health is an essential component of public health. Research in this area may focus on strategies for promoting mental health and preventing mental health disorders in the community, the impact of public health nursing interventions on reducing stigma associated with mental health disorders, and the role of public health nursing in promoting mental health in schools and workplaces.
• Environmental Health: Environmental health focuses on the impact of environmental factors, such as air pollution, water pollution, and exposure to hazardous substances, on human health. Research in this area may focus on strategies for preventing and managing health problems associated with environmental factors, the impact of public health nursing interventions on reducing the incidence of environmentally related diseases, and the role of public health nursing in promoting healthy environments and reducing environmental health hazards in the community.
• Health Promotion and Prevention: Health promotion and prevention are core components of public health nursing. Research in this area may focus on strategies for promoting healthy behaviors and preventing health problems in the community, the impact of public health nursing interventions on promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing risk factors for chronic diseases, and the role of public health nursing in promoting immunization and preventing vaccine-preventable diseases.
• Community Health: Community health focuses on the health and well-being of specific communities or populations. Research in this area may focus on strategies for promoting community engagement and participation in health promotion activities, the impact of public health nursing interventions on reducing health disparities in disadvantaged populations, and the role of public health nursing in promoting the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, refugees, and homeless individuals.
• Global Health: Global health focuses on public health challenges that affect populations worldwide. Research in this area may focus on strategies for preventing and managing infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries, the impact of public health nursing interventions on reducing maternal and child mortality in low- and middle-income countries, and the role of public health nursing in promoting global health security and preventing the spread of infectious diseases across borders.
• Health Policy and Management: Health policy and management focuses on the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies and programs that affect public health. Research in this area may focus on strategies for promoting evidence-based policymaking and practice in public health nursing, the impact of public health nursing interventions on improving the quality of healthcare services, and the role of public health nursing in promoting healthcare workforce development and capacity building.
• Health Information Technology: Health information technology focuses on the use of information technology to improve public health. Research in this area may focus on strategies for promoting the use of electronic health records in public health nursing, the impact of health information technology on improving the quality of care in public health nursing, and the role of health information technology in promoting data sharing and interoperability in public health nursing.

Role of Nurses in Addressing Current Public Health Challenges

Public health nurses play a crucial role in addressing current public health challenges. They assess the health needs of a community, develop and implement health promotion and disease prevention programs, and advocate for policies that support public health. Moreover, public health nurses work collaboratively with other healthcare professionals and community stakeholders to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities. Their role is particularly important in addressing health disparities and promoting health equity in disadvantaged populations. Public health nurses have the knowledge, skills, and expertise to develop and implement evidence-based interventions that can lead to improved health outcomes for individuals and communities. By conducting research in the areas mentioned above, public health nurses can contribute to the growing body of knowledge in this essential field of nursing and help address the pressing health challenges faced by communities around the world.

Public health nursing is a critical field of nursing practice that plays a pivotal role in addressing current public health challenges faced by communities around the world. The broad range of public health nursing research paper topics reflects the diverse and multifaceted nature of public health challenges. By conducting research in these areas, students and researchers can contribute to the growing body of knowledge in this essential field of nursing and help address the pressing health challenges faced by communities around the world.

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16.3 Applying the Nursing Process to Community Health

Community health nurses apply the nursing process to address needs of individuals, families, vulnerable populations, and entire communities. See Figure 16.7 [1] for an illustration of the nursing process in community health nursing.

The community health nurse typically begins a community health needs assessment by determining what data is already available. [2] As previously discussed in the “ Community Health Concepts ” section, national, state, county, and local health needs assessments are widely available. Secondary analysis refers to analyzing previously collected data to determine community needs.

Community health nurses may also engage in primary data collection to better understand the community needs and/or study who may be affected by actions taken as a result of the assessment. [3]   Primary data collection includes tools such as public forums, focus groups, interviews, windshield surveys, surveys, and participant observation.

Public Forums

Public forums are gatherings where large groups of citizens discuss important issues at well-publicized locations and times. Forums give people of diverse backgrounds a chance to express their views and enhance understanding of the community’s specific needs and resources. Forums should be planned in a convenient location with accessibility to public transportation and child care. They should also be scheduled at convenient times for working families to gain participation from a wide range of populations.

Focus Groups

Focus groups are a systematic method of data collection through small-group discussions led by a facilitator. Participants in focus groups are selected to represent a larger group of people. Groups of 6-10 people with similar backgrounds or interests are interviewed in an informal or formal setting. Focus groups should be scheduled at several dates and times to ensure a broad participation from members of the community. Here are advantages of focus groups:

• Community member involvement in assessing and planning community initiatives is encouraged.
• Different perceptions, values, and beliefs by community members are explored.
• Input can be obtained from specific subpopulations of the community. Example of subpopulations include young mothers caring for infants, individuals receiving home hospice care, individuals struggling to find housing, residents of the prison system, individuals coping with mental health disorders, or residents in group homes.

Interviews are structured conversations with individuals who have experience, knowledge, or understanding about a particular topic or issue. Key informant interviews are conducted with people in key positions in the community and have specific areas of knowledge and experience. These interviews can be useful for exploring specific community problems and/or assessing a community’s readiness to address those problems. [4]

Advantages of interviews include the following [5] :

• They can be conducted in a variety of settings (e.g., homes, schools, churches, stores, or community centers).
• They are low cost and generally have low dropout rates.
• Respondents define what is important from their perspective.
• It is possible to explore issues in depth, and there is an opportunity to clarify responses.
• They can provide leads to other data sources and key informants.
• They provide an opportunity to build partnerships with community members.
• Data can be compared among local government officials, citizens, and non-government leaders.

Interviews can have these disadvantages:

• Interviews can be time-consuming to schedule and perform.
• They require trained interviewers.
• There is a potential for interviewer bias to affect the data collected during the interview.
• Rapport must be established before sensitive information is shared.
• It is more time-consuming to summarize and analyze findings.

Windshield Surveys

A windshield survey is a type of direct observation of community needs while driving and literally looking through the windshield. It can be used to observe characteristics of a community that impact health needs such as housing, pollution, parks and recreation areas, transportation, health and social services agencies, industries, grocery stores, schools, and religious institutions.

View the following YouTube video of a windshield survey [6] : Windshield Survey Nursing .

Surveys use standardized questions that are relatively easy to analyze. They are beneficial for collecting information across a large geographic area, obtaining input from as many people as possible, and exploring sensitive topics. [7] Surveys can be conducted face to face, via the telephone, mailed, or shared on a website. Responses are typically anonymous but demographic information is often collected to focus on the needs of specific populations. Disadvantages of surveys can include the following [8] :

• Surveys can be time-consuming to design, implement, and analyze the results.
• The accuracy of survey results depends on who is surveyed and the size of the sample.
• Mailed surveys may have low response rates with higher costs due to postage.
• They offer little opportunity to explore issues in depth, and questions cannot be clarified.
• There is no opportunity to build rapport with respondents.

Participant Observation

Participant observation refers to nurses informally collecting data as a member of the community in which they live and work. This is considered a subjective observation because it is from the nurse’s perspective. Informal observations are made, or discussions are elicited among peers and neighbors within the community.

Sociocultural Considerations

When analyzing community health needs, it is essential to do so through a sociocultural lens. Just as an individual’s health can be influenced by a wide variety of causes, community health problems are affected by various factors in the community. For example, a high rate of cancer in one community could be related to environmental factors such as pollution from local industry, but in another community, it may be related to the overall aging of the population. Both communities have a high rate of cancer, but the public health response would be very different. Another example related to mental health is related to various situational factors affecting depression. A high rate of depression in one community may be related to socioeconomic factors such as low-paying jobs, lack of support systems, and poor access to basic needs like grocery stores, whereas in another community it may be related to lack of community resources during frequent weather disasters. The public health response would be different for these two communities.

Nurses must also recognize and value cultural differences such as health beliefs, practices, and linguistic needs of diverse populations. They must take steps to identify subpopulations who are vulnerable to health disparities and further investigate the causes and potential interventions for these disparities. For example, mental health disparities pose a significant threat to vulnerable populations in our society, such as high rates of suicide among LGBTQ+ youth, reduced access to prevention services among people living in rural areas, and elevated rates of substance misuse among Native Americans. These disparities threaten the health and wellness of these populations. [9]

Key points to consider when assessing a community using a sociocultural lens include the following:

• Have the trends of assessment data changed over time? What are the potential causes for these changes in this community?
• How does the community’s needs assessment data compare to similar communities at local, county, state, and national levels? What target goals and health initiatives have been successfully implemented in other communities?
• What vulnerable subpopulations are part of this community, and what health disparities are they experiencing? What are potential causes and solutions for these health disparities?
• Input from members of vulnerable subpopulations must be solicited regarding their perspectives on health disparities, as well as barriers they are experiencing in accessing health care.

Similar to how nurses individualize nursing diagnoses for clients based on priority nursing problems identified during a head-to-toe assessment, community health nurses use community health needs assessment data to develop community health diagnoses. These diagnoses are broad, apply to larger groups of individuals, and address the priority health needs of the community. Resources such as Healthy People 2030 can be used to determine current public health priorities.

A community diagnosis is a summary statement resulting from analysis of the data collected from a community health needs assessment. [10] A clear statement of the problem, as well as causes of the problem, should be included. A detailed community diagnosis helps guide community health initiatives that include nursing interventions.

A community diagnosis can address health deficits or services that support health in the community. A community diagnosis may also address a need for increased wellness in the community. Community diagnoses should include these four parts:

• The problem
• The population or vulnerable group
• The effects of the problem on the population/vulnerable group
• The indicators of the problem in this community

Here are some examples of community health diagnoses based on community health needs assessments:

• Community Scenario A
• Assessment data: The local high school has had a 50% increase in the number of teen pregnancies in the past year, causing high school graduation rates to decrease due to pregnant students dropping out of high school.
• Community diagnosis: Increased need for additional birth control and resources for prevention of pregnancy due to lack of current resources, as evidenced by 50% increase in teen pregnancies in the last year and a decrease in graduation rates.
• Community Scenario B
• Assessment data: Fifty percent of residents of an assisted living facility were found to have blood pressure readings higher than 130/80 mmHg during a health fair last week at the facility.
• Community diagnosis: Increased need for education about exercise and diet and referrals to primary care doctors for residents of an assisted living facility due to increased risk for mortality related to high blood pressure, as evidenced by a high number of residents with high blood pressure during a health fair.
• Community Scenario C
• Assessment data: The local high school has had two cases of suicide in the past year.
• Diagnosis: Increased need for community education regarding suicide prevention and crisis hotlines, as evidenced by an increase in adolescent suicide over the past twelve months.

Outcomes Identification

Outcomes refer to the changes in communities that nursing interventions and prevention strategies are intended to produce. Outcomes include broad overall goals for the community, as well as specific outcomes referred to as “SMART” outcomes that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and with a timeline established.

Broad goals for communities can be tied to national objectives established by Healthy People 2030, as previously discussed in the “ Community Health Concepts ” section.

Healthy People objectives are classified by these five categories [11] :

• Health Conditions
• Health Behaviors
• Populations
• Settings and Systems
• Social Determinants of Health

SMART outcomes can be created based on the objectives listed under each category. For example, if an overall community goal is related to “Drug and Alcohol Use” under the “Health Behaviors” category, a SMART outcome could be based on the Healthy People objective, “Increase the proportion of people with a substance use disorder who got treatment in the past year.” [12] Based on this Healthy People objective, an example of a SMART outcome could be the following:

• The proportion of people treated for a substance disorder in Smith County will increase to 14% within the next year.

View the Healthy People 2030 Objectives and Community Objectives .

Planning Interventions

Nursing interventions for the community can be planned based on the related Healthy People category and objective. For example, based on the sample SMART outcome previously discussed, a planned nursing intervention could be the following:

•  The nurse will provide education and materials regarding evidence-based screening practices for substance use disorder in local clinics.

Community health nursing interventions typically focus on prevention of illness with health promotion interventions. After performing a community health needs assessment, identifying priority problems, and establishing health goals and SMART outcomes, the nurse integrates knowledge of health disorders (e.g., diabetes, cancer, obesity, or mental health disorders) and current health risks in a community to plan prevention interventions.

There are two common public health frameworks used to plan prevention interventions. A traditional preventive framework is based on primary, secondary, or tertiary prevention interventions. A second framework, often referred to as the Continuum of Care Prevention Model, was established by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and includes universal, selected, and indicated prevention interventions. Both frameworks are further discussed in the following sections. [13]

Primordial, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary Interventions

Preventive health interventions may include primordial, primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary prevention interventions. These strategies attempt to prevent the onset of disease, reduce complications of disease that develops, and promote quality of life. [14]

Primordial Prevention

Primordial prevention consists of risk factor reduction strategies focused on social and environmental conditions that affect vulnerable populations. In other words, primordial prevention interventions target underlying social determinants of health that can cause disease. These measures are typically promoted through laws and national policy. An example of a primordial prevention strategy is improving access to urban neighborhood playgrounds to promote physical activity in children and reduce their risk for developing obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. [15] See Figure 16.8 [16] for an image of a neighborhood playground.

Primary Prevention

Primary prevention consists of interventions aimed at susceptible populations or individuals to prevent disease from occurring. An example of primary prevention is immunizations. [17] Nursing primary prevention interventions also include public education and promotion of healthy behaviors. [18] See Figure 16.9 [19] for an image of an immunization clinic sponsored by a student nurses’ association.

Secondary Prevention

Secondary prevention emphasizes early detection of disease and targets healthy-appearing individuals with subclinical forms of disease. Subclinical disease refers to pathologic changes with no observable signs or symptoms. Secondary prevention includes screenings such as annual mammograms, routine colonoscopies, Papanicolaou (Pap) smears, as well as screening for depression and substance use disorders. [20] Nurses provide education to community members about the importance of these screenings. See Figure 16.10 [21] for an image of a mammogram.

Tertiary Prevention

Tertiary prevention is implemented for symptomatic clients to reduce the severity of the disease and potential long-term complications. While secondary prevention seeks to prevent the onset of illness, tertiary prevention aims to reduce the effects of the disease after it is diagnosed in an individual. [22] For example, rehabilitation therapy after an individual experiences a cerebrovascular accident (i.e., stroke) is an example of tertiary prevention. See Figure 16.11 [23] for an image of a client receiving rehabilitation after experiencing a stroke.

The goals of tertiary prevention interventions are to reduce disability, promote curative therapy for a disease or injury, and prevent death. Nurses may be involved in providing ongoing home health services in clients’ homes as a component of interprofessional tertiary prevention efforts. Health education to prevent the worsening or recurrence of disease is also provided by nurses.

Quaternary Prevention

Quaternary prevention refers to actions taken to protect individuals from medical interventions that are likely to cause more harm than good and to suggest interventions that are ethically acceptable. Targeted populations are those at risk of overmedicalization. [24] An example of quaternary prevention is encouraging clients with terminal illness who are approaching end of life to seek focus on comfort and quality of life and consider hospice care rather than undergo invasive procedures that will likely have no impact on recovery from disease.

See additional examples of primordial, primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary prevention strategies in Table 16.3a.

Table 16.3a Examples of Prevention Interventions [25] , [26]

In the United States, several governing bodies make prevention recommendations. For example, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) makes recommendations for primary and secondary prevention strategies, and the Women’s Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI) makes recommendations specifically for females. The Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices (ACIP) makes recommendations for vaccinations, and various specialty organizations such as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) make preventative care recommendations. Preventive services have been proven to be an essential aspect of health care but are consistently underutilized in the United States. [27] Nurses can help advocate for the adoption of evidence-based prevention strategies in their communities and places of employment.

Continuum of Care Prevention Model

A second framework for prevention interventions, referred to as the “Continuum of Care Prevention Model,” was originally proposed by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 1994 and has been adopted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). [28] See Figure 16.12 [29] for an illustration of the Continuum of Care Prevention Model.

The Continuum of Care Prevention Model can be used to illustrate a continuum of mental health services for community members that includes prevention, treatment, and maintenance care:

• Universal prevention : Interventions designed to reach entire groups, such as those in schools, workplaces, or entire communities. [30] , [31] For example, wellness sessions regarding substance misuse can be planned and implemented at a local high school.
• Selected prevention : Interventions that target individuals or groups with greater risk factors (and perhaps fewer protective factors) than the broader population. [32] , [33] For example, a research study showed that wellness programs implemented for adolescents who were already using alcohol or drugs reduced the quantity and frequency of their alcohol use and reduced episodes of binge drinking. [34]
• Indicated prevention : Interventions that target individuals who have a high probability of developing disease. [35] For example, interventions may be planned for adolescents who show early signs of substance misuse but have not yet been diagnosed with a substance use disorder. Interventions may include referrals to community support services for adolescents who have violated school alcohol or drug policies. [36]
• Treatment refers to identification of a mental health disorder and standard treatment for the known disorder. Treatment also includes interventions to reduce the likelihood of future co-occurring disorders. [37]
• Maintenance refers to long-term treatment to reduce relapse and recurrence, as well as provision of after-care services such as rehabilitation. [38]

See additional examples of prevention strategies using the Continuum of Care Prevention Model in Table 16.3b.

Table 16.3b Examples of Continuum of Care Prevention Strategies

Read  A Guide to SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework PDF for more about planning prevention strategies for substance misuse and related mental health problems.

Culturally Competent Interventions

To overcome systemic barriers that can contribute to health disparities, nurses must recognize and value cultural differences of diverse populations and develop prevention programs and interventions in ways that ensure members of these populations benefit from their efforts. [39]

SAMHSA identified the following cultural competence principles for planning prevention interventions [40] :

• Include the targeted population in needs assessments and prevention planning
• Use a population-based definition of community (i.e., let the community define itself)
• Stress the importance of relevant, culturally appropriate prevention approaches
• Promote cultural competence among program staff

Review additional concepts related to culturally responsive care in the “ Diverse Patients ” chapter of Open RN Nursing Fundamentals .

Evidence-Based Practice

It is essential to incorporate evidence-based practice when planning community health interventions. SAMHSA provides an evidence-based practice resource center for preventive practices related to mental health and substance abuse. See these resources, as well as examples of evidence-based programs and practices in the following box.

Examples of Evidence Based Prevention Practices related to Mental Health and Substance Misuse [41]

• Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development : Youth violence, delinquency, and drug prevention and intervention programs that meet a strict scientific standard of program effectiveness
• Evidence-Based Behavioral Practice (EBBP) : A project that creates training resources to help bridge the gap between behavioral health research and practice
• SAMHSA’s Suicide Prevention Research Center (SPRC) : A best practices registry that identifies, reviews, and disseminates information about best practices that address specific objectives of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention
• The Athena Forum: Prevention 101 : Substance misuse prevention programs and strategies with evidence of success from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
• National Institute on Drug Abuse: Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents : Research-based drug abuse prevention principles and an overview of program planning, including universal, selected, and indicated interventions

View the SAMHSA Evidence-Based Practice Resource Center .

Implementation

Community health nurses collaborate with individuals, community organizations, health facilities, and local governments for successful implementation of community health initiatives. Depending on the established community health needs, goals, outcomes, and target group, the implementation of nursing interventions can be categorized as clinical, behavioral, or environmental prevention:

• Clinical prevention : Interventions are delivered one-on-one to individuals in a direct care setting. Examples of clinical prevention interventions include vaccine clinics, blood pressure monitoring, and screening for disease.
• Behavioral prevention : Interventions are implemented to encourage individuals to change habits or behaviors by using health promotion strategies. Examples of behavioral prevention interventions include community exercise programs, smoking cessation campaigns, or promotion of responsible alcohol drinking by adults.
• Environmental prevention : Interventions are implemented for the entire community when laws, policies, physical environments, or community structures influence a community’s health. Examples of environmental prevention strategies include improving clean water systems, establishing no-smoking ordinances, or developing community parks and green spaces.

When evaluating the effectiveness of community health initiatives, nurses refer to the established goals and SMART outcomes to determine if they were met by the timeline indicated. In general, the following questions are asked during the evaluation stage:

• Did the health of the community improve through the interventions put into place?
• Are additional adaptations or changes to the interventions needed to improve outcomes in the community?
• What additional changes are needed to improve the health of the community?
• Have additional priority problems been identified?
• “ Nursing Process in Community Health Nursing ” by Open RN project is licensed under CC BY 4.0 ↵
• Community Tool Box by Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas is licensed under CC BY NC SA 3.0 ↵
• A Guide to SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is available in the Public Domain . ↵
• Medrea, R. (2014, July 20). Windshield survey nursing [Video]. YouTube. All rights reserved. https://youtu.be/aAzW1bW_Dbw ↵
• McDonald, L. (2006). Florence Nightingale and public health policy: Theory, activism and public administration. University of Guelph. https://cwfn.uoguelph.ca/nursing-health-care/fn-and-public-health-policy/ ↵
• Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Healthy People 2030: Building a healthier future for all. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://health.gov/healthypeople ↵
• Savage, C. L. (2020). Public/community health and nursing practice: Caring for populations (2nd ed.). FA Davis. ↵
• This work is a derivative of StatPearls by Kisling and Das and is licensed under CC BY 4.0 ↵
• “ Playground_at_Hudson_Springs_Park.jpg ” by Kevin Payravi is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 ↵
• “ 10442934136_1f910af332_b ” by Lower Columbia College (LCC) is licensed under CC BY_NC-ND 2.0 ↵
• “ US_Navy_021025-N-6498N-001_Mammogram_technician,_aids_a_patient_in_completing_her_annual_mammogram_evaluation.jpg ” by U.S. Navy photo by Ensign Ann-Marie Al Noad is in the Public Domain . ↵
• “ tech_zerog.jpg ” by unknown author at Gaylord.org is included on the basis of Fair Use ↵
• National Research Council (US); Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Prevention of Mental Disorders and Substance Abuse Among Children, Youth, and Young Adults; and Research Advances and Promising Interventions. Defining the scope of prevention. (2009). In M. E. O’Connell & Warner B. T. (Eds). Preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders among young people: Progress and possibilities. In Research advances and promising interventions. National Academies Press. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK32789/ ↵
• This image is a derivative of the “IOM protractor” by unknown author and is included on the basis of Fair Use. Access for free at http://www.ca-sdfsc.org/docs/resources/SDFSC_IOM_Policy.pdf ↵
• A Guide to SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is available in the Public Domain. ↵
• Werch, C., Moore, M. J., DiClemente, C. C., Bledsoe, R., & Jobli, E. (2005). A multihealth behavior intervention integrating physical activity and substance use prevention for adolescents. Prevention Science, 6 (213). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-005-0012-3 ↵
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2019, July 19). Finding evidence-based programs and practices. https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/20190719-samhsa-finding_evidence-based-programs-practices.pdf ↵

Analyzing previously collected data to determine community needs.

Data collection that occurs through public forums, focus groups, interviews, windshield surveys, surveys, and participant observation.

Gatherings where large groups of citizens discuss important issues at well-publicized locations and times.

Systematic method of data collection through small-group discussions led by a facilitator.

Structured conversations with individuals who have experience, knowledge, or understanding about a particular topic or issue.

Interviews conducted with people in key positions in the community and have specific areas of knowledge and experience.

Type of direct observation of community needs while driving and literally looking through the windshield.

Standardized questions that are relatively easy to analyze.

A summary statement resulting from analysis of the data collected from a community health needs assessment.

Risk factor reduction strategies focused on social and environmental conditions that affect vulnerable populations.

Interventions aimed at susceptible populations or individuals to prevent disease from occurring.

The early detection of disease and targets healthy-appearing individuals with subclinical forms of disease.

Implemented for symptomatic clients to reduce the severity of the disease and potential long-term complications.

Actions taken to protect individuals from medical interventions that are likely to cause more harm than good and to suggest interventions that are ethically acceptable.

Interventions designed to reach entire groups, such as those in schools, workplaces, or entire communities.

Interventions that target individuals or groups with greater risk factors (and perhaps fewer protective factors) than the broader population.

Interventions that target individuals who have a high probability of developing disease.

Interventions are delivered one-on-one to individuals in a direct care setting.

Interventions are implemented to encourage individuals to change habits or behaviors by using health promotion strategies.

Interventions are implemented for the entire community when laws, policies, physical environments, or community structures influence a community’s health.

Nursing: Mental Health and Community Concepts Copyright © 2022 by Chippewa Valley Technical College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Research Topics & Ideas: Healthcare

100+ Healthcare Research Topic Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

Finding and choosing a strong research topic is the critical first step when it comes to crafting a high-quality dissertation, thesis or research project. If you’ve landed on this post, chances are you’re looking for a healthcare-related research topic , but aren’t sure where to start. Here, we’ll explore a variety of healthcare-related research ideas and topic thought-starters across a range of healthcare fields, including allopathic and alternative medicine, dentistry, physical therapy, optometry, pharmacology and public health.

NB – This is just the start…

The topic ideation and evaluation process has multiple steps . In this post, we’ll kickstart the process by sharing some research topic ideas within the healthcare domain. This is the starting point, but to develop a well-defined research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , along with a well-justified plan of action to fill that gap.

If you’re new to the oftentimes perplexing world of research, or if this is your first time undertaking a formal academic research project, be sure to check out our free dissertation mini-course. In it, we cover the process of writing a dissertation or thesis from start to end. Be sure to also sign up for our free webinar that explores how to find a high-quality research topic.

Overview: Healthcare Research Topics

• Allopathic medicine
• Alternative /complementary medicine
• Veterinary medicine
• Physical therapy/ rehab
• Optometry and ophthalmology
• Pharmacy and pharmacology
• Public health
• Examples of healthcare-related dissertations

Allopathic (Conventional) Medicine

• The effectiveness of telemedicine in remote elderly patient care
• The impact of stress on the immune system of cancer patients
• The effects of a plant-based diet on chronic diseases such as diabetes
• The use of AI in early cancer diagnosis and treatment
• The role of the gut microbiome in mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety
• The efficacy of mindfulness meditation in reducing chronic pain: A systematic review
• The benefits and drawbacks of electronic health records in a developing country
• The effects of environmental pollution on breast milk quality
• The use of personalized medicine in treating genetic disorders
• The impact of social determinants of health on chronic diseases in Asia
• The role of high-intensity interval training in improving cardiovascular health
• The efficacy of using probiotics for gut health in pregnant women
• The impact of poor sleep on the treatment of chronic illnesses
• The role of inflammation in the development of chronic diseases such as lupus
• The effectiveness of physiotherapy in pain control post-surgery

Topics & Ideas: Alternative Medicine

• The benefits of herbal medicine in treating young asthma patients
• The use of acupuncture in treating infertility in women over 40 years of age
• The effectiveness of homoeopathy in treating mental health disorders: A systematic review
• The role of aromatherapy in reducing stress and anxiety post-surgery
• The impact of mindfulness meditation on reducing high blood pressure
• The use of chiropractic therapy in treating back pain of pregnant women
• The efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine such as Shun-Qi-Tong-Xie (SQTX) in treating digestive disorders in China
• The impact of yoga on physical and mental health in adolescents
• The benefits of hydrotherapy in treating musculoskeletal disorders such as tendinitis
• The role of Reiki in promoting healing and relaxation post birth
• The effectiveness of naturopathy in treating skin conditions such as eczema
• The use of deep tissue massage therapy in reducing chronic pain in amputees
• The impact of tai chi on the treatment of anxiety and depression
• The benefits of reflexology in treating stress, anxiety and chronic fatigue
• The role of acupuncture in the prophylactic management of headaches and migraines

Topics & Ideas: Dentistry

• The impact of sugar consumption on the oral health of infants
• The use of digital dentistry in improving patient care: A systematic review
• The efficacy of orthodontic treatments in correcting bite problems in adults
• The role of dental hygiene in preventing gum disease in patients with dental bridges
• The impact of smoking on oral health and tobacco cessation support from UK dentists
• The benefits of dental implants in restoring missing teeth in adolescents
• The use of lasers in dental procedures such as root canals
• The efficacy of root canal treatment using high-frequency electric pulses in saving infected teeth
• The role of fluoride in promoting remineralization and slowing down demineralization
• The impact of stress-induced reflux on oral health
• The benefits of dental crowns in restoring damaged teeth in elderly patients
• The use of sedation dentistry in managing dental anxiety in children
• The efficacy of teeth whitening treatments in improving dental aesthetics in patients with braces
• The role of orthodontic appliances in improving well-being
• The impact of periodontal disease on overall health and chronic illnesses

Tops & Ideas: Veterinary Medicine

• The impact of nutrition on broiler chicken production
• The role of vaccines in disease prevention in horses
• The importance of parasite control in animal health in piggeries
• The impact of animal behaviour on welfare in the dairy industry
• The effects of environmental pollution on the health of cattle
• The role of veterinary technology such as MRI in animal care
• The importance of pain management in post-surgery health outcomes
• The impact of genetics on animal health and disease in layer chickens
• The effectiveness of alternative therapies in veterinary medicine: A systematic review
• The role of veterinary medicine in public health: A case study of the COVID-19 pandemic
• The impact of climate change on animal health and infectious diseases in animals
• The importance of animal welfare in veterinary medicine and sustainable agriculture
• The effects of the human-animal bond on canine health
• The role of veterinary medicine in conservation efforts: A case study of Rhinoceros poaching in Africa
• The impact of veterinary research of new vaccines on animal health

Topics & Ideas: Physical Therapy/Rehab

• The efficacy of aquatic therapy in improving joint mobility and strength in polio patients
• The impact of telerehabilitation on patient outcomes in Germany
• The effect of kinesiotaping on reducing knee pain and improving function in individuals with chronic pain
• A comparison of manual therapy and yoga exercise therapy in the management of low back pain
• The use of wearable technology in physical rehabilitation and the impact on patient adherence to a rehabilitation plan
• The impact of mindfulness-based interventions in physical therapy in adolescents
• The effects of resistance training on individuals with Parkinson’s disease
• The role of hydrotherapy in the management of fibromyalgia
• The impact of cognitive-behavioural therapy in physical rehabilitation for individuals with chronic pain
• The use of virtual reality in physical rehabilitation of sports injuries
• The effects of electrical stimulation on muscle function and strength in athletes
• The role of physical therapy in the management of stroke recovery: A systematic review
• The impact of pilates on mental health in individuals with depression
• The use of thermal modalities in physical therapy and its effectiveness in reducing pain and inflammation
• The effect of strength training on balance and gait in elderly patients

Topics & Ideas: Optometry & Opthalmology

• The impact of screen time on the vision and ocular health of children under the age of 5
• The effects of blue light exposure from digital devices on ocular health
• The role of dietary interventions, such as the intake of whole grains, in the management of age-related macular degeneration
• The use of telemedicine in optometry and ophthalmology in the UK
• The impact of myopia control interventions on African American children’s vision
• The use of contact lenses in the management of dry eye syndrome: different treatment options
• The effects of visual rehabilitation in individuals with traumatic brain injury
• The role of low vision rehabilitation in individuals with age-related vision loss: challenges and solutions
• The impact of environmental air pollution on ocular health
• The effectiveness of orthokeratology in myopia control compared to contact lenses
• The role of dietary supplements, such as omega-3 fatty acids, in ocular health
• The effects of ultraviolet radiation exposure from tanning beds on ocular health
• The impact of computer vision syndrome on long-term visual function
• The use of novel diagnostic tools in optometry and ophthalmology in developing countries
• The effects of virtual reality on visual perception and ocular health: an examination of dry eye syndrome and neurologic symptoms

Topics & Ideas: Pharmacy & Pharmacology

• The impact of medication adherence on patient outcomes in cystic fibrosis
• The use of personalized medicine in the management of chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease
• The effects of pharmacogenomics on drug response and toxicity in cancer patients
• The role of pharmacists in the management of chronic pain in primary care
• The impact of drug-drug interactions on patient mental health outcomes
• The use of telepharmacy in healthcare: Present status and future potential
• The effects of herbal and dietary supplements on drug efficacy and toxicity
• The role of pharmacists in the management of type 1 diabetes
• The impact of medication errors on patient outcomes and satisfaction
• The use of technology in medication management in the USA
• The effects of smoking on drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics: A case study of clozapine
• Leveraging the role of pharmacists in preventing and managing opioid use disorder
• The impact of the opioid epidemic on public health in a developing country
• The use of biosimilars in the management of the skin condition psoriasis
• The effects of the Affordable Care Act on medication utilization and patient outcomes in African Americans

Topics & Ideas: Public Health

• The impact of the built environment and urbanisation on physical activity and obesity
• The effects of food insecurity on health outcomes in Zimbabwe
• The role of community-based participatory research in addressing health disparities
• The impact of social determinants of health, such as racism, on population health
• The effects of heat waves on public health
• The role of telehealth in addressing healthcare access and equity in South America
• The impact of gun violence on public health in South Africa
• The effects of chlorofluorocarbons air pollution on respiratory health
• The role of public health interventions in reducing health disparities in the USA
• The impact of the United States Affordable Care Act on access to healthcare and health outcomes
• The effects of water insecurity on health outcomes in the Middle East
• The role of community health workers in addressing healthcare access and equity in low-income countries
• The impact of mass incarceration on public health and behavioural health of a community
• The effects of floods on public health and healthcare systems
• The role of social media in public health communication and behaviour change in adolescents

Examples: Healthcare Dissertation & Theses

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a healthcare-related research topic, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses to see how this all comes together.

Below, we’ve included a selection of research projects from various healthcare-related degree programs to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• Improving Follow-Up Care for Homeless Populations in North County San Diego (Sanchez, 2021)
• On the Incentives of Medicare’s Hospital Reimbursement and an Examination of Exchangeability (Elzinga, 2016)
• Managing the healthcare crisis: the career narratives of nurses (Krueger, 2021)
• Methods for preventing central line-associated bloodstream infection in pediatric haematology-oncology patients: A systematic literature review (Balkan, 2020)
• Farms in Healthcare: Enhancing Knowledge, Sharing, and Collaboration (Garramone, 2019)
• When machine learning meets healthcare: towards knowledge incorporation in multimodal healthcare analytics (Yuan, 2020)
• Integrated behavioural healthcare: The future of rural mental health (Fox, 2019)
• Healthcare service use patterns among autistic adults: A systematic review with narrative synthesis (Gilmore, 2021)
• Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Combatting Burnout and Compassionate Fatigue among Mental Health Caregivers (Lundquist, 2022)
• Transgender and gender-diverse people’s perceptions of gender-inclusive healthcare access and associated hope for the future (Wille, 2021)
• Efficient Neural Network Synthesis and Its Application in Smart Healthcare (Hassantabar, 2022)
• The Experience of Female Veterans and Health-Seeking Behaviors (Switzer, 2022)
• Machine learning applications towards risk prediction and cost forecasting in healthcare (Singh, 2022)
• Does Variation in the Nursing Home Inspection Process Explain Disparity in Regulatory Outcomes? (Fox, 2020)

Looking at these titles, you can probably pick up that the research topics here are quite specific and narrowly-focused , compared to the generic ones presented earlier. This is an important thing to keep in mind as you develop your own research topic. That is to say, to create a top-notch research topic, you must be precise and target a specific context with specific variables of interest . In other words, you need to identify a clear, well-justified research gap.

Need more help?

If you’re still feeling a bit unsure about how to find a research topic for your healthcare dissertation or thesis, check out Topic Kickstarter service below.

16 Comments

I need topics that will match the Msc program am running in healthcare research please

Hello Mabel,

I can help you with a good topic, kindly provide your email let’s have a good discussion on this.

Can you provide some research topics and ideas on Immunology?

Thank you to create new knowledge on research problem verse research topic

Help on problem statement on teen pregnancy

This post might be useful: https://gradcoach.com/research-problem-statement/

can you provide me with a research topic on healthcare related topics to a qqi level 5 student

Please can someone help me with research topics in public health ?

Hello I have requirement of Health related latest research issue/topics for my social media speeches. If possible pls share health issues , diagnosis, treatment.

I would like a topic thought around first-line support for Gender-Based Violence for survivors or one related to prevention of Gender-Based Violence

Please can I be helped with a master’s research topic in either chemical pathology or hematology or immunology? thanks

Can u please provide me with a research topic on occupational health and safety at the health sector

Good day kindly help provide me with Ph.D. Public health topics on Reproductive and Maternal Health, interventional studies on Health Education

may you assist me with a good easy healthcare administration study topic

May you assist me in finding a research topic on nutrition,physical activity and obesity. On the impact on children

I have been racking my brain for a while on what topic will be suitable for my PhD in health informatics. I want a qualitative topic as this is my strong area.

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Community Health Assessment Tools Adoptable in Nursing Practice: A Scoping Review

Chiara pazzaglia.

1 Bologna Local Health Trust, 40124 Bologna, Italy

Claudia Camedda

2 IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy

Nikita Valentina Ugenti

Andrea trentin.

3 Attorney at Law, 40138 Bologna, Italy

Sandra Scalorbi

4 Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy

Yari Longobucco

5 Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy

Associated Data

Not applicable.

The WHO European Region defined the role of a new central professional for primary care, the Family and Community Nurse (FCN). The introduction of an FCN in the framework of health policies highlights a key role of nurses in addressing the needs of families and communities. A scoping review was conducted in order to identify and describe the available tools which have been adopted for the assessment of community health needs by FCNs. A comprehensive literature review on the Embase, Cochrane Library, PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus and PsycInfo databases was conducted including all studies up to May 2021. A total of 1563 studies were identified and 36 of them were included. The literature review made it possible to identify studies employing twelve different community assessment tools or modalities. Referring to the WHO framework proposed in 2001, some common themes have been identified with an uneven distribution, such as profiling the population, deciding on priorities for action and public healthcare programs, implementing the planned activities, an evaluation of the health outcomes, multidisciplinary activity, flexibility and involving the community. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first attempt to provide an overview of community assessment tools, keeping the guidance provided by the WHO as a reference.

1. Introduction

During 2020, the whole world had to face, and is still fighting, the consequences of the pandemic caused by COVID-19, which led to an unprecedented health crisis, not only due to the organic shortages of health professionals, procurement materials and personal protective equipment, but also due to the organization of Western health systems that are built around the concept of patient-centered care. The concept of patient-centered care does not allow for addressing the changes that an epidemic requires as an approach based on community-centered care [ 1 ].

These two care models do not express alternative concepts, but rather a cross planning and organizational approach; therefore, these are complementary concepts. Ideally, the patient-centered model responds more to the individualistic–paternalistic ethics, while the community-centered model responds to the ethics of public assistance systems, oriented to the fairest possible effort to meet the needs of the entire population, therefore of each person. This second model integrates more easily with the possible decision-making and organizational synergies between health, society and the environment.

The WHO has identified the development of community health systems as a health policy framework goal [ 2 ]. Primary healthcare (PHC) has been identified, starting from the 1978 Alma-Ata Declaration, as an integral part of the health system of each country that inextricably links health to the whole social and economic development of the community, based on equity, community participation, prevention, appropriate technology and intersectoral and integrated approaches to development [ 3 ]. Policies must ensure that activities and processes referring to the population derive from a careful assessment of local socio-health needs; evidence-based approaches must be applied to understand the inequalities in community health. The identification of a population’s unmet health needs, and the changes needed to meet them, are crucial elements for health professionals seeking to plan appropriate and effective programs to improve or initiate new services [ 4 ].

According to another approach, nursing care is carried out on the basis of how individuals, families and communities are conceptualized and of how nurses collaboratively work with them, taking into account organizational values and beliefs [ 5 ]. People are always members of their own families and communities, even when they are analyzed and assisted individually [ 6 ]. The health of individuals, families and communities influence each other [ 6 ]. The WHO [ 7 ] defined community by referring to its members, while respecting their group dimension and in relation to their specific identity connotations. In Italy, the nursing figure and professional profile are outlined in the Ministerial Decree n. 739, 14 September 1994. Article 1, paragraph 3, in particular, provides the following: “3. The nurse: (a) participates in the identification of persons’ and community’s health needs; (b) identifies the nursing care needs of individuals and community and formulates the related objectives; (c) plans, manages and evaluates the nursing intervention;…. (d) acts both individually and in collaboration with other health and social professionals”. The interpretation of the Decree lets emerge, first, the distinction between “individual and community health needs “ and “individual and community nursing care needs”. This difference, therefore, allows us to state that—with regards to the health needs—nurses act together with other professionals while—with regards to the nursing care needs—nurses are assigned an exclusive competence. Furthermore, from the Decree’s interpretation emerges that nurses “(c) plan, manage and evaluate the nursing care intervention” but not the public health programs and services.

The WHO European Region [ 8 ] defined the role of a new central professional for primary care, the Family and Community Nurse (FCN). The introduction of an FCN in the framework of health policies highlights a key role of nurses in addressing the needs of families and communities. These needs can affect the whole course of people’s lives from health to illness, with reference to the needs of the most vulnerable social groups, through a comprehensive understanding of the determinants of health, primary healthcare and public health principles. Community nursing therefore leads to a community care process, the activation of formal, informal and technological networks, enhances health professionals’ own area of competences and implements an approach aimed at enhancing individuals’, families’ and communities (relatives, friends, neighbors, volunteer groups, self-help, etc.) resources.

Therefore, through a comprehensive evaluation process which is as thorough and in-depth as possible for the context, nurses need to establish a broad knowledge of the community and its needs. This assessment is carried out regularly through a continuous process that allows the planning of not only the interventions but also the public health programs according to the phases described below [ 9 ].

• ○ Collection of relevant information that will inform the nurse about the health state and needs of the population;
• ○ Analysis of this information to identify the major health issues.
• − Deciding on priorities for action;
• − Planning public health and healthcare programs to address the priority issues;
• − Implementing the planned activities;
• − Evaluation of the health outcomes.

Family and community assessment involves data collection on what the community needs [ 9 ]. The objectives of the assessment process are:

• − To identify community strengths and areas for improvement;
• − To identify and understand the state of the community’s health needs;
• − To define areas for improvement to guide the community towards the implementation and support of policies, systems and environmental changes around healthy living strategies (e.g., physical activity, nutrition, tobacco and chronic disease management);
• − To help prioritize community needs and to consider the appropriate allocation of available resources.

The community needs assessment enables local stakeholders to work together in a collaborative process to analyze the community itself; offer suggestions and examples of change policies, systems and strategies; provide feedback to communities as they institute local changes for healthy living [ 9 ]; ensure resources allocation where there is the greatest health benefit; and adopting the principle of equity in practice [ 4 ].

Increasing healthcare demands, limited resources and growing health inequalities require governments across the European community to guarantee the right to health of all citizens [ 1 ], resulting in a paradigm shift away from historic “wait-and-see” healthcare in Europe and towards one already prevalent in other countries [ 10 ]. The issue of the assessment of community health needs, or rather socio-health needs, fits into this context, not only in European health services but in those around the world. The “health needs assessment” process plays, in fact, a central role: it allows professionals and policy-makers to identify priority health needs in the population and to ensure that social and health resources are used to maximize health and well-being; however, despite the centrality of this issue, there is not currently a standardized tool which reflects the framework proposed by the WHO in 2001 [ 9 ].

A scoping review was conducted in order to identify and describe the available tools which have been adopted for the assessment of community health needs by FCNs, without geographical restrictions.

2. Materials and Methods

The scoping review allows researchers to examine the extent and nature of research activities on a specific topic, to summarize and disseminate research findings and to identify research gaps in the existing literature [ 11 ].

A comprehensive literature review on the Embase, Cochrane Library, PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus and PsycInfo databases was conducted including all studies up to May 2021 in the English or Italian languages. The following inclusion criteria were adopted:

• − Primary and secondary studies, abstract and full text available;
• − Community, family and ethnic minorities’ needs assessment process;
• − Assessment/measurement tools (in particular validation studies);
• − Family and community nursing role;
• − Primary care context.

The search terms included were: “family nursing”, “community nursing”, “community health services”, “needs assessment”, “assessment tool”, “assets assessment” and “health needs”. These search terms were combined with each other through the use of Boolean operators and wildcard characters for the different databases, in order to obtain as many results as possible.

Four reviewers screened the title and abstracts and selected the eligible articles. All studies that discussed or applied community assessment tools or models were included.

The full text articles of all potentially eligible studies were retrieved and, after removing the duplicates, reviewed independently by four reviewers (CC, CP, NVU and YL). Any disagreement was resolved by a majority vote with the support of a tiebreaker (SS).

Data of the included studies were extracted and synthetized, in particular: authors, year, title, setting, study design and methods, purpose, sample and adopted tool and main findings. Any disagreement in the data extraction was resolved by a consensus of two experts (YL and SS). The study authors or investigators were contacted when additional information was necessary [ 12 ].

3.1. Study Selection and Charting the Data

After the removal of duplicates, articles were screened in order by titles, abstracts and then full text. A total of 1563 studies were identified and, after the removal of the duplicate studies, 610 abstract and 312 free-full-text studies were evaluated and then a total of 36 studies were identified ( Figure 1 ).

Study selection flow-chart.

3.2. Data Extraction

A total of 32 of the included studies are primary studies—USA (n = 16), UK (n = 3), Canada (n = 2), Japan (n = 2), Australia (n = 1), China (n = 1), Honduras (n = 1), Portugal (n = 1), Singapore (n = 1), South Korea (n = 1), Sweden (n = 1), Vietnam (n = 1)—and 4 are secondary studies.

The characteristics of primary studies are heterogeneous, also in the adopted design.

A synthesis of the results is reported in Table 1 .

Chronological overview of the studies.

The most widespread tool, although only officially recognized in the USA, is the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), reported by Akintobi et al. [ 13 ]; Carlton and Singh [ 14 ]; Cain et al. [ 15 ]; Evans-Agnew et al. [ 16 ]; Pennel et al. [ 17 ]; Pennel et al. [ 18 ] (2015); Wilder et al. [ 19 ]; Kuehnert et al. [ 20 ]; and Sharma [ 21 ].

The CHNA is a systematic process involving the community to identify and analyze community health needs. The process provides a way for communities to prioritize health needs and to plan and act upon unmet community health needs.

Sharma [ 21 ] created a conceptual model for a community health assessment divided into eight steps: (1) know thyself , (2) know the community , (3) creating a participatory infrastructure , (4) developing a strategic plan , (5) establishing feedback mechanisms , (6) establishing priorities , (7) selecting interventions and (8) presentation of a joint report .

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [ 22 ] has demanded that nonprofit hospitals must conduct a CHNA once every three years. The purposes are to adapt health services, implement strategies to address health priorities and improve population health.

Another tool, used in South Korea, is the Comprehensive Health and Social Needs Assessment (CHSNA) by Park et al. [ 23 ]. This validated system is characterized by user-friendly images and can be used by healthcare professionals, social workers and community residents to evaluate the reasoning underlying health and social needs, to facilitate the identification of more appropriate healthcare plans and to guide community residents to receive the best healthcare services. In detail, the assessment covers three areas: a basic health assessment, a life and activity assessment and an in-depth health assessment.

Through the literature research, another measurement method has been identified, such as the Community-Based Collaborative Action Research (CBCAR) by Van Gelderen et al. [ 24 ] and Krumwiede et al. [ 25 ]. This tool seems to facilitate community engagement and promote critical dialogue.

The Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) [ 13 ] is a partnership approach to research that equitably involves community members, organizations and researchers in all aspects of the research process. All partners shared expertise, decision-making and ownership. The aim of this tool is to increase the knowledge and understanding of a given phenomenon and to integrate the knowledge gained with interventions for policy or social change benefiting the community members.

The Precede–Proceed Model [ 26 ] is a cost–benefit evaluation framework proposed in 1974 by Green that could help health program planners, policy makers and other evaluators to analyze situations and design health programs efficiently. It provides a comprehensive structure for assessing health and quality of life needs, and for designing, implementing and evaluating health promotion and other public health programs to meet those needs.

The Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) [ 27 ] is an approach used by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other agencies involved in international development that incorporates the knowledge and opinions of rural people in the planning and management of projects and programs.

Other tools, specific for certain categories of the population or patients, are used; for example, the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT), used by Horseman et al. [ 28 ], Alvariza et al. [ 29 ], Ewing et al. [ 30 ] and Aoun et al. [ 31 ] is an evidence-based tool that enables the comprehensive assessment of carers’ support needs, facilitating tailored support for the family members and friends of adults with long-term, life-limiting conditions (palliative care, motor neuron disease, etc.). It comprises 14 areas of need in which carers commonly request support. Carers may use this tool to state what they need both to allow them to care for their family member or friend and to preserve their own health and well-being within the caregiving role.

The Questionnaire for Assessing Community Health Nurses’ Learning Needs [ 32 ] is destined for community health nurses.

The EASY-care [ 33 ], is a comprehensive geriatric assessments (CGA) instrument designed for assessing the physical, mental and social functioning and unmet health and social needs of older people in community settings or primary care.

The SPICE assessment tool [ 34 ], a shorter version of the Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly, has been developed for routine use in primary care, focusing on five domains: Senses, Physical ability, Incontinence, Cognition, and Emotional distress (SPICE).

The University of Kansas Community Tool Box and the HRSA Compliance Manual have been used by Burns et al. [ 35 ] to conduct a needs assessment aimed at enhancing the service delivery of African-American adolescents and young adults at an urban federally qualified health center.

Finally, a modified version of the Patient Centered Medical Home Assessment (PCMH-A) has been developed by Kimble et al. [ 36 ] to assess primary care nurses’ perceptions of their practice.

Some other tools reported in literature are: the Community Health Assessment toolkit [ 37 ], Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) [ 38 ], State Health Improvement Planning (SHIP) Guidance and Resources [ 39 ], Community Health Assessment and Group Evaluation (CHANGE) [ 40 ], Needs Assessment, Resource Guide [ 41 ], Healthy People 2030 and MAP-IT [ 42 ].

Moreover, some data collection methods expressed in the literature are: the triangulation of data, methods and researchers [ 13 , 26 ], surveys [ 43 ] and public database consultation [ 19 ], focus groups [ 13 , 30 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ], questionnaires [ 13 , 27 , 47 , 48 ], semi-structured interviews in person, by post or telephone [ 13 , 15 , 27 , 43 , 45 , 49 , 50 ] and, in particular, to a community’s key members [ 13 , 19 ] and technological tools such as visual tools [ 27 ], video clips [ 15 ] and applications for smartphones, tablets and PC [ 46 ].

Among these methods, those that deserve further exploration for their flexibility, innovativeness, effectiveness in identifying a community’s needs and for the involvement and empowerment of citizens are listed below.

• − The elaboration, with the help of a local artist, of a “visual tool” [ 27 ], similar to a board game, submitted to citizens in order to identify and quantify the different needs of the population.
• − The creation of a short video [ 15 ] in which some citizens are interviewed with the purpose to “give voice” to the minorities of the community. These videos have been used not only as a source of data for the assessment but also as a proposal to integrate the point of view of the community to the CHNA process through their direct participation.
• − The use of applications and technological devices for community needs assessments [ 46 ].
• − The planning of tools for needs assessments of people with low literacy skills [ 46 ].

Another important source of information which requires dedicated deepening, with transversal value at the international level, is the Community Health Needs Assessment—An introductory guide for the family health nurse in Europe [ 9 ]. It is a tool designed for services planning at the level of families, communities and populations, highlighting the importance of the nurses’ contribution in the process. It describes how the evaluation of needs can identify priorities, directing resources to address inequalities and to activate a mechanism of involvement and participation of the local population.

The first part of the tool provides practical and user-friendly guidance to nurses through some general definitions and more specific advice regarding the needs assessment, dividing the process into three sections: profiling of the population , how do you find out and what to do with the information . The second part is a training pack written for trainers involved in nursing education about community health needs assessments.

Lastly, ‘A Framework for Community Health Nursing Education’ is a document produced by WHO [ 51 ] representing a possible approach to analyzing the community context through a participatory process between the reference stakeholders of the territory.

An overview of the common aspects of these tools with the WHO framework is reported in Table 2 .

Comparison of the tools identified through the literature review with the WHO “Community Health Needs Assessment” (2001).

4. Discussion

Community health assessments are the basis to defining, implementing and evaluating the services and educational programs necessary to reach public health, through the definition of the main health problems and the factors influencing them, the identification of the community’s resources, the development potential and the involvement and empowerment of the people belonging to the community [ 9 ].

By identifying research using various community assessment tools, this review was able to find several recurring themes.

4.1. Education and Skills of the Family and Community Nurse

The relevance of education to improving how community health is assessed has been highlighted in numerous papers [ 19 , 24 , 25 , 44 , 47 , 49 ]. Education should be advanced [ 43 , 52 ] and specific to some professional fields, such as palliative care [ 53 , 54 ].

Evans-Agnew et al. [ 16 ] stated that the assessments of community health needs through academic and practical partnerships offer new opportunities for skills development, not only for professionals, but also for nursing students.

For education planning, it is necessary to determine the areas of competence development of family and community nurses through the assessment of learning needs [ 16 , 25 , 32 , 36 , 50 ].

4.2. Shared Decision Making and Nursing Role

The assessment process is defined as a core competence for the community/public health nurse (C/PHN) [ 9 ]. Nevertheless, among the selected studies, there is a limited number of those that refer to nurses, both as responsible for the assessment and as a processes member with other professionals [ 16 , 27 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 47 , 49 , 50 , 52 ].

In Cho et al.’s [ 47 ] work, it is argued that nurses play a key role in identifying the needs of the population and in reducing health inequalities.

Running et al. [ 27 ] consider nurses as professionals who can establish a real trust relationship with community members, the main actors in the assessment process [ 16 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 50 ].

Wilder et al. [ 19 ] offers a different point of view: the assessment process is carried out exclusively by doctors. Their work states that conducting a CHNA in a primary care training program can helps the next generation of family physicians become culturally competent and community-focused.

Yoshioka-Maeda et al. [ 50 ] found that providing support from PHNs to citizens considered as “difficult clients” was the starting point for identifying community health problems and the need for new services in their daily practice. The results showed that PHNs first took care of their “difficult clients” and, after, gradually identified the existence of community health problems. This is different from a traditional community assessment, in which the identification of community health problems is considered the first step in the development of a new service or action and is necessary to gather sufficient information to understand the community and to clarify its specific health problems.

In addition, community/public health nurses (C/PHN) during their daily practice make choices based on their responsibility and professional authority, determining if the different needs identified and/or problems may be addressed independently or in teams or, in general, with other professionals on an interdisciplinary level [ 47 , 50 ].

This perspective recognizes the usefulness of teamwork in assessment and planning: shared decision making (SDM) is an interpersonal and interdependent process in which the healthcare provider, the person and his or her family members relate to and influence each other, collaborating in healthcare decisions.

The SDM focuses on the evidence-based experiences of healthcare professionals and the unique attributes of the “patient” and her/his family [ 57 ]. This allows people to improve their knowledge of available options and clarify which ones are more important, taking into account your own values.

4.3. Community Engagement and Empowerment

The data produced by community assessments are as important as the process itself, because it allows a population’s engagement to be activated which leads to the empowerment of the individual and the community. The assessment process, therefore, depends on the underpinning methodological and theoretical orientation. Sharma [ 21 ] examined two possible types with different outcomes. The first has been described as a directive assessment, characterized by goals and subject matters defined by the professional, service delivery-focused, centralized decision-making, a focused task definition, a community as an object and with an expert practitioner that sees him/herself as having whole knowledge of the problem and whole responsibility for results. The second has been defined as a nondirective assessment where community members are involved in the decision-making process and play a vital role in defining their priority health needs and in taking action to meet them, with decentralized decision-making, open-ended task definitions, community as the subject and with a reflective practitioner that spends more time studying the problem and engaging the community in a dialogue regarding problems and their possible solutions.

Community engagement has a positive impact on health, particularly if supported by strong organizational and community processes [ 55 ].

The systematic review by Haldane et al. [ 55 ] argues that community participation is a key element of an equitable, rights-based approach to health that has been shown to be effective in optimizing the health interventions for positive public health outcomes in a wide range of health areas and on multiple levels: organizational, community and individual.

Indeed, engagement makes it possible to establish trusting partnerships, to collect human and financial resources, to enhance communication processes and to improve health outcomes [ 24 ].

A theme closely related to engagement is empowerment; in fact, the participation of community members in decisions about their health reflects the process of empowerment itself [ 27 ] and is considered, along with the establishment of trusting relationships between citizens and professionals, to be a key element of health.

Furthermore, the citizens themselves express their willingness to be actively involved by health organizations [ 15 ]. Nevertheless, CHNAs often use quantitative data, revisions of the public data in databases and rarely incorporate directly the “voices” of the local community members. Then, what emerges is only an average of the data and not the specific, actual needs of the community, leading to an increasing risk to not identify and/or to underestimate the needs of some minority groups, such as ethnic minorities [ 15 ], or to not recognize the needs at the family/individual level, keeping in too-general terms.

4.4. “Culturally Competent” Approach

Among the examined studies, Running et al. [ 27 ] grounds its theoretical foundations on Leininger’s theories of transcultural nursing and the process of community involvement of Hildebrandt’s model of health empowerment. Several studies show the importance of using an approach and tools for the assessment that at the same time involve the general population [ 15 , 27 , 54 ] and the specific community considered, keeping a high sensitivity to the local community and minorities’ culture [ 15 , 27 , 31 , 35 , 45 , 46 , 48 , 54 ].

The population itself [ 15 ] asks that social health organizations treat culture as a useful resource for health.

4.5. Development of Social Policies

Conducting a health needs assessment can guide policies and systems, approaches to environmental change, community-administered grants and job creation [ 13 ]. Furthermore, it improves hospital community continuity [ 14 ] and reshapes the path of care of elderly or end-of-life patients [ 56 ]. All of the above requires attention to community stakeholder involvement in collaborative assessment and planning, an understanding of the etiology of diseases, identification and intervention on the broader determinants of health, adopting a public health assessment and planning model and, finally, emphasis on improving population health [ 18 ].

4.6. Flexibility and Local Adaptability of Tools

The CHNA may be conducted by a variety of organizations thanks to its adaptability and the possibility to customize. Every community and hospital is different in terms of resources, demographic data, health issues, partners, history and other contextual factors that contribute to the manner in which organizations and community members work together, make decisions, identify and address problems and resources. Therefore, although the tool refers to the American context, thanks to these features, it could also be applied in other countries.

However, without more specific guidance or evaluation criteria, the usefulness, the applicability and the potential improvement of community outcomes are difficult to identify [ 17 ]. For this reason, Pennel [ 18 ] gives some recommendations to improve assessments and outcomes on a population’s health.

In addition, organizations may carry out the CHNA using different methodologies, producing results that cannot be compared effectively. In fact, many authors have demonstrated information gaps [ 14 , 17 , 20 ].

The WHO [ 9 ] suggested that for several contexts, the tools can be adapted, up to the use of different tools combined each other, in order to create one that is effective and suitable for the considered community, the social and health characteristics of the citizens and for the network of services present.

The tool and the adopted approach need to be multidisciplinary and allow community engagement and empowerment [ 9 , 15 , 23 , 46 ].

To the best of our knowledge, this scoping review is the first attempt to provide an overview of community assessment tools, keeping the guidance provided by the WHO as a reference.

4.7. Limitations

This study has some limitations. First, this article does not perform a critical assessment of the literature included. However, as a scoping review, the aim of this study was not to synthetize evidence, but to pool together elements and core concepts from a various body of knowledge. The literature review was performed until May 2021, exposing this work to a publication bias. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic may also have led to differences in perspectives among studies conducted from 2020 onward compared with those from previous years.

5. Conclusions

Community assessments are a core competence for nurses but their role must be better defined, both as an autonomous and a collaborative one. According to Friedman [ 5 ], nurses work with individuals, families and communities at different levels and degrees.

From the literature review and the analysis of regulatory references emerges a multi-professional approach, both in assessing the health needs of the community and in the treatment of identified needs. It means that the global assessment of the community and the definition of programs and services are carried out by a multi-professional team, with the equal participation of the community members.

When nurses work with families and communities, their goal is to guide them in the identification of problems and strengths, supporting analysis and decision-making. Community health can, in fact, be defined as the satisfaction of the collective needs of its members through the identification of problems and the management of interactions within the community [ 58 ].

The multidisciplinary approach in “individuals’ and communities’ health needs identification” must not, however, leave behind the fundamental and widespread role of every nurse involved in the everyday care of individuals, as: a source for activity data collection, which will then be aggregated; indirect community health promotion, supporting the individual health; the reinforcement of the social responsibility of each citizen, through health education.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

C.P., S.S. and Y.L. conceived the study. S.S. and Y.L. designed the methodology and coordinated the activity planning. C.P., C.C., N.V.U., Y.L. and S.S. independently reviewed the papers and disagreements were resolved by a consensus. C.P., C.C. and N.V.U. drafted the manuscript. A.T., S.S. and Y.L. revised the manuscript and contributed with intellectual ideas. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

All authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

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The Importance of Community Health Nursing

Community health nurses are a vital link in the health and welfare of neighborhoods. These registered nurses focus on improving the lives of diverse communities of infants, children, adolescents, and adults through education, prevention, and treatment.

“They assist with equalizing health care in diverse populations, so that care is more equitable, affordable, and well-coordinated,” says Sheila Rucki , faculty member in the Purdue Global School of Nursing.

“Community health nurses look at the broader needs of a population, not just an individual,” says Jessica Gordon , associate dean. “The agenda is health promotion, disease prevention, and recognizing the needs of the community.”

Learn more about the role of community health nurses, what their future looks like, and how to become one.

What Is a Community Health Nurse?

Community health nurses start by building trust and relationships with individuals and local leaders. They also develop a strong understanding of people’s backgrounds, experiences, and the social factors that influence health, with the goal of practicing cultural humility with empathetic care.

Many members of the community who take advantage of these services might not otherwise have access to private physicians or testing services, among other medical necessities.

“Ethnically diverse and culturally diverse populations are the most underserved,” Rucki says. “Those are the individual groups that benefit most from this kind of health care."

Community health nurses often participate in mobile clinics to help underserved populations, she says.

“The homeless are hard to reach because they are mobile,” Rucki says. “They benefit greatly from the care provided by community-focused providers, particularly nurses.”

What Do Community Health Nurses Do and Where Do They Work?

Community health nurses work in a variety of settings from community-based centers to government agencies to shelters to vaccine distribution sites. They build coalitions, craft policies, educate the public, manage public health programs, and more.

Services Provided by Community Health Nurses

The American Public Health Association lists 10 essential public health services provided by community nurses and other front-line professionals:

• Assess and monitor population health
• Investigate, diagnose, and address health hazards and root causes
• Communicate effectively to inform and educate
• Strengthen, support, and mobilize communities and partnerships
• Create, champion, and implement policies, plans, and laws
• Utilize legal and regulatory actions
• Enable equitable access
• Build a diverse and skilled workforce
• Improve and innovate through evaluation, research, and quality improvement
• Build and maintain a strong organizational infrastructure for public health

“Community health nurses are this incredible file cabinet of resources. They can point people in the right direction for what they need at that time,” Gordon says. “They're dealing with the community, but they provide education on where the community can get the help they need for individualized attention.”

For example, if a community has a high diabetes rate, one of the focuses for that area might be diabetes prevention education.

“Every single community health nurse works based on the population and the needs of that population specifically,” Gordon says.

Other health issues that could affect a community include:

• Substance abuse
• Teen pregnancy

Where Community Health Nurses Are Needed

Community health nurses, like other registered nurses, often work in local hospitals, trauma centers, and clinics. Many work in locations more focused on underserved communities, such as:

• Aid organizations, such as Doctors Without Borders or the Red Cross, providing disaster relief along with other daily local needs
• Community health centers, treating and educating around such topics as family planning, sexual health, and other preventative care
• Correctional facilities, working to limit the spread of communicable disease, along with running educational programs for inmates and staff
• Government agencies, helping with health policy development and implementation to create change on a large scale
• Homeless shelters, focusing on preventative care through screenings and assessments, and helping people find social service assistance
• Schools, providing education about illness prevention and good health habits, along with managing existing health problems and intervening in cases of abuse or neglect

“A lot of the community-based care centers are in parts of town or areas of the country or state where access to care might be limited or not affordable,” Rucki says. “Being based directly in the community provides access opportunities that might otherwise not be available to diverse populations.”

What Does the Future Look Like for Community Health Nurses?

Community health nurses have a bright future, but some serious challenges remain ahead.

“We’re seeing an increased need because what we thought was the traditional way of delivering care is really no longer applicable,” Rucki says. “Community-based care is becoming the primary way for many people today.”

What Job Growth Looks Like

The national nursing shortage, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic, will continue to fuel a 9% job growth rate through 2030, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . The agency projects employers to add 276,800 RN positions from 2020–2030.*

Because of these growing needs, becoming a community health nurse has some advantages:

• Creating strong partnerships between nurses and clients and/or community population
• Enjoying collaborative nursing care working with clients in a nonhospital setting
• Having a variety of work settings
• Helping vulnerable communities
• Providing holistic and more individualized care
• Working a convenient schedule with little to no holiday or weekend hours

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, community health worker programs particularly need nurses trained in preventing and controlling infectious diseases, to deliver home-based care to low-income people.

What Challenges Remain Ahead

The National Institutes of Health indicate that public nurses face many challenges aside from the day-to-day demands of practice, including:

• Concerns for personal safety
• Frequent overtime
• Inadequate staffing levels
• Limited management support and supervision
• On-call duties
• Professional isolation
• Restricted opportunities for career development

However, Gordon says a greater challenge facing community nurses is resistance.

“This can happen whether you're in acute care or community health, but you often see a population as a whole resisting care,” she says. “It can be incredibly frustrating when you've provided quality education and care. But you persevere. The challenge is not being rejected, it's how you overcome it.”

“It may take time to build trust in populations,” Rucki says. “Once you build trust and build that ongoing relationship, you're more likely to see change, behavior changes in people’s health care practices.”

Who Would Make a Good Community Health Nurse?

You need certain qualities and qualifications if you’re interested in becoming an effective community health nurse.

The Qualifications You Need

At a minimum, you must earn an associate or bachelor’s degree in nursing and pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). † Some may wish to complete a two-year master's degree program in nursing. Employers often prefer community health nurses who have one to two years of nursing experience.

“Because this is such an education-heavy job, there's a strong preference toward those with a bachelor's degree,” Gordon says.

Community health nurses also are strongly encouraged to have ties to the areas in which they wish to work. Participating in volunteer programs both before and after becoming a community health nurse is highly recommended.

Community health nurses should also consider certification. One exam, the Advanced Public Health Nurse certification exam, is being phased out.

“However, there are opportunities in interprofessional groups to demonstrate excellence and receive certifications,” Rucki says.

Currently, there is no certification specific to public health nursing at the generalist level. However, nurses with a bachelor’s degree and at least five years of public health experience can obtain the Certification in Public Health (CPH). Visit the National Board of Public Health Examiners for more information on the CPH.

The Qualities You Need

A panel convened by the National Institutes of Health agreed that a successful nurse needs such qualities as being analytical, communicative, cooperative, coordinating, disseminating knowledge, empathic, evidence driven, innovative, and introspective.

Community health nurses should also be connected to their community, open-minded to those different from them, sensitive to different opinions, and objective in their view of the communities they serve.

“An essential component to these roles is a passion for serving the communities that are around them,” Gordon says. “These nurses have a connection and they understand the populations. They want to see them thrive and do better.”

“What's really so rewarding for nurses is this long-term engagement with a population,” Rucki says. “In an acute care setting, you're engaged with the patient and family for a short period of time. But in the community, they're your patients for life. You see families grow and care for them over a number of years.

“That ability to connect and learn and know about the individuals that make up your community is so rewarding for nurses.”

How Purdue Global Can Help You Become a Community Health Nurse

“Community-based nurses are very strong force for change in a community,” Rucki says. Gordon says this theme is woven throughout all programs at Purdue Global.

Purdue Global’s online nursing programs can help you start on the road to becoming a community health nurse. ‡ Reach out for more information today .

About the Author

Purdue Global

Earn a degree you're proud of and employers respect at Purdue Global, Purdue's online university for working adults. Accredited and online, Purdue Global gives you the flexibility and support you need to come back and move your career forward. Choose from 175+ programs, all backed by the power of Purdue.

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Your Path to Success Begins Here

Learn more about online programs at Purdue Global and download our program guide.

Connect with an Advisor to explore program requirements, curriculum, credit for prior learning process, and financial aid options.

* Job Growth Projections: National long-term projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions, and do not guarantee actual growth.

† NCLEX Exam : Graduates must meet state licensing and certification requirements and pass the NCLEX-RN exam to become a registered nurse or the NCLEX-PN to become a licensed practical nurse. The University cannot guarantee students will be eligible to sit for or pass exams. NCLEX is a registered trademark of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. Licensure-track programs may limit enrollment to students in certain states. Refer to Purdue Global’s State Licensure and Certifications page for state-specific licensure.

‡ Employment and Career Advancement: Purdue Global does not guarantee employment placement or career advancement. Actual outcomes vary by geographic area, previous work experience and opportunities for employment.

Nursing Capstone Project Ideas

Starting a capstone project is a significant milestone for a student, marking the shift from classroom learning to practical application. However, the process of choosing the right project idea can feel overwhelming.

In this article, we'll provide a helpful guide to spark nursing project ideas and ensure your capstone leaves a lasting impact. If you need help with actually writing a paper, please consult our guide on how to write a nursing essay .

Nursing Capstone Project Definition

A nursing capstone project is a comprehensive, culminating academic endeavor undertaken by nursing students nearing the completion of their degree program. It allows students to integrate and apply their knowledge, skills, and clinical experiences gained throughout their education.

Typically completed in collaboration with healthcare professionals or community organizations, the capstone project allows students to address real-world healthcare challenges, conduct research, implement evidence-based interventions, and evaluate outcomes. Through this experiential learning process, learners demonstrate their readiness for professional practice while making meaningful contributions to the healthcare field with their nursing capstone project idea.

Keep in mind that our nursing essay writing service also covers such papers as capstones, theses, and dissertations.

Sources of Nursing Capstone Project Ideas

Here are seven excellent sources for generating nursing capstone project ideas:

Clinical Experiences

Reflect on your clinical rotations and experiences. Did a particular patient population or healthcare issue stand out to you? Perhaps you noticed a gap in care or an opportunity for improvement during your clinical practice.

Evidence-Based Practice Journals

Explore journals like the Journal of Nursing Scholarship, Nursing Research, or the American Journal of Nursing. These publications often feature research articles highlighting current trends, challenges, and innovations in practice, which can inspire potential nursing capstone ideas.

Healthcare Policy Reports

Investigate reports and publications from organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or your country's Ministry of Health. These sources often identify pressing public health issues or policy priorities that could be the basis for a meaningful capstone project.

Professional Organizations

Check out the websites and publications of professional nursing organizations such as the American Nurses Association (ANA), the National League for Nursing (NLN), or specialty-specific organizations like the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS). They often provide resources, research, and initiatives relevant to current nurse practice and areas for improvement.

Community Needs Assessments

To assess needs, collaborate with local healthcare organizations, community health centers, or public health departments. Identifying your community's health needs and priorities can help you develop a capstone project that addresses real-world issues and makes a positive impact.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Consider interdisciplinary collaboration with professionals from other healthcare disciplines, such as medicine, social work, public health, or psychology. Exploring shared challenges or areas where nursing intersects with other fields can lead to innovative capstone project ideas and solutions.

Literature Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Conduct comprehensive literature reviews or meta-analyses on topics of interest within nursing. Identifying gaps or controversies in the existing literature can inspire research questions or areas for further exploration in your capstone project.

Use a dedicated essay writer service to save time browsing manifold sources of information and expedite an overall writing process.

The List of 150 Nursing Capstone Project Ideas

Medical surgery nursing capstone project ideas.

Nursing capstone project ideas cover comprehensive care, assisting in procedures, monitoring patient vital signs, administering medications, and facilitating patient recovery in surgical settings according to our expert human essay writer .

• Improved patient education for surgery.
• Pain management protocol implementation.
• Surgical site infection prevention checklist.
• Pre-op skin antiseptic solutions evaluation.
• Enhancing surgical hand hygiene compliance.
• Nurse-led discharge planning evaluation.
• Resource guide for surgical patient caregivers.
• Telemedicine in post-op care assessment.
• Fall prevention program implementation.
• Effective communication in surgery.
• Music therapy for surgical anxiety reduction.
• Standardized wound assessment protocol.
• Early ambulation promotion after surgery.
• Simulation training for surgical nursing.
• Nutrition education impact on recovery.

Nursing Capstone Project Ideas on Mental Health

Nursing is critical for mental health patients as it offers compassionate care, builds therapeutic relationships, supports recovery, and advocates for holistic treatment approaches, ultimately enhancing well-being and quality of life.

• Primary care mental health screening tool development.
• CBT effectiveness in anxiety disorder treatment.
• Peer support for schizophrenia.
• Mindfulness intervention impact on nurse stress.
• Animal-assisted therapy for depression.
• Emergency department suicide risk protocol.
• Group therapy for substance use.
• Trauma-informed care in mental health.
• Exercise and mental health outcomes.
• Art therapy for childhood ADHD.
• Telepsychiatry for remote consultations.
• DBT for borderline personality disorder.
• School stigma reduction for mental health.
• Social support impact on psychotic disorder recovery.
• Nutrition interventions for bipolar disorder.

Nursing Leadership Capstone Project Ideas

Studying nursing project ideas regarding leadership fosters a supportive and empowering environment, drives innovation, advocates for patient-centered care, and facilitates professional growth to ensure quality healthcare delivery and positive outcomes.

• Nurse mentorship program.
• Transformational leadership study.
• Nurse wellness program.
• Shared governance impact assessment.
• Emotional intelligence in nurse leadership.
• Nurse leadership development.
• Interprofessional collaboration assessment.
• Diversity in nurse leadership.
• Servant leadership in healthcare.
• Technology for nurse leaders.
• Resilience training for leaders.
• Leadership rounding impact.
• Nurse leadership mentorship.
• Ethical leadership in healthcare.
• Continuous education for leaders.

Topics for a General Nursing Capstone Project

General nursing encompasses providing holistic care to individuals of all ages, addressing a wide range of health needs and promoting overall well-being across diverse healthcare settings.

• Patient education on medication adherence.
• Evidence-based practice implementation.
• Hand hygiene practices and infection reduction.
• Pain management for elderly patients.
• Nurse shortages and patient care outcomes.
• Cultural competence in nurse education.
• Falls prevention in long-term care.
• Telehealth in chronic disease management.
• Standardized care plans for chronic conditions.
• Family-centered care in pediatrics.
• Nursing burnout and patient satisfaction.
• Improving nurse documentation accuracy.
• Pain management interventions in palliative care.
• Nurse delegation protocol in community health.
• Interprofessional collaboration in patient care.

Pediatric Nursing Capstone Project Topics

Pediatric nursing involves providing specialized healthcare to infants, children, and adolescents, addressing their unique physical, emotional, and developmental needs in various healthcare settings.

• Pediatric pain assessment tools.
• Child life specialists' impact.
• Play therapy effectiveness.
• Pediatric medication error protocol.
• Pediatric palliative care role.
• Vaccination education for parents.
• Reducing pediatric medication errors.
• Nurse interventions for pediatric pain.
• Music therapy in pediatrics.
• Asthma management protocol.
• Child safety program impact.
• Developmental delay screening tool.
• Pediatric nurse-led support groups.
• Pediatric nurses promoting healthy lifestyles.

Women’s Health Capstone Project Ideas

The role of nursing in women's health involves providing comprehensive care, education, and support tailored to women's unique health needs.

• Female nurse leadership.
• Maternal nutrition education and birth outcomes.
• Midwives' role in maternal and neonatal health.
• Breast cancer screening in low-income areas.
• Intimate partner violence screening in clinics.
• Hormonal contraceptives and health outcomes.
• Pregnancy support for immigrant women.
• Postpartum depression screening.
• Menopause symptom management programs.
• Preconception care and pregnancy.
• Physical activity and women's health.
• Gender-based healthcare disparities.
• Socioeconomic factors and women's health.
• Sex education and teenage pregnancy.
• Environment and women's reproductive health.

Capstone Project Topics on Nursing Burnout

Nursing burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion resulting from prolonged exposure to stressors in the nurse profession, often leading to reduced job satisfaction and impaired performance.

• ICU nurse burnout factors.
• Shift length and acute care burnout.
• Nurse-patient ratios in medical-surgical units.
• Resilience training for oncology nurses.
• ER nurse burnout and mindfulness.
• Leadership support in long-term care.
• Pediatric nurse workload and burnout.
• EHRs and primary care nurse burnout.
• Mentorship for new nurse burnout.
• Self-care for mental health nurses.
• Team communication in perioperative nursing.
• Work-life balance for obstetrics nurses.
• Exercise for critical care nurse burnout.
• Burnout prevention for nurse managers.
• COVID-19 impact on nurse burnout.

Patient Falls Nursing Capstone Project Ideas

Patient falls refer to unintentional descents to the ground or lower levels, posing risks of injury, and are a significant concern in healthcare settings.

• Acute care fall prevention interventions.
• Long-term care fall risk assessments.
• Patient education for fall prevention.
• Technology-based fall detection systems.
• Hospital environmental modifications for fall prevention.
• Staff training for fall prevention.
• Medication management to reduce falls.
• Post-fall assessment protocols.
• Falls root cause analysis.
• Family involvement in fall prevention.
• Nurse assistants in fall prevention.
• Fall trend data analytics.
• Bed alarms and bedrails for fall prevention.
• Interdisciplinary team approaches to fall prevention.
• Fall prevention in home healthcare.

Emergency Nursing Capstone Project Ideas

Emergency nursing involves providing immediate care to patients of all ages and across diverse medical conditions in critical and time-sensitive situations within emergency departments.

• Triage protocols and patient wait times.
• Simulation training for emergency response.
• Telemedicine in emergency triage.
• Disaster preparedness planning.
• Pain management in the emergency setting.
• Nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes.
• Rapid response teams in non-ICU areas.
• De-escalation techniques for aggressive patients.
• Screening and intervention for substance use disorders.
• Electronic health records and documentation efficiency.
• Behavioral health emergencies management protocol.
• Team communication strategies to reduce medical errors.
• Sepsis recognition and treatment protocol.
• Point-of-care ultrasound use in emergency diagnosis.
• Emergency nurses' role in disaster response.

Nursing Informatics Capstone Project Ideas

Nursing informatics integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, and knowledge in nurse practice.

• EHR workflow optimization.
• Telehealth in nursing.
• Patient education mobile apps.
• Data analytics for quality.
• Nurse documentation standards.
• Clinical decision support systems.
• Patient portal usability.
• Wearable tech in nursing.
• Healthcare system interoperability.
• Telemedicine platform evaluation.
• Big data for population health.
• Nurse informatics education.
• Remote monitoring for chronic diseases.
• Cybersecurity in healthcare.
• Usability testing for nursing software.

Should you need more nursing essay topics , consult this guide, too.

Ryan Acton is an essay-writing expert with a Ph.D. in Sociology, specializing in sociological research and historical analysis. By partnering with EssayHub, he provides comprehensive support to students, helping them craft well-informed essays across a variety of topics.

• Capstone Projects For Nursing Programs | Nursejournal.org . (n.d.). https://nursejournal.org/resources/nursing-degree-capstone-projects/
• MSN Capstone Projects | Nursing | University of Texas at Tyler . (n.d.). https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/nursing_msn/

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200+ Great Ideas of Nursing Research Topics to Get Started

Running out of topic ideas for your nursing research paper?

Stay on this page to find really cool and helpful lists of interesting research topics for your nursing dissertation or thesis.

What are Some Cool topics to Research?

Whenever students are asked to work on a research paper or present their thesis, the very first concern for them is choosing a unique, interesting, and research-worthy topic that makes their research significant and has enough future scope.

When it comes to finding a unique topic without working on something that’s already been done, most of the nursing and healthcare students struggle. A good research topic should be unique, relevant to current times, and have future scope as well. And you’ll find all three qualities in the topics mentioned below:

1. Primary Healthcare Nursing Research Topics

Primary healthcare refers to essential or basic health care service based on socially acceptable and scientifically sound methods and technology. Since it includes physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being, there are many topics for nursing scholars to explore:

• Strengthening primary healthcare system as the first line of referral system
• Introduction of home health nursing in the community set up
• Primary health care delivery system clinical pathways
• From home visits to home health care: strengthening primary health care delivery system
• Expanding the roles of community health nurses
• Millennial models of health care system
• Strengthening disease surveillance program in the community health setup
• Home health care of debilitated patients
• Acceptance of evidence-based practice in the primary health care
• Strengthening continuity of care in the community/home health care post-hospitalization
• Physical rehabilitation and occupational therapy in the community health care setting

2. Good Research Topics in Healthcare Management

Healthcare management is the management, administration, or oversight of healthcare systems, hospitals, public health systems, and other medical facilities. Since it comprises the overall management of all the work of the hospitals, it opens avenues for a lot of research work. Take, for example, the following:

• Evaluating who is responsible for failure in surgeries?
• Healthcare Contracts Limitations
• Medical Home Service
• Analysing nursing channels that nurses can use for becoming physicians?
• Gender Bias in Nursing Profession
• Starting Private Practice as a Nurse
• Medicare: Pros and Cons
• What are the most appropriate methods for increasing staff retention in a health care setting?
• Nursing Uniform Code Rules
• Role of nurses in enhancing a hospital quality improvement
• Legal Risks with Non-English Patients
• Medical Marijuana: Risk, Benefits, and Management Rules
• Shortage of Men in Healthcare
• Health tracking apps for continuity of care post discharge to home
• Telehealth: the impact of virtual care to urban and rural areas
• Strategic referral system to prevent tertiary hospital congestion
• Clinical pathways for referral system
• Drive-thru pharmacy
• Strenghtening the roles of social works and social workers in the health care team
• Case management approach in the healthcare delivery system
• Defining and application of Expected Length of Stay in patient management
• Impact of case managers in Expected Length of Stay and patient outcomes
• Redefining hospital cultures on bed rest versus mobilization
• Redefining hospital cultures on diet and food services
• Redefining hospital cultures on the assumption of the sick roles
• Strict implementation of Expected Length of Stay to prevent hospital congestion
• Roles of Case manager in the Clinical pathways
• Case Manager as a new nursing role an specialization
• Nurse navigator as a new form of nurse entrepreneurship
• Case management clinical pathway for smooth admission, patient flow and continuity of care after discharge
• Increase nursing specialization
• Internet savvy for healthcare providers

3. Nursing Research Topics about Pain Management

Pain management, in nursing, includes study of all the interventions nurses can make during their hospital hours – mainly to relieve a patient’s pain or ailments through medicinal interventions. Pain is complex, with many treatment options such as therapies, medicines, and also mind-body techniques. Nursing research scholars can research about the following topics:

• Pain management in children suffering from life-limiting illnesses: learning about the best practices
• Headache Treatment Protocol
• A closer look at hemophilia patient’s pain management
• Myofascial Pain Rehabilitation
• Labor and delivery: best practices for pain management
• Using Opioid for Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Fetal pain perception: analysis by medical experts
• Innovative Injection Use
• Therapeutic Injections: Cons & Pros
• Cognitive hypnotherapy application: how effective are they in pain management?
• Evaluating the effectiveness of Benson’s relaxation therapy as a pain management practice.
• Post-discharge pain-management strategies: evaluating their effectiveness in a health care setting?
• Phantom Pains Phenomenon
• Pain management in cancer patients: best practices according to expert nurses
• Spinal cord nerve injury related to chronic constipation
• Mobile pain unit

4. Pediatric Nursing Research Topics

In Pediatric nursing, the nursing staff is responsible for medical care of the children and neonates, and adolescents – mainly in a day-clinic or the in-patient setting. Though the main role of child health nursing is administering procedures and medicines to all children as per their prescribed nursing care plans, the research scholars can write papers on the following topics:

• Speech Disorders Therapy
• ADHD Causes & treatment
• Prevalence of misdiagnosis in child health or paediatric ward
• Vaccination & Autism
• Systematic review of range of child health nursing services in UK
• Antibiotic Resistance in Preschool Children
• Mental and Emotional health of children under 10
• Eating Disorders in Children
• Social Media Impact on Teenagers
• Seizures Causes in Infants
• Teething issues in children under 10
• Psychological Aspects of Infant Care
• Use of social media platforms in preparation and prevention of hospital phobia among pediatric groups
• Family engagement in the pediatric care by using hospital information system
• Safety and efficacy of telehealth for pediatric patients

What are the Current issues in Nursing?

Nursing is a high-pressure job. It demands patience, determination, and perseverance. As a high-pressure job, it gets quite challenging and leads to issues from time to time. Some of the examples being staff shortages, long working hours, workplace hazards, personal health, and workplace violence. All of these can be addressed in nursing research papers:

• Analysis of the registered nurse workforce and the relationship to work environments
• Transforming loss: A developing concept for nursing
• Nursing Staff Shortages
• Nursing Practitioners
• Meeting Patient Expectations: A challenge for nurses
• Biggest obstacles nurses face in their education and maintaining career alongside
• Workplace Violence and Hazards Nurses face
• Diversity in Healthcare
• Importance of Community Nursing
• Future of Nursing in the Digital Age
• What measure can a nurse take for helping a person with their eating disorder?
• Clinical Nurse Roles
• How can nurses help in treating patients who already know they don’t have a survival rate?
• Ethics and Homeless People Treatment
• Critical Care Nursing Management
• A nurse’s role in helping and assisting patients with chronic diseases?
• Nursing Theorists Works
• Remote Intensive Care Unit
• Stress Management Practice for Nurses Working in Night Shifts
• Between Career & Professional Service
• Preceptorship and training after distant education program and online learning
• Centralized infectious disease surveillance
• Centralized reporting of chronic diseases
• Patient become more educated: the pros and cons of social media
• Fake news and misinformation on health related issue with the rise of social media platforms
• BPO and call centers for medical procedures booking and admission to decongest emergency room
• Application of BPO in the quality assurance monitoring in documentation

What are Some of the Research Topic Ideas in Surgical Nursing?

• Moral distress among nurses in Surgical units
• Patient’s satisfaction and experience about care provided by nurses in the surgical units
• Organizational effects on patient satisfaction in surgical units
• Medical-Surgical nurses and their perceived leadership abilities as responders in patient deterioration events
• Role of Nurses in Surgical Wards
• Medical-surgical nursing: Critical thinking in client care
• Pain assessment and management in surgical nursing
• Understanding technology in contemporary surgical nursing
• Understanding Medical surgical nursing as an integrated approach
• Standardising fast-track surgical nursing care
• Mobilization team for the fast recovery of post-operative patients
• Use of telehealth for pre-operative preparations and elective surgical admissions to lessen hospital length of stay among surgical patients
• Continuity of care post surgery in the community health care

What have been some of the more important nursing research questions discussed in nursing class?

If you are here to find more important topics for your nursing dissertations, then scroll through this section for topics that are often discussed in nursing classes. Nursing research articles and topics change over time. However, we find these relevant to current times and challenges in healthcare:

1. Research topic ideas for Midwifery Nursing

Nurse-midwife, as a licensed healthcare professional, specialises in child birth and also women’s reproductive health. Apart from attending pregnant women during childbirth, they are responsible for several roles during emergencies, and pre and postnatal care. Hence, opening avenues for research topics such as:

• Role of nurses in improving patient safety during childbirth: Evidence from obstetric trauma
• Evaluate the impact of delayed umbilical cord clamping after child birth
• Maternal & Neonatal Practices in Rural Areas
• Emerging trends in obstetrical and midwifery nursing
• First Antenatal Appointment Analysis
• Limiting interventions during a low-risk labour
• Mental Illness & Post-natal Period
• Analysing the role of prenatal care in pregnant women
• Shift Study Midwives & Length
• Evaluating impact of AIDS and Hepatitis B in the pregnant women
• Self-Instruction Kits & Natal Safety
• Studying advanced trends in obstetrics and gynaecology
• Midwifery Continued Care
• Evaluating pros and cons of labouring in water
• Gestational Weight Gain Challenges
• Vitamin D’s role as a supplement during pregnancy
• Studying clinical reasoning integration into midwifery practice
• Obese Pregnant Women Safety Rules
• A decade after BEmONC and CEmONC

2. Health Promotion Research Topics

Health promotion mainly comes from behavioral social science which draws from the environmental, biological, psychological, medical, and physical sciences for promoting health and preventing diseases. For health promotion, the research topics include the following:

• Healthcare Dangers of Digital Age
• Benefits and Shortages of Telemedicine
• Healthy living and Preventive medicine for Senior Citizens
• Role of School Nurses
• Obstacles for Smoking cessation
• Healthy Eating & Sports
• Causes of Youth Inactivity
• Roles of Parents for Healthy Lifestyle of Children
• Obesity and Mental Stability
• Pharmacist Responsibility
• Social Media and Educational Strategies
• HealthBank as new form of medical insurance inside the hospital organization
• Collaboration of private health insurance company with public and private hospitals

3. Adult Research Topics for Nursing Students

As a nursing scholar, you can also write research papers on adult healthcare, disease prevention, and management. Take, for example, reasons behind anxiety disorders in adults. Find more topics in the list below:

• Nurses’ experiences with urinary catheter insertion: A qualitative focus group study
• Clinical Cardiology Innovations
• CV Imaging Process
• Migraine Case Example
• Bipolar Disorder Non-Chemical Practices
• Mental Health & Psychiatric Care in Adults
• Online nursing education program
• Self care in Nursing
• Home health care for longterm vented patients
• Clinical Instructor, Preceptorship, Educator and Professor as specialized field requiring licensure
• Specialization program in nursing education

4. Geriatric Care Nursing Journal Topics

Nurses working in Geriatric care and management are responsible for coordinating and planning care of the elderly people dealing with mental or physical disabilities. Some of the research work topic ideas for geriatric care include the following:

• Cerebrovascular Disease and Stroke in Elderly people
• Pain in elderly people: Assessment and Management
• Joint Disorders Study in Elderly Population
• Rapid Nutritional assessment in Elderly
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Bladder Cancer Therapy
• Atrial Fibrillation Study
• Critical Care Requirements
• Cardiovascular Risk Reduction
• Geriatrics Ethics
• Restless Legs Syndrome
• Parkinson’s Disease Precautions
• Geriatric care clinical pathways of care: holistic approach

What are the recent nursing research paper topics?

If you’re facing the challenge of choosing a recent nursing research topic, we’ve got your back. Many nurses, including experienced and freshers, are faced with this challenge at some point. But there’s no need to panic. So, without further ado, let’s jump-start the list of most recent research topics for nursing students:

1. Women’s Health Nursing Research Topics

Research topics related to women’s health are always trending, relevant, and have future scope as well. Hence, these topics are still worth exploring and researching:

• Culture affects women’s health
• Substance Abuse and Addiction in Women
• Menopause Challenges
• Infertility Ethical Rules
• Ovarian Cancer and Ovarian Disorder Analysis
• Modern Neonatal Practices
• Pregnancy Prevention Measures
• Sepsis after labour
• Cosmetic Dermatology
• Cystic Fibroids
• Sleep Disorders in Women
• Reproductive Endocrinology
• Women’s Sexual Health Disorders
• HPV and Cervical Cancer
• Vaginal Atrophy Causes
• Sleep disturbances in Women

2. Mental Health Nursing Research Articles Topics

Research papers focusing on mental health are still one of the most read and referred papers. And there’s still more scope for research on topics such as:

• Evaluating the concept of Integrated Mental and Physical Health Care
• Psychiatric Nursing and Mental Health
• Possible skills required for Nurses in Mental health care setting
• Assessing the mental health of nurses
• Depression Causes
• Schizophrenia Diagnostics
• Alcohol Addiction Disorders
• Bipolar Disorder
• Studying the impact of PTSD in the Army Veterans
• Impact of Video Games on Teenage Aggression
• Stress Among Police Officers
• Psychiatric Patient Ethics
• Forbidden Substances: Prevention and Use
• Bioterrorism Medicine
• Physical Traumas & Recovery Methods
• Application of Nursing Case Management in Psychiatry

Nursing leaders have called for research focusing on which of the following topics?

If you’d like to take an expert’s opinion before choosing a topic for your nursing dissertation, this section will be helpful. Our list of best nursing research topics doesn’t end here. We’ve got here more interesting topics that are recommended by nursing leaders and experts. Take a look at some more relevant topics:

• Preterm Labor Dangers
• Labor and Delivery Management Practices
• Saving Mother & Child Challenges
• Abortion Care Ethical Side
• Adolescent Gynecology Education
• Antenatal Care Recommendations
• Hypertensive Disorders Causes
• Newborn Resuscitation Rules
• Caesarean Section Preparation
• Delivery Room Behavior Checklist
• Nurses play vital roles in healthcare. Why are they invisible in the media?
• Increasing nursing research capacity: The roles of nurse scientists within healthcare systems
• Microeconomics and macroeconomics for sources of hospital funds
• Diverting patients and funds to economical services
• Culture vs evidence based practice
• Social media influencer in health education dissemination
• Acceptance of evidence based practice in the hospital
• Impact of socio-cultural nursing to evidence-based practice
• Hindrances in the implementation of evidence-based practice
• Nursing faculty shortage and brain-drain
• Online continuing professional education and development

Final Thoughts

Nursing research topics for a dissertation or thesis should not be difficult to find through the ideas suggestion above. Just make sure that you provide a twist (segment or expand the topic, perhaps) and come up with a unique topic for your paper.

During the initial stages of finalising a nursing research topic, you can struggle with a lot of choices or overwhelming information. However, when you start to consider a research topic’s limitations and scope, and outline your topic into a question, you’ll be able to get a better understanding of the topic you can manage in terms of workload.

We hope these nursing research topics mentioned above help you find that unique thesis statement or idea you’re looking for. In case you’re still having a tough time making a choice, leave us a comment or drop a mail, and we will direct you to better resources.

• https://www.journals.elsevier.com/applied-nursing-research/recent-articles
• https://www.syberscribe.com.au/blog/10-emerging-trends-healthcare-technology-2019-beyond/
• https://www.purdueglobal.edu/blog/nursing/top-10-nursing-trends/
• http://ojin.nursingworld.org/

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30+ Creative Nursing Project Topics You Must Try In 2023

Are you interested in making a Nursing project and willingly searching for the nursing project topics? Don’t worry your search ends here. This blog will serve as a guide for you in making effective nursing project. Also, we will explore some of the best nursing project topics.

What is Nursing?

Table of Contents

Nursing is a healthcare profession that involves the provision of care to individuals, families, and communities. It aims to promote health and wellbeing, prevent illness, and manage health conditions. Nurses work with other healthcare professionals to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate care for patients.

Nurses work in various settings such as hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, schools, and community health centers. They play a crucial role in promoting and maintaining the health of individuals and communities. Often they are the primary point of contact between patients and the healthcare system.

Why Are Nursing Projects Important?

Nursing projects are important because they allow nurses to explore issues and challenges related to patient care and healthcare delivery. 

It aims to develop and implement solutions that improve patient outcomes and enhance the quality of care. 

Nursing projects can take many forms, such as research studies, quality improvement initiatives, evidence-based practice projects, and community outreach programs.

Nursing projects can help nurses to:

1. Address Gaps In Knowledge

By conducting research nurses can identify gaps in knowledge where current practice may not align with evidence-based guidelines. 

This information can help inform future practice and contribute to the advancement of nursing knowledge.

2. Improve Patient Outcomes

Nursing projects can focus on improving patient outcomes by improving care processes. 

For example, a project focused on reducing hospital-acquired infections can help prevent patient harm. It improves overall health outcomes.

3. Enhance The Quality Of Care 

Nursing projects can identify areas for improvement in the delivery of care. It includes reducing wait times or improving communication between healthcare providers. By implementing changes, nurses can help enhance the quality of care and improve patient satisfaction.

4. Promote Interprofessional Collaboration

Nursing projects often involve collaboration with other healthcare providers, such as physicians, pharmacists, and social workers. 

This collaboration can help improve communication and teamwork. Thus, leading to better patient outcomes and more efficient delivery of care.

But the most significant step in making a nursing project is to find the most suitable nursing project topics. Worry not; this blog will help you.

As the nursing profession continues to evolve, nurses are increasingly taking on leadership roles. They are driving changes in healthcare delivery. 

Here are nursing project topics that nurses can explore to make a meaningful impact on healthcare:

1. Reducing Hospital-Acquired Infections 

Hospital-acquired infections can have serious consequences for patients. 

It includes prolonged hospital stays and even death. 

Nurses can explore ways to reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections, such as through better hand hygiene practices or improved infection control procedures.

2. Improving Patient Safety

Patient safety is a top priority for nurses and there are many areas where improvements can be made. It is also one of the best nursing project topics.

Nurses can investigate ways to reduce medication errors. 

Also, they must improve communication between healthcare providers to enhance patient safety.

3. Enhancing Patient Education

Patient education is an important aspect of nursing practice. 

It empowers patients to take an active role in managing their health. 

Nurses can develop educational materials that help patients better understand their health conditions and treatment options.

4. Developing Nurse-Led Clinics 

Nurse-led clinics are becoming increasingly popular as a way to improve access to care, reduce healthcare costs, and improve patient outcomes. 

Nurses can explore the feasibility of establishing nurse-led clinics in their communities and develop plans for implementation.

5. Implementing Evidence-Based Practice

Evidence-based practice involves using the best available evidence to inform clinical decision-making. 

Nurses can investigate ways to implement evidence-based practice in their healthcare settings.

Also, it develop interventions to promote its adoption.

6. Addressing Health Disparities 

Health disparities exist across many different populations. 

Therefore, nurses can play an important role in addressing these disparities. 

Nurses can investigate ways to improve access to care and reduce health disparities among underserved populations.

7. Managing Chronic Conditions

Chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension are increasingly prevalent. Also, they can have serious consequences for patients. 

Nurses can develop interventions to help patients manage their chronic conditions and improve their overall health outcomes.

8. Reducing Readmissions

Hospital readmissions can be costly and disruptive for patients. In such situations, nurses can explore ways to reduce the incidence of readmissions. 

This could involve interventions such as improved discharge planning or better communication between healthcare providers.

9. Improving End-Of-Life Care

End-of-life care is an important aspect of nursing practice. 

Nurses can explore ways to improve the quality of care provided to patients at the end of life. 

This could involve developing educational materials for patients and families. It involves implementing palliative care interventions.

10. Promoting Healthy Lifestyles

Nurses can play an important role in promoting healthy lifestyles among their patients. 

This could involve developing interventions to promote healthy eating habits, physical activity, and smoking cessation.

11. Developing Telehealth Programs

Telehealth programs can help improve access to care and reduce healthcare costs. 

Nurses can explore ways to develop and implement telehealth programs in their healthcare settings.

12. Enhancing Care Coordination

Care coordination is an important aspect of healthcare delivery. 

Nurses can investigate ways to improve care coordination between healthcare providers and patient.

13. Developing Care Pathways

Care pathways provide a structured approach to patient care. 

They can help improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. 

Nurses can develop care pathways for specific health conditions or patient populations.

14. Improving Pain Management

Pain management is an important aspect of nursing practice.

Nurses can develop interventions to improve pain management practices.

This will reduce the incidence of pain-related complications.

15. Enhancing Nursing Leadership

Nurses can play a leadership role in healthcare delivery. 

Nurses can explore ways to enhance their leadership skills and promote nursing leadership in their healthcare settings.

16. Developing Nursing Research Studies

Nursing research studies can help advance nursing knowledge and improve patient outcomes. 

Nurses can develop research studies that investigate important

17. Child Care

Child care is the provision of education, supervision, and enrichment for children outside their homes on a regular basis. 

It provides experiences for each child’s social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development.

This career is a great choice for those who want to work with kids and make an impact on their lives. 

It can also be a great way to earn money while working with your own schedule.

If you’re a nursing student looking to write a research paper on child care, there are plenty of topics to choose from. 

However, it’s important to do your research first and find relevant sources.

18. Health Promotion

Health promotion is a broad field that focuses on enabling people to improve their health. 

It involves a wide range of social and environmental interventions.

Nurses play an important role in health promotion and can significantly impact the well-being of society. 

For example, nurses can educate individuals on the importance of preventing under-five mortality by providing them with information about healthy eating and physical activities.

To be successful, a health promotion initiative needs to have a sound epidemiological basis. 

It also needs to be well planned and implemented.

19. Mental Health

Mental health is a major concern for nurses in many settings. 

In addition to addressing patients’ medical needs, you also need to be able to connect with those who have mental health problems, as well as their families and friends.

20. Nurse Burnout

Nurse burnout is a widespread phenomenon that negatively impacts nurses on both an individual and professional level. 

It can hinder job performance, change how nurses view their role, and even put patients in danger.

Nurses work long hours and accept too many responsibilities, often sacrificing their personal life to help others. 

This is especially problematic in today’s highly demanding healthcare industry.

There are a number of factors that contribute to nurse burnout, including poor work environments and unsupportive leadership. 

The best nursing project topics involve addressing these factors and developing solutions that improve the overall health of nurses.

21. Emergency Nursing

Emergency nurses are responsible for managing a wide range of patients with different needs. 

It includes those who have suffered an injury or disease. 

Their duties include rapid patient assessment, making accurate diagnoses, allocating priorities for care and delivering treatment interventions.

As with general nursing, emergency nurses must have a variety of specialist skills to meet the unique needs of their patients. 

They are also required to work within the assessment – planning – intervention – evaluation (APIE) framework.

22. Human Resources Management

Human resources management is the process of employing and training employees, developing workplace policies and retaining workers. 

It also includes adherence to employment laws and worker protection.

The growing number of federal, state and local employment laws has posed significant challenges for HR professionals. 

This includes monitoring and complying with new legislation, classifying workers correctly, responding to employee grievances and providing a safe work environment.

For this reason, human resource management is a popular topic for nursing students to write about for their capstone projects. 

Research on this topic will help students gain a deeper understanding of the role of human resources and how it impacts an organization’s success.

23. Nursing Capstone

When students are in the final phase of their nursing degree, they handle a capstone project. 

This is a paper that showcases their ability to do independent research and to write a detailed analysis of an issue in the field.

Generally, the capstone project is a poster or PowerPoint presentation. 

It includes a background, problem, and purpose; methodology; and key findings and implications to nursing practice or research.

When writing a nursing capstone paper, students are advised to use multiple sources and avoid plagiarism. However, this is not always easy. This is the last nursing project among other nursing project topics.

24. The Role of Nurses in Promoting End-of-Life Care and Advance Care Planning

The main aim of this project is to explore the role of nurses in promoting end-of-life care and advance care planning. It will assess nurses’ knowledge and attitudes towards end-of-life discussions, evaluate the impact of nurse-led interventions on patient and family satisfaction, and identify barriers to effective end-of-life communication.

25. Enhancing Geriatric Nursing Care in Long-Term Care Facilities

This project will focus on improving geriatric nursing care in long-term care facilities. It will examine the unique needs of older adults, explore strategies to enhance person-centered care and quality of life, and evaluate the impact of specialized geriatric nursing training programs.

26. Exploring the Role of Advanced Practice Nurses in Primary Care

This project will examine the role of advanced practice nurses, such as nurse practitioners, in providing comprehensive primary care. It will evaluate their impact on patient outcomes, access to care, and healthcare costs.

27. Enhancing Cultural Sensitivity in Nursing Practice

This project aims to promote cultural sensitivity and competence in nursing care. It will explore nurses’ attitudes towards cultural diversity, exploring their knowledge of different cultural practices and beliefs, and propose strategies for providing culturally sensitive care to various patient populations.

28. Improving Maternal and Child Health Outcomes

The main aim of this project is to examine the role of maternal-child health nurses in improving maternal and child health outcomes. It will explore the impact of nurse-led interventions, such as prenatal education and postpartum support, on maternal and infant well-being.

29. Nurses as Health Educators

This project will focus on the role of nurses as health educators in promoting healthy lifestyles among individuals and communities. It will explore the effectiveness of nurse-led health education programs in preventing chronic diseases and improving overall population health.

30. Enhancing Nursing Leadership in Healthcare Organizations

This project is used to explore strategies for enhancing nursing leadership within healthcare organizations. It will examine the qualities and skills required for effective nurse leaders and explore the impact of strong nursing leadership on organizational culture, staff satisfaction, and patient outcomes.

31. Promoting Health Equity

This project will explore the role of nurses in advocating for health equity among underserved populations. It will examine the impact of nursing interventions, such as community outreach programs and policy advocacy, on reducing health disparities and improving access to care.

• Sociology Project Topics
• Mass Communication Project Topics

Some Of The Elements Of Nursing Project 

Nursing projects typically involve several key elements, including:

1. Identification Of The Problem Or Issue

This involves identifying an area of healthcare that could benefit from improvement or investigation.

The problem or issue should be clearly defined and well-understood before proceeding with the project.

2. Literature Review 

Conducting a comprehensive review of the relevant literature is an important element of nursing projects. 

This allows the nurse to learn about best practices, and identify potential solutions to the problem.

3. Project Design

The nurse must design a project plan that outlines the project’s goals, objectives, methods, and timeline. 

This plan should be based on the information gathered during the literature review. Also, it should be feasible given the resources available.

4. Data Collection And Analysis

Data collection and analysis are critical elements of nursing projects. 

This involves gathering data related to the problem or issue, analyzing the data, and drawing conclusions based on the findings.

5. Implementation Of Interventions

Based on the findings of the project, the nurse may implement interventions to address the problem or issue. 

This could involve changes in healthcare delivery, staff education, or the use of new technologies or treatments.

6. Evaluation

Finally, the nurse must evaluate the effectiveness of the project in achieving its goals and objectives. 

This may involve gathering additional data and comparing outcomes before and after the intervention. 

It may lead to further refinements or modifications to the project.

The ultimate goal of nursing projects is to improve patient care and outcomes.

Ways To Make Nursing Project Efficiently

After searching one of the most appropriate nursing project ideas, work on making the project efficiently. Here are some ways to make nursing projects more efficient:

1. Start With A Clear Problem Statement

The problem statement should be clear, concise, and well-defined. 

This will help focus the project and ensure that efforts are not wasted on non-essential tasks.

2. Set Realistic Goals And Timelines

The project goals and timelines should be realistic and achievable. 

This will help ensure that the project stays on track. Also, the progress is being made towards the desired outcomes.

3. Involve Stakeholders

It’s important to involve stakeholders, such as patients, families, and other healthcare professionals in the project.

This will help ensure that the project is relevant to the needs of those who will be impacted by it.

4. Use Evidence-Based Practices

Evidence-based practices should be used whenever possible. 

This will help ensure that the interventions being implemented are supported by research.

Also, they are likely to be effective.

5. Plan For Data Collection And Analysis 

Data collection and analysis should be planned from the outset of the project.

This will help ensure that the necessary data is being collected. 

Also, it is being analyzed in a way that will yield meaningful results.

6. Monitor Progress And Adjust As Needed 

The project should be monitored regularly to ensure that progress is being made towards the goals. 

If the project is not progressing as expected, adjustments may need to be made to the project plan.

7. Communicate Regularly With Team Members

Regular communication with team members is essential to keep everyone informed and engaged in the project. 

This will help ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals. 

Also, the progress is being made efficiently.

By following these tips, nursing projects can be completed efficiently and effectively.

Also, this  will  leads to improved patient outcomes and better healthcare delivery.

This is the end of this post, which is about nursing project topics. On the other hand, nursing project topics can provide nurses with an opportunity to explore important issues and investigate best practices. 

It helps to develop and implement interventions that improve patient outcomes and enhance the quality of care. 

The  nursing project topics outlined here represent just a few of the many areas where nurses can make a meaningful impact on healthcare delivery. 

 It is important for nurses to continue to engage in nursing projects and research studies.

Also, efficient nursing project topics  play a critical role in advancing nursing knowledge and driving positive change in healthcare delivery.

Q1. What are some innovative nursing project topics?

Some innovative nursing project topics include virtual reality in nursing education, telemedicine in healthcare delivery, digital health solutions for chronic disease management, artificial intelligence in nursing practice, social media in patient engagement, cultural competency in nursing care, and mindfulness practices in nursing.

Q2. Can someone collaborate with healthcare professionals on my nursing project?

Yes, collaborating with healthcare professionals can enhance the quality and relevance of your nursing project. You can contact healthcare providers, researchers, and policymakers to gather insights and perspectives on your topic. Collaborating with other nursing students or colleagues is also beneficial.

Q3. How to choose a unique nursing project topic?

To choose a unique nursing project topic, consider your personal experiences, interests, and areas of curiosity within the nursing field. Look for gaps in current research or emerging healthcare trends that intrigue you. Brainstorm ideas with your peers, mentors, or healthcare professionals to uncover unique and innovative topics.

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List of 500 Plus Nursing Capstone Project Ideas to Consider as a nursing Student

In most nursing schools, you might be required to work on a capstone project, often known as a senior capstone. It is usually a prerequisite for your final course in a degree program that requires its completion. Most nursing students prefer undertaking a capstone nursing course.

A capstone project is an individualized research project on a specific nursing topic of your professional or personal interest. It is usually completed within between 4 to 12 weeks, depending on the nursing school and the program you are pursuing. It is usually part of a project-based nursing capstone course that runs within a selected duration and is led by a capstone instructor. The first step of writing a capstone is choosing a topic that focuses on the quality improvement process, procedure, or policy and creating a nursing capstone project proposal/nursing project proposal or presentation.

A standard nursing capstone project is between 20 to 100 pages, but that depends on the institutional requirements and the preference of your capstone instructor. It is a chance to show what you have learned, enhance your professional development, specialize in your nursing career, and investigate/solve community-related health issues. The capstone project paper is based on evidence-based practice (EBP) project , which makes it necessary to follow the PICO format . Therefore, the first step is choosing the topic when doing the capstone at BSN, MSN, or DNP level.

This guide is about the first step, specifically to help you choose a good and manageable topic for your nursing capstone project. Cognizant that selecting a topic depends on the area of specialization that you are interested in (Family nursing, forensic nursing, informatics, pediatrics, nursing administration and management, nursing education, or public health, etc.), we have categorized the ideas and topics into nursing specialties to make it easier for you to brainstorm and choose a good topic for your nursing capstone paper.

General Nursing Capstone Ideas

• Patient-controlled fluid restriction monitoring
• The effects of tai chi on cardiovascular risk factors of hypertension, BMI, anxiety, depression, quality of life, and its safety and feasibility
• Exercise to improve cancer-related fatigue
• CPM machine protocol for knee replacements
• Managing hypertension with lifestyle modifications
• Self-engagement to decrease blood pressure readings and reduce non-compliance
• The application of the ABCDE bundle in ICU
• Controlled donation after circulatory death
• Effectiveness of using virtual reality in oncology settings
• Impacts of the clinically aligned pain assessment tool (CAPA) on pain management
• The influence of "deliberate practice" on skill competency
• Consequences of massage therapy for agitation in dementia
• Impact of virtual simulation on knowledge transfer
• Increased discharge compliance through mental health follow-up
• Impacts of early mobilization
• Impacts of bedside shift reports on patient safety
• Effects of physical activity and patient education on rheumatoid arthritis
• Benefits of non-physician-led hypertension management
• Reducing the rates of use of emergency departments by homeless and at-risk homeless through screening
• Improving discharge timeliness and patient outcomes
• Role of Nurses in policymaking
• Video education on fever to empower and educate caregivers
• Protecting the health and safety of nurses working with at-risk populations

Forensic Nursing Capstone Project Ideas

Forensic nursing is a very lucrative area of specialization in nursing. If you consider specializing in forensic nursing to become a Nurse Death Investigator (NDI), sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE), legal nurse consultant, forensic psychiatry nurse, correctional nurse consultant, forensic nurse educator, or forensic nurse examiner, consider these topics and ideas for your capstone. It is not exhaustive but gives you an upper hand when selecting a suitable topic for your forensic nursing capstone project. If you are looking for nursing ebp project ideas related to forensic nursing, check out these:

• Impacts of forensic nurses in preventing intimate partner violence
• Role of forensic nurses in developing community interventions to prevent elderly abuse and neglect
• Coordinated community response as a strategy to address elderly abuse
• Role of forensic nurses in identifying and preventing sexual abuse in pediatric emergency departments
• Does Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) training affect the attitudes of Emergency Department nurses toward sexual assault survivors?
• How sexual assault nurse examiners practice trauma-informed care
• Roles of forensic outpatient nurses
• Use of simulation in training forensic nurses
• Attitudes of forensic nurses working at psychiatric facilities
• Benefits of incorporating forensic nurses as part of the multidisciplinary teams in psychiatric health facilities
• Importance of forensic nurse research
• Collaboration between forensic nurses and law enforcement agencies
• Implementation of sexual assault services in a clinic setting
• Effects of an emotional education program on prisoners
• Occupational injuries and workplace violence among forensic nurses
• Stress and burnout among forensic nurses working in mental health facilities
• Role of forensic nurses in examining medical error
• Role of forensic nurse examiner in patient education for victims of sexual assault
• The rhetoric of therapy in forensic psychiatric nursing
• Evaluation of a Standardized Patient Simulation on Undergraduate Nursing Students' Knowledge and Confidence On Intimate Partner Violence
• Evidence-based practice in forensic mental health nursing
• Standards of practice for forensic mental health nurses
• Innovative assessments for retention of sexual assault nurse examiners
• Collection and preservation of evidence by forensic nurses
• Compassion fatigue among pediatric forensic nurse examiners
• Investigating chronic traumatic encephalopathy among national football league players
• Nurses and Medicolegal Death Investigation
• Strategies for documenting evidence used by forensic nurses
• Forensic nurses as expert witnesses in courts of law
• Role of forensic nurses in research in correctional facilities
• Causes and consequences of forensic nurse shortage
• Ethical issues encountered by forensic nurses in correctional facilities
• De-escalation and limit-setting in forensic mental health units
• How forensic nurses can prevent human and organ trafficking
• Risk factors for domestic minor sex trafficking in the United States
• Mental illness as a vulnerability for sexual assault
• Cardiovascular risk factors among prisoners
• Establishing the therapeutic relationship between a forensic nurse and a patient
• Benefits of a holistic approach to training forensic nurse examiners
• Impacts of trauma-informed care training on the competency and confidence of forensic nurses
• Forensic nursing interventions with patients with personality disorder
• A forensic nurse's perspective of trauma-informed care approaches to medico legal death investigation
• How forensic nurses handle families and loved ones of those who succumb in emergency departments
• Forensic nurses and human rights abuse
• Responsibilities of forensic nurses
• SANE vs. non-SANE forensic nurses
• Required skills for forensic psychiatric nurse
• Veracity for children in pediatric forensics
• Strategies for screening children for abuse and neglect
• Trauma-Informed Care Education in Baccalaureate Nursing Curricula in the United States
• Understanding nonfatal strangulation
• Role of forensic nurses in advocating for pregnant women in correctional facilities
• The professional identity of prison nurses
• Role of education and continuous professional development in strengthening the science of forensic nursing
• Stress and burnout in forensic health nursing
• Using telehealth for sexual assault forensic examinations
• Promoting professional quality of life and resiliency in sexual assault nurse examiners
• Child labor trafficking essentials for forensic nurses
• Sexual assault nurse examiner forensic examinations for immigrant victims

You can find more topics concerning forensic nursing from Topics by Science.gov

Critical Care Nursing Capstone Project Ideas

Critical care nursing, also called intensive care nursing , is a domain of nursing practice that deals with seriously ill patients. If you are interested in pursuing critical care/ICU nursing, you can focus your capstone project on a related topic. Here are some ideas for critical nursing or ICU nursing capstone project.

• Impacts of critical incident stress debriefing for nurses in acute care departments
• Strategies to address stress and burnout among critical care nursing staff
• Role of critical care nurses in palliative care
• Nursing interventions to prevent central line bloodstream infection (CLABSI) in the ICU settings
• Benefits of SNF infection prevention online training on CLABSI prevention
• The role of law and policy in addressing healthcare-associated infections in critical care
• Impact of needleless connector change frequency on central line-associated bloodstream infection rate
• Effects of surveillance of hospital-acquired CLABSI in pediatric NICU
• Impacts of CLABSI on length of stay and readmission in ICU
• Using Nurse-Driven Protocols to Eliminate Routine Gastric Residual Volume Measurements
• Implementing a standardized communication tool in an intensive care unit
• Decreasing 30-day readmission rates in patients with heart failure
• Strategies for assessing discomfort in critically ill patients
• Increasing nurses' knowledge of and self-confidence with family presence during pediatric resuscitation
• The link between perceived and actual risk assessment by ICU nurses and the use of catheters
• How critical care nurses can prevent blood contamination during transfusion
• Risk factors and preventive measures for pressure ulcers among patients in critical care units
• Factors Leading to critical nurses shortage in the USA
• Compassion fatigue among ICU nurses and strategies to prevent it
• Pain assessment by critical care nurses through physical and physiological monitoring
• The use of CDSS in decision-making within the ICU
• Critical Nurses' education and Competencies in the USA
• Impacts of nurse-patient Ratio on patient safety and Outcomes in critical care units
• Prevalence of nurse burnout syndrome among ICU nurses
• Strategies to help critical nurses achieve excellence
• Collaborative decision-making between ICU nurses and patients in end-of-life care
• Attitudes of critical care nurses on terminally ill patients
• Hand hygiene adherence among critical care nurses
• How critical care nurses can leverage big data and AI to improve safety and outcomes
• Strategies to optimize intubation in the ICU
• The link between ICU staffing and patient outcomes
• Quality improvement strategies for neonatal ICU
• The application of telemedicine in ICU settings
• Strategies to optimize mechanical ventilation in the neonatal ICU
• Patient education strategies for children with adult patients in the ICU
• ICU nurses assist patients in making the DNR orders
• Payment Structure and morale among ICU nurses
• Challenges experienced by ICU nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Intensive care nurses' knowledge and practice on endotracheal suctioning of the intubated patient
• Benefits of promoting shared decision-making in the ICU
• Intensive care nurses' experiences and perceptions of delirium and delirium care.
• Reasons why nurses should have empathy with newborn families in neonatal ICU
• Nurses' Perceptions of Telemedicine Adoption in the Intensive Care Unit
• Importance of allowing ICU nurses to grieve when patients die
• The perceptions and attitudes of ICU nurses on the use of ICU diaries
• The experiences of new nurses in ICU units
• Strategies ICU nurses use to screen delirium among ICU patients
• Impacts of brownout on ICU nurses
• Attitudes of ICU nurses on caring for patients with mental illness
• Impacts of hemodynamic monitoring training for ICU nurses on patient safety and outcomes
• Readiness of novice nurses to practice in ICU
• Nurses' experiences of caring for patients during a prolonged critical illness
• Oral practices for ICU nurses
• Caring for non-sedated mechanically ventilated patients: Attitudes of ICU nurses
• Knowledge and practice of physical restraints in ICU

Nursing Education Topics and Ideas

Nursing education is a vast area. You can never run out of ideas to explore in your nursing education capstone. Here are some potential rn to bsn capstone project ideas to consider:

• The impacts of the Nurse Residency Program
• Undergraduate pediatric nursing education: Issues, challenges, and recommendations
• How mentorship post-residency affects the experiences of new graduates transitioning from novice to competent
• Benefits of mindful meditation for nursing students
• A new leadership development model for nursing education
• Evidence-based practice and quality improvement in nursing education
• Role of stakeholder engagement in nursing education
• Strategies to improve nurse to patient ratio through nursing education
• Use of simulation in nursing education
• Effectiveness of a venous thromboembolism course using flipped classroom with nursing students
• Perceptions of the use of reflective learning journals in online graduate nursing education
• Effects of nursing education on students' pain management knowledge
• Cultural competencies for graduate nursing education
• Implications of virtual reality and augmented reality in nursing education
• The use of gamification in education with digital badges
• Strategies to dismantle racism and disparities in nursing education
• Importance of teaching reflective practice among nursing students
• Arts-based inquiry in nursing education
• Supporting the integrative health care curriculum in schools of nursing
• Educational pathways to becoming a registered nurse
• Strategies to make nursing education lucrative for the millennial generation
• How educators can influence the success of nursing students
• Philosophical perspectives of nursing education
• Use of social media and technology in nursing education
• Should nurses stay longer in college?
• Faculty shortage in nursing schools
• Impacts of the scarcity of clinical experiences on the competency of new nurses
• The gap between education and practice and the nursing staff shortage
• Benefits of integrating climate change topics in nursing curricula
• Impacts of problem-based learning models in nursing schools
• Benefits of promoting multicultural nursing education
• Integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion topics into an undergraduate nursing research course
• Benefits of nurses having a personal philosophy in nursing school
• Using active simulation to enhance the learning of nursing ethics

You can also consider topics related to mental health issues or mentally ill patients. The goal is to find the best topic to stand out among the nursing capstone projects submitted to your professor. 

Health Promotion Ideas for Capstone Projects

• Implementing community cooking courses to prevent nutritional knowledge deficit
• Promoting the use of honey in diabetes foot ulcer management
• Application of the health belief model in tailoring nursing interventions to prevent adolescent smoking
• Using an educational program based on the health belief model to improve the preventive behaviors of nurses against cardiovascular diseases
• Factors affecting health promotion activities by nurses
• Attitudes of registered nurses and midwives toward health promotion targeting obese patients
• Attitudes of Nurses towards health Promotion
• Role of Nurses in health promotion and Disease prevention
• Health promotion strategies to reduce smoking among nurse practitioners
• Roles of Nurses in preventive care
• Impacts of nursing advocacy on health promotion
• Role of advanced practice nurse in health promotion
• Healthy lifestyle behaviors and health promotion attitudes in preregistered nurses
• Practical approaches to health promotion in nursing
• Translating social ecological theory into guidelines for community health promotion
• Health promotion strategies that work best with indigenous populations
• Ethical dilemmas in health promotion by nurses
• Strategies to promote mental health promotion in psychiatric facilities

Nursing Shortage and Burnout Topics and Ideas for Capstone

• Benefits of having an official mentoring program on nursing retention and job satisfaction
• Impacts of burnout and fatigue on patient outcomes
• Results of implementing patient acuity tool on nurse satisfaction
• Effects of meaningful recognition on med-surgical unit's staff satisfaction and retention
• Benefits of compassion fatigue education on oncology nurses

Women's Health Topics and Ideas for Capstone

• Benefits of early screening for postpartum depression
• Impacts of patient education on reducing postpartum depression
• Breastfeeding and consumption of sweetened foods
• Challenges facing women with disabilities in exclusive breastfeeding
• Relationship between the mental health of the mother and the outcomes of a pregnancy
• Promoting physical activity and healthy lifestyles among women
• Helping women address the challenges that come with menopause: perspectives of a nurse
• Long-term effects of preeclampsia on mother and neonate
• Strategies to prevent preeclampsia
• Preeclampsia screening within healthcare facilities
• Diagnosis and management of atypical preeclampsia-eclampsia
• Cardiovascular Sequels During and After Preeclampsia
• Impacts of superimposed preeclampsia on women
• Preeclampsia and maternal risk of breast cancer
• Nursing care approach for women with preeclampsia and eclampsia
• Administration of NSAIDs during pregnancy and the initiation of lactation
• Diagnosis and management of fetal alcohol syndrome
• Educating women on the dangers of consuming alcohol when pregnant
• Sexual dysfunction in women with alcohol dependence syndrome
• Impacts of female genital mutilation on the reproductive health of women
• Assessment and prevention of postpartum depression among pregnant women
• Etiology and consequences of postpartum depression
• Use of oxytocin in the management of postpartum depression
• Postpartum depression and breastfeeding efficacy
• Diagnosis and treatment of cytomegalovirus during pregnancy
• Relaxation techniques for pain management during labor
• Benefits of multiple-micronutrient supplementation for women during pregnancy
• Methods of milk expression for lactating women
• Effects of disorder eating on the fertility of women
• Hypertension disorders of pregnancy
• Implementation of the maternal-fetal triage index to improve obstetric triage
• Strategies to prevent obstetric hemorrhage
• Childbirth experiences of women with an autism spectrum disorder in acute care settings

Pediatrics Topics and Ideas for Capstone

• Efficacy of using music therapy in NICU
• Pain and Sedation Scales in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
• Impacts of skin-to-skin contact as a method for body warmth for infants with low birth weight
• How to maintain normothermia among newly born infants
• Effects of very early skin-to-skin contact on the success of breastfeeding
• Chest-to-back skin-to-skin contact in regulating body temperature for preterm babies
• Early intervention to achieve thermal balance in term neonates
• Benefits of infant massage for infants and parents in the NICU

Patient Falls Topics and Ideas for Capstone

Patient falls management is another excellent area to consider for your capstone. You should inquire into some of the best strategies to solve patient falls associated with mortality and morbidity. Reducing falls is an indicator of quality improvement in healthcare settings. Here are some ideas and topics to get you started:

• Impact of Hourly Rounding on Fall Rates
• Evidence-based fall management strategies for patients aging in place
• Nursing-led interventions to prevent falls in clinical settings
• A multifactorial approach to fall management in healthcare settings
• Impacts of patient education on fall rates
• Multi-professional team approach in fall management
• Use of telehealth to assess and address fall risk among elderly patients
• Fall risk assessment and patient safety
• Evaluation and management of fall risk in primary care settings
• The link between polypharmacy and fall rates among older adults
• Rates of falls and hospital readmissions among the older adults
• Utilizing technology to prevent falls in healthcare settings
• Benefits of patient-centered fall prevention toolkit in reducing falls and injuries among patients
• Fall Prevention Decision-Making of Acute Care Registered Nurses
• Occupational therapy falls prevention interventions for community-dwelling older adults
• Multifactorial falls prevention programs for older adults presenting to the emergency department with a fall
• Fall prevention strategies for Emergency departments
• The effectiveness of exercise for fall prevention in nursing home residents
• Role of physical therapists and aromatherapy for fall prevention in older people
• Use of radar and sensor technology to prevent falls in primary care settings
• Use of alarms to prevent falls on medical-surgical floors
• Applying bed exit alarms to prevent falls
• Using bathroom safety constructions to prevent elderly falls
• Application of intelligent socks system to reduce falls in clinical settings
• Addressing the nutritional needs of elderly patients to prevent falls
• Using smartphones to detect and prevent falls in homes and hospitals
• Use of robots in fall management

Patient Education Capstone Project Ideas

• Impacts of polypharmacy teaching in reducing adverse effects at an acute setting
• Benefits of patient education in promoting healthy lifestyles
• Patient education and reduced falls within home settings
• Impacts of using social media to facilitate patient education
• Role of patient-centered education in improving adherence and outcomes of patients in long-term care facilities
• Patient education in wound management and outcomes
• Impact of patient education on utilization of nonpharmacological modalities for persistent pain management
• Patient education and self-care management practices
• Benefits of patient education in medical rehabilitation
• Therapeutic patient education and outcomes in heart failure patients
• Benefits of multi-professional approach in diabetes patient education
• The benefits and challenges of providing patient education digitally
• Factors affecting patient education in healthcare settings
• Using healthcare information infrastructure to deliver education to patients with chronic conditions
• Impacts of using electronic health records to facilitate education for patients in rural areas
• The Effects of Tailored Diabetic Education in the Patient with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Emergency Nursing Topics and Ideas for Capstone

If you are struggling to develop a perfect topic for your capstone project and are interested in emergency nursing, you can consider these capstone ideas and topics. Emergency nurse practitioners often face many challenges, including workplace incivility, lateral violence, bullying, brownout, stress, and high workload, which is a great place to start. You can also address their roles in emergency preparedness and management. Here are some ideas:

• Solutions and strategies to address Emergency Department overcrowding
• Causes and consequences of emergency room overcrowding
• Nurse-led strategies to prevent emergency room overcrowding
• Evidence-based approaches to address ED overcrowding
• Challenges for patient onboarding in the ED
• Use of technology and data modeling to address ED overcrowding
• Use of RFID technology to reduce ED overcrowding
• Application of telemedicine in addressing ER overcrowding
• Innovations to reduce demand and crowding in emergency care
• The use of wearable tech to address overcrowding in the ER
• Strategies to improve access to ER in rural areas
• Role of ER nurses in disaster management
• Factors affecting emergency nurses' perceptions of the triage systems
• Attitudes and skills of ER nurses in triage decision-making
• Perceptions of ER nurses in the assessment of the risk of emerging infectious disease in ED
• Role of ER nurses in disease surveillance
• Role of ER Nurses in disease outbreaks
• Strategies to prevent ER nurses from burnout and stress
• Addressing compassion satisfaction and fatigue among ER nurses
• Benefits of cultural competence training for ER nurses
• Feelings and emotions of ER nurses related to dying and death of patients
• Factors causing high turnover among emergency room nurses
• Pediatric pain management strategies that ER nurses managing pediatric patients use
• Strategies to address work fatigue and musculoskeletal disorders among ER nurses
• Strategies to improve communication skills among ER nurses and other healthcare practitioners in the ED
• Enhancing systems thinking for undergraduate nursing students using Friday night at the ER
• How ER nurses can apply nursing theories when caring for patients
• The impact of reflective journaling and diaries for ER nurses
• Perceptions and attitudes of ER nurses on teamwork in ED
• Causes of occupational stress among ER nurses
• Factors affecting radiation protection behaviors among ER nurses
• How ER nurses provide care to patients with self-harm
• Impacts of incivility, bullying, and workplace violence on effectiveness and performance of ER nurses
• Strategies to foster collegiality and civility
• Impacts of educational intervention through online training on incivility among ER nurses
• Lateral violence among ER nurses
• Interventions to reduce the risk of violence toward emergency department staff
• The emergency nurse's perception of incivility in the workplace
• Impacts of cognitive rehearsal training for ER nurses on confronting bullying and lateral violence
• Importance of implementing a psychiatric triage algorithm
• Use of simulation-based emergency to train ER nurses on responding to emergency situations
• Benefits of using emergency nursing competency scale for school nurses
• The lived experiences of ER nurses encountering patients with mental illness in prehospital emergency care
• Knowledge and practice of nursing students regarding bioterrorism and emergency preparedness
• Impacts of continuous competency assessment and education for ER nurses
• Emergency nurses' knowledge, attitude, and perceived barriers regarding pain Management in Resource-Limited Settings
• Effect of problem-based learning on severity classification agreement by triage nurses
• Effects of a standardized patient-based simulation in anaphylactic shock management for new graduate ER nurses
• Emergency Room nurses' perceptions of leadership, teamwork, turnover intention and patient safety
• Attitudes of ER nurses towards patient safety
• Factors affecting patient satisfaction in nurse-led triage in ED
• ER Nurses' experience with emergency room psychiatry services
• Impacts of CPR training for ER nurses on patient outcomes
• Nurses' attitudes to supporting people who are suicidal in emergency departments

Telemetry Capstone Ideas and Topics

• Improving cardiac telemetry use
• Improving Quiet-at-Night on a telemetry unit
• Reducing Cardiac Telemetry Alarm Fatigue
• Impacts of alarm fatigues on patient safety
• Evaluation of Telemetry Utilization in Medical-Surgical Unit
• Customizing Physiologic Alarms in the Emergency Department
• Impacts of default order set settings on telemetry ordering
• Strategies for transitioning Novice Nurses to Expert Nurses in Progressive Telemetry Care
• Preventing stress and burnout among nurses in the telemetry unit
• Strategies to optimize the use of telemetry in nursing training
• Is simulation efficient for telemetry nurse trainees?
• An Evidence-Based Approach to Reducing Cardiac Telemetry Alarm Fatigue.
• Physiologic monitoring alarm load on medical/surgical floors of a community hospital.
• Impacts of alarm management program on alarm fatigue among telemetry and ICU RNs
• Benefits of customizing physiologic alarms in ED
• Effect of a Nurse-Managed Telemetry Discontinuation Protocol on Monitoring Duration, Alarm Frequency, and Adverse Patient Events
• Impacts of introducing patient-customized monitoring bundle in decreasing alarm fatigue in ICU
• Alternative strategies for cardiac alarm management on telemetry units
• Role of monitor watchers in decreasing alarm burden of nurses
• Stress and burnout among telemetry nurses

Geriatrics/Gerontology Topics and Ideas for Capstone

• Perspectives of nursing students undertaking a practicum at a gerontology facility on their experience
• Geriatric assessment in daily oncology practice for nurses and allied health care professionals
• Hospital nurses' perception of the geriatric nurse practice environment
• Use of a screening tool and primary health care gerontology nurse specialist for high-needs older people
• Competency and skills of nurses practicing in elderly homes
• Assessing the perceptions and attitudes among geriatric resource nurses
• Attitudes of nurses on physical restraint for hospitalized elderly people
• Role of geriatric nurses in addressing falls among elderly patients
• Strategies to reduce restraint use for older adults in acute care
• Strategies to care for elderly patients with schizophrenia and dementia
• Addressing the nutritional needs of elderly adults who are homeless through a community nursing center
• Strategies to promote physical activity among the elderly patients
• How to improve the quality of life of elderly adults who are veterans
• Caring for elderly adults with cerebrovascular accidents
• Burnout and stress among registered nurses working in nursing homes
• Addressing social isolation and loneliness among elderly patients
• The application of robots in dementia care
• Benefits of administering vitamin C supplements to elderly adults
• Impacts of tai chi and yoga on improving the health of elderly patients
• Nonpharmacological interventions to improve sleep patterns among elderly patients
• Effectiveness of geriatric nurses getting trained in dementia care
• Use of social media to reduce depression among elderly adults
• Role of community health nurses in addressing osteoporosis among the elderly populations

To find more topics you can search for nursing capstone project examples pdf online and peer-reviewed nursing journals. You can be inspired to choose a unique, memorable, and manageable topic.

Final Remarks!

For topics on nursing informatics, check out our exclusive blog article, where we share a list of nursing informatics topics that you can choose for your capstone project.

Related Reading:

• Critical nursing research topics for nursing papers
• Writing an outstanding personal nursing philosophy paper.
• Is WGU BSN worth it?
• Tips and tricks for shadow health assessments

The main goal of a capstone project is for the nursing student to demonstrate their ability to identify specific health issues, conduct community assessments, and develop evidence-based strategies, interventions, or plans to address these critical health problems in the healthcare environment.

It is also a chance for students to demonstrate their awareness of the importance of nursing research and the nursing profession/practice in addressing societal challenges. It also helps students disseminate knowledge on pertinent issues that face the rapidly changing healthcare industry from the nursing perspective within a scholarly environment. A nursing student who completes a nursing capstone is ready to undertake leadership, administration, management, and educational functions, which promotes career growth and development.

We understand that the senior nursing capstone is an intensive and demanding project, so we have writers who can help you at every stage. As you work with your nursing capstone instructor, preceptor, or supervisor (visiting nurse), our nursing capstone project writers will work with you to produce relevant papers.

After choosing your topic from the list above or developing one of your own, you can get help from our website. As a leading nursing writing website , we guarantee 100% confidential, private, reliable, and available service. You will also get 100% original paper written from scratch using nursing lingo, format, and peer-reviewed sources published in the last 5 years.

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Community health nursing course class projects have community impact

Five groups of Eastern Mennonite University nursing students implemented community health projects that reached hundreds this fall.

For their community health nursing course’s semester-long “community project” with a local agency, the students defined and described a patient population, conducted a needs assessment in their project area, formulated an intervention plan, and, once the plan was implemented, evaluated the intervention.

The five groups in the course this fall focused on a variety of public health issues in as many settings – and “directly touched the lives of over 300 individuals in our community ranging in age from five to 80-plus years old,” said Professor Kate Clark :

• At Gemeinschaft home, a group provided smoking cessation and heart health education to men recently released from prison, conducting a group education program that included interactive teaching sessions;
• With teenagers at the local Boys and Girls Club, a group created and played a healthy choices game and completed several cooking projects to make healthy snacks from commonly available, cheap foods;
• At Park Place, a residential home for adults with mental illness, a group provided teaching sessions about healthy eating, plus worked to make small health improvements in the residents’ favorite foods;
• At the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC), a group surveyed residents to identify gaps in the communication and marketing practices of VMRC’s Farm at Willow Run, which provides VMRC dining services with fresh produce; and
• At Eastern Mennonite School (EMS), a group conducted vision screenings, plus organized a health fair on various topics.

For their project at EMS, senior nursing majors Louisa Quaynor , Connor Faint and Laurie Serrell screened kindergarten, third, seventh and tenth graders, and identified students in need of vision care.

Working across grade levels developed the group’s communication skills, Serrell said, as “kindergartners definitely require a different approach than tenth graders.”

The group also organized a health fair about influenza prevention and the health hazards of electronic cigarette usage among teens, in particular JUULing. JUUL is a brand name of an inconspicuous but powerful e-cigarette that is shaped like a USB flash drive and contains “extremely high levels of nicotine,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Available in “kid-friendly” flavors, JUUL use by students in schools has been “widely reported.”

The national statistics about JUUL use surprised the group: Approximately one in ten youth aged 15-17 have used a JUUL, according to the Truth Initiative .

As a result of the health fair, Quaynor said, high school students at EMS “now know the real effects of JUULing and will hopefully avoid it.”

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60+ Brilliant EBP Nursing Project Ideas: From Idea to Impact

• Post author By admin
• November 1, 2023

Discover a world of impactful nursing projects. Explore EBP nursing project ideas that can transform healthcare and elevate your nursing practice.

In the dynamic world of healthcare, nursing professionals are the unsung heroes of patient well-being. The essence of patient care isn’t just in the textbooks; it’s in your innovative spirit and commitment to making a difference.

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is your canvas to paint the future of patient care, and we’ve got a palette of captivating EBP project ideas just for you.

EBP isn’t a dull chore; it’s your chance to be a healthcare magician, conjuring new ways to enhance patient care and revolutionize nursing practice.

These aren’t just projects; they’re your ticket to crafting a brighter, healthier future for your patients and your profession. So, fasten your seatbelts, and let’s explore the innovative world of EBP nursing projects!

Table of Contents

The Power of EBP in Nursing

Check out the power of EBP in nursing:-

EBP: Unleashing Nursing Superpowers

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) isn’t just another acronym; it’s the secret weapon in a nurse’s arsenal. It’s the art of blending cutting-edge research, real-life know-how, and patient preferences into a care superpower.

Clinical Expertise: Where the Magic Begins

Every nursing journey starts with clinical expertise, the magical blend of skills, intuition, and bedside wisdom. It’s the bedrock upon which nurses build their EBP castles.

Patient-Centered Care: Because Every Patient is the Hero

EBP champions patient values and preferences, making every patient the hero of their care story. It’s a tale of collaboration and shared decision-making, where nurses and patients write the script together.

Guided by Research: Where Science Meets the Heart

EBP dances to the rhythm of research. It’s the beat of the latest scientific evidence that keeps nurses on their toes, ensuring they deliver the best, evidence-backed care.

Reducing Variations in Practice: A Symphony of Consistency

EBP conducts a symphony of consistency, harmonizing care across different settings. It’s the sheet music that ensures everyone in the orchestra plays the same notes, leading to safer, more standardized care.

Minimizing Errors: The Safety Net We All Need

EBP is the safety net that catches potential errors before they become a high-wire act. It’s the thorough examination of practices, ensuring that every step is based on solid evidence, not guesswork.

Questioning the Status Quo: Dare to Dream, Nurse!

EBP is the captain of innovation. It urges nurses to cast a critical eye on established practices and dream of better ways. It’s the path to challenging the norm and seeking fresh solutions.

Continuous Improvement: The Never-Ending Story

EBP is the story of never-ending improvement. It’s a narrative that nurses write with each patient interaction. It’s about always asking, “How can we make this better?”

Elevating Nursing Practice : From Practice to Pinnacle

EBP transforms nursing from practice to pinnacle. It’s the elevator to excellence, lifting nurses to new heights of impact on patient outcomes and the healthcare world.

A Future of Possibilities: Where Nurses Lead the Way

EBP is the portal to endless possibilities. It’s the treasure map to improving patient care, conducting groundbreaking research, and pioneering the future of healthcare. So, grab your compass, nurse, and let’s set sail to new horizons!

The power of EBP in nursing isn’t just about care; it’s about empowerment, innovation, and the promise of a brighter, patient-centered future.

EBP Nursing Project Ideas

Check out EBP nursing project ideas:-

Patient Safety and Quality Improvement

• Reducing Medication Errors: Implement a barcode scanning system for medication administration.
• Enhancing Hand Hygiene Compliance: Develop a hand hygiene training program with gamified elements.
• Preventing Patient Falls: Introduce bed exit alarms with personalized settings to alert healthcare providers.
• Improving Pain Management: Evaluate the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) therapy in managing pain.
• Reducing Hospital-Acquired Infections: Implement UV-C disinfection robots to reduce the risk of infection.
• Enhancing Medication Reconciliation: Develop an automated medication reconciliation process to reduce errors during transitions of care.
• Enhancing Pressure Ulcer Prevention: Implement pressure redistribution mattresses and conduct skin assessment protocols.
• Promoting Safe Patient Handling: Introduce mechanical lift devices to reduce manual patient handling injuries.
• Improving Emergency Response: Implement Rapid Response Teams (RRT) for early detection of deteriorating patients.
• Enhancing Patient Discharge Planning: Introduce a standardized discharge planning process to ensure patients receive appropriate post-discharge care.

Patient Education and Engagement

• Patient-Centered Education Materials: Develop customized patient education materials based on individual patient needs.
• Promoting Medication Adherence: Create a medication adherence program that includes reminders and educational resources.
• Supporting Diabetes Management: Establish diabetes self-management classes with ongoing support for patients.
• Nutrition and Wellness Workshops: Organize regular workshops on healthy nutrition and wellness practices.
• Maternity and Newborn Education: Develop comprehensive education programs for expectant mothers and newborn care.
• Smoking Cessation Programs: Offer smoking cessation programs and counseling for patients seeking to quit smoking.
• Weight Management Initiatives: Create a weight management program with nutritionists and exercise specialists.
• Geriatric Health Seminars: Host health seminars tailored to the unique needs of elderly patients.
• Childhood Obesity Prevention: Implement school-based programs to promote healthy lifestyles for children.
• Mental Health Education: Develop educational resources and support groups for patients dealing with mental health challenges.

Workplace and Staffing Optimization

• Nurse-Patient Ratio Adjustments: Evaluate the impact of adjusting nurse-patient ratios on patient outcomes.
• Predictive Analytics for Staffing: Utilize data analytics to predict staffing needs based on patient acuity.
• Nurse-Physician Communication Improvement: Implement interprofessional communication training to enhance teamwork and patient care.
• Staff Resilience Training: Offer resilience training programs to support staff well-being and reduce burnout.
• Cultural Competency Training: Provide cultural competency training to enhance the delivery of culturally sensitive care.
• Patient-Centered Rounding: Implement structured patient-centered rounding for improved patient communication.
• Nurse Mentorship Programs: Develop mentorship programs to support the professional growth of novice nurses.
• Flexible Scheduling Options: Introduce flexible scheduling options to improve staff satisfaction and work-life balance.
• Advanced Technology Integration: Implement innovative healthcare technologies like telemedicine and AI-based tools.
• Patient and Family Advisory Councils: Engage patients and their families in advisory councils to provide input on healthcare delivery.

Technology and Telehealth

• Telehealth for Chronic Disease Management: Implement telehealth services for patients with chronic diseases.
• Remote Patient Monitoring: Use wearable devices to remotely monitor vital signs and disease parameters.
• Telemedicine Consultations: Offer telemedicine consultations for patients seeking medical advice.
• Mobile Health Applications: Develop a mobile app for patients to access health information and monitor their health.
• EHR Optimization: Enhance the use of electronic health records (EHRs) to improve information sharing and patient care.
• Telepsychiatry Services: Provide telepsychiatry services for mental health support.
• Tele-Rehabilitation Programs: Conduct rehabilitation sessions via telehealth for patients with mobility issues.
• Tele-Nursing Education: Offer nursing education through teleconferencing to reach a wider audience.
• Remote Specialty Consultations: Facilitate remote consultations with specialty physicians.
• Telehealth for Postoperative Care: Use telehealth for postoperative follow-up and wound assessments.

Readmission Reduction

• Enhanced Discharge Planning: Develop a comprehensive discharge planning process with patient and caregiver involvement.
• Post-Discharge Follow-up Calls: Implement a system for making post-discharge follow-up calls to monitor patient progress.
• Transitional Care Programs: Establish transitional care programs that bridge the gap between hospital and home care.
• Home Health Services: Offer home health services to provide necessary care to patients in their own homes.
• Medication Management Support: Provide medication management support for patients during the transition from hospital to home.
• Care Coordination Teams: Create care coordination teams to ensure a seamless transition for patients.
• Telehealth for Postoperative Monitoring: Use telehealth for postoperative monitoring, reducing the need for readmission.
• Patient and Caregiver Education: Offer education to patients and caregivers to ensure they can manage post-discharge care effectively.
• Improved Communication with Primary Care Providers: Strengthen communication and information sharing with patients’ primary care providers.
• Patient-Centered Discharge Summaries: Develop patient-centered discharge summaries that are easy to understand and follow.

Innovations in Nursing Practice

• Advanced Wound Care Techniques: Introduce advanced wound care techniques, such as negative pressure wound therapy or hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
• Pediatric Pain Management: Implement specialized pain management strategies tailored to the needs of pediatric patients.
• Geriatric Care Excellence: Develop a program to enhance the care of elderly patients, considering their unique healthcare requirements.
• Innovative Palliative Care: Create innovative palliative care programs for patients with serious illnesses.
• Patient Advocacy Initiatives: Establish patient advocacy programs to ensure that patient voices are heard and acted upon.
• Patient Navigation Services: Provide patient navigation services to guide patients through complex healthcare systems.
• Integrative Healthcare Modalities: Integrate complementary and alternative healthcare modalities into patient care.
• Cultural Competency Initiatives: Implement cultural competency initiatives to provide care that respects diverse cultural backgrounds.
• Advanced Care for Surgical Patients: Develop specialized care programs for surgical patients, focusing on their unique needs.
• Supportive Care for Oncology Patients: Offer comprehensive supportive care for cancer patients, addressing physical, emotional, and psychological needs.

These EBP nursing project ideas span various domains of healthcare, offering a rich tapestry of opportunities for nursing professionals to improve patient care and make a lasting impact in their field.

What is a good EBP nursing topics?

When it comes to diving into the world of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) nursing research, choosing the right topic is your compass.

It’s not just about ticking boxes; it’s about finding a topic that truly resonates with you. So, what makes a great EBP nursing topic? Here’s the lowdown:

Preventing Grand Tumbles

How about unraveling the mystery of keeping our beloved seniors safe from falls? Dive into the world of interventions for preventing falls in older adults and make a real impact on their well-being.

Heartfelt Medication Adherence

If you’re a heart enthusiast, exploring the impact of nurse-led education on medication adherence in heart failure patients could be your calling. It’s like helping hearts beat stronger!

Cracking the Pain Management Code

Pain matters. Research different pain management strategies and see how they affect patient satisfaction and overall well-being. You might just become the go-to pain guru.

Healing Diabetic Foot Woes

Diabetic foot ulcers are a challenging adversary, but you can be the hero. Investigate which wound care dressings work best to promote healing and give patients a spring in their step.

Telehealth for COPD Champions

Embrace technology and explore the impact of nurse-led telehealth programs on COPD patients. You’re not just a nurse; you’re a digital healthcare pioneer.

Breastfeeding Support Superstar

If maternal and child health is your passion, check out the effects of various breastfeeding support interventions. It’s like being a guardian angel for new moms and their bundles of joy.

Defeating UTI Monsters

Ready to tackle catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs)? Research the most effective strategies to prevent them and become the defender of patient comfort.

Sepsis Savior

Sepsis is a formidable foe, but a nurse-led intervention can make a world of difference. Explore the impact on patient satisfaction and outcomes, and you could be a lifesaver.

Pressure Ulcer Prevention Pro

No one wants pressure ulcers. Research different nursing care interventions to prevent them and become the champion of patient comfort.

Burnout Buster

Nursing isn’t just a profession; it’s a calling. Find out how to reduce stress and burnout in the nursing community. You could be the spark that keeps the flame burning brightly.

Cancer Compassion

Stand by cancer patients as you research the impact of nurse-led programs on patient satisfaction and outcomes. Your care can be the ray of hope they need.

Childhood Comfort Creator

Kids need special care. Investigate different interventions for pain management in children and make healthcare less scary for them.

Golden Years Vitality

Promoting physical activity in older adults is like sprinkling the fountain of youth. Explore various strategies and help seniors live their best lives.

These topics aren’t just research ideas; they’re potential adventures that align with your passions and expertise.

If you’re ever in doubt, chat with a wise nurse educator or a seasoned colleague—they’ll help you find the perfect EBP nursing topic that sets your soul on fire.

Remember, it’s not just a topic; it’s your chance to make a real impact on patient care, one passion-driven project at a time.

What is a good nursing capstone project?

Selecting the perfect nursing capstone project is akin to discovering a hidden gem that’s not only relevant to your nursing practice but also exudes clinical significance.

It should be a topic that fuels your passion and, most importantly, holds the potential to leave a positive mark on the nursing profession. Here’s a glimpse of some inspiring nursing capstone project ideas:

Educational Empowerment

Craft a cutting-edge educational program tailored for nurses, focusing on specific topics such as pain management or wound care. Share knowledge that lights the way for fellow nurses.

Quality Improvement Pioneer

Become a quality improvement trailblazer by initiating a novel improvement project within your nursing unit or hospital. Transform the care you provide into a benchmark for excellence.

Innovative Nursing Interventions

Evaluate the effectiveness of new nursing interventions or technologies, unlocking the potential to redefine patient care practices.

Exploring New Horizons

Venture into uncharted nursing territory, be it telehealth or palliative care. Expand your nursing expertise and bring innovation to the forefront.

Policy for Enhanced Care

Develop a groundbreaking policy or procedure that enhances the safety and quality of nursing care, raising the standard for healthcare.

Ethical Dilemma Resolver

Tackle nursing-related ethical dilemmas, from informed consent to end-of-life care, and be the voice for ethical integrity in healthcare.

Social and Environmental Nexus

Investigate how social and environmental factors, like poverty or climate change, impact health, shedding light on critical issues that affect us all.

Research Revolution

Embark on a journey of discovery by developing a new research protocol that unravels previously unexplored nursing phenomena.

These are just a few rays of inspiration, and the world of nursing capstone projects brims with numerous other enticing ideas.

As you embark on this quest, remember to consult with your faculty advisor to ensure your chosen topic aligns with your goals and the academic requirements.

Once you’ve chosen your topic, it’s time to craft your capstone project proposal. This proposal is your roadmap, outlining your research question, methodology, expected outcomes, resource requirements, and a timeline for completion. It’s your declaration of commitment to advancing nursing knowledge.

Nursing capstone projects, though challenging, are immensely rewarding. They are your canvas to showcase your expertise, skills, and unwavering dedication to the nursing profession.

By the journey’s end, you won’t just be a nurse; you’ll be a transformative force within the healthcare world, leaving a legacy of excellence.

What are EBP projects?

Evidence-based practice (EBP) projects are like thrilling adventures through the world of nursing. These quests are designed to unlock the secrets of effective nursing interventions and practices.

Ultimately raising the bar for the quality of nursing care and patient well-being. Join us on this exciting journey as we navigate the essential steps of EBP projects:

Discovering the Nursing Enigma

Your quest begins with identifying a clinical challenge or a golden opportunity for improvement within nursing practice. It’s like setting out on a treasure hunt, scouring the literature, conversing with patients and their families, or closely observing nursing practices for clues.

Forging the Research Question

As you uncover your quest’s mission, the next step is to craft a research question. This question is your guiding compass, leading you with its SMART attributes—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Hunting for Knowledge Artifacts

With your mission in hand, it’s time to embark on a quest for knowledge. You’ll venture into databases, use search engines, and explore various resources to gather the wealth of information needed for your adventure.

Evaluating the Evidence

Like a seasoned detective, you’ll critically appraise the evidence gathered to separate the gems from the pebbles. You’re on a quest for quality and relevance, ensuring that your findings are the brightest stars in the night sky.

Weaving the Tapestry of Knowledge

Your journey continues by weaving together the evidence to create a compelling narrative. It’s the puzzle of the EBP world, and as you piece it together, a clear picture of implications for nursing practice emerges.

The Real-World Transformation

The climax of your quest is the application of evidence in the real world of nursing practice. This is where the magic unfolds; it could involve creating new interventions, refining existing practices, or even revolutionizing how nursing care is delivered.

EBP projects are not solo endeavors; they can be led by individuals, courageous nursing teams, or dedicated researchers.

Whether your quest is small or grand, it can unfold in diverse healthcare settings, from bustling hospitals to serene community health centers.

As you embark on your EBP adventure, remember you’re the hero of the story, the explorer of the unknown, and the guardian of nursing excellence.

Your journey has the power to transform healthcare, one evidence-based step at a time. So, don your armor, unsheathe your sword of knowledge, and step boldly into the world of EBP. Your quest awaits!

What is an example of an EBP question in nursing?

In the realm of nursing, an example of an Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) question might be:

“What’s the most effective way to prevent falls in older adults within a hospital setting?”

This question isn’t just a mere query; it’s a powerful beacon, guiding us on a journey that’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART).

It’s a question that resonates with clinical significance, for falls are a major concern, particularly among older adults in hospital settings.

To unravel this question, a nurse embarks on a quest through the corridors of knowledge:

The Quest for Evidence

The journey commences with a thorough literature search, a quest for the wisdom hidden within the pages of research. It’s like an archeological expedition, excavating treasures that could transform nursing practice.

Evaluating the Findings

With evidence in hand, the nurse becomes a detective, meticulously appraising the quality and relevance of each piece of the puzzle. This step separates the gems from the pebbles.

Weaving the Tapestry

Like an artisan weaving a masterpiece, the nurse synthesizes the evidence, connecting the dots to reveal a comprehensive narrative. It’s a process that unveils the implications for nursing practice.

The Transformation

The final act of this quest is the application of evidence in nursing practice. It’s where the nurse becomes a maestro, composing new fall prevention interventions or orchestrating changes to existing ones.

This EBP question isn’t just a curiosity; it’s a quest for excellence, a call to action. It’s a journey that can impact the lives of older adults in hospital settings, enhancing their safety and well-being.

So, when we pose such questions in nursing, we embark on a noble quest to elevate patient care and illuminate the path to excellence.

As we wrap up our exhilarating journey through the world of EBP nursing project ideas, one thing becomes abundantly clear—nursing isn’t just a profession; it’s a calling, a commitment to making a profound difference in the lives of patients and their families.

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is the magical wand that transforms this commitment into tangible innovations and enhanced patient care.

These projects aren’t just abstract ideas; they are the sparks that ignite change, the keys to a brighter future of healthcare.

They beckon nursing professionals to step into the arena, to question norms, and to create a healthcare revolution, one project at a time.

In the realm of patient safety and quality improvement, we’ve unveiled projects that are like guardian angels, tirelessly working to reduce medication errors, prevent falls, and make the pain bearable.

They stand as sentinels of patient well-being, ensuring that each healthcare encounter is safer and more effective.

The patient education and engagement category radiates with projects that are like friendly guides, empowering patients with knowledge and support.

From personalized education materials to programs that nudge us toward healthier lifestyles, these initiatives forge stronger bonds between healthcare providers and those they care for.

Workplace and staffing optimization projects are akin to harmony conductors, orchestrating better conditions for nursing professionals and patients.

They adjust nurse-patient ratios, fine-tune communication, and promote resilience, all to create an environment where everyone thrives.

In the era of technology and telehealth, EBP projects invite us to explore the brave new world of healthcare.

Telehealth services, mobile apps, and advanced EHR systems are the instruments through which nursing professionals compose a symphony of healthcare that’s more accessible and personalized.

Readmission reduction projects are our allies in ensuring that patients’ journeys continue smoothly even after they leave the hospital. Enhanced discharge planning, follow-up calls, and transitional care programs extend the circle of care beyond the hospital walls.

At the forefront of our journey are innovations in nursing practice, where the spotlight is on specialized care, advanced wound management, and patient advocacy.

These projects embody the ever-evolving nature of nursing, a profession that constantly seeks growth and excellence.

As nursing professionals embark on their EBP journey, they wield the power to reshape patient care, improve practices, and enrich the healthcare experience. The future of nursing isn’t just a vision; it’s a reality, sculpted with every EBP project undertaken.

So, as you embark on your mission to enhance patient care, remember that the path to transformation begins with a single idea, one project that can change the game.

Nursing isn’t just a profession; it’s a calling to be a healthcare superhero, and these projects are your cape.

Together, they compose the epic tale of a future where patient care is better, lives are healthier, and the healthcare system is a constant evolution. Embrace it, nurse, and let your EBP projects be the hero of the story.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the first step in starting an ebp project in nursing.

The first step is to identify a specific issue or problem in your clinical practice that can benefit from evidence-based interventions. This forms the foundation of your EBP project.

How can I ensure my EBP project is unique and innovative?

To make your EBP project stand out, stay updated on the latest research and innovations in healthcare. Consider collaboration with colleagues and mentors for fresh ideas.

Are there resources available to help with EBP project development?

Yes, many resources, including EBP guidelines, research databases, and support from experienced mentors, can aid in the development and execution of your EBP project.

How can I measure the success of my EBP project?

The success of your project can be measured by tracking relevant outcomes, such as improved patient safety, reduced medication errors, or increased patient satisfaction. Define clear metrics for success at the project’s outset.

Can I publish the results of my EBP project?

Yes, sharing your EBP project findings through research publications or presentations at healthcare conferences is a great way to contribute to the field and highlight your innovations.

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At Sheffield Hallam we have always been passionate about supporting our local communities. In creating our Civic University Agreement , we asked ourselves a fundamental question about who we are and how we can make a difference: “How can we use our key assets as a university – students, staff, research – to make the biggest impact in our region?” That question has been especially important to one key civic theme over the last two years: Our health and wellbeing.

Sheffield Hallam is one of the largest providers of nursing education in the UK, with 2,500 pre-registration students studying nursing in 2022. This includes education and training for all fields of nursing including adult, child, mental health and learning disabilities. As part of their training student nurses undertake placements in a range of local trusts, private and voluntary organisations across our region including in South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.

In the first year of the nursing degree courses at Sheffield Hallam, students learn and develop a range of clinical skills. In year one they undertake a simulated placement block as part of the 600 hours they complete over the duration of their course. Sheffield Hallam is investing significantly into specialist equipment, staff, software and clinical spaces such as mock wards so students can strengthen their decision making and clinical skills as well as building their confidence as they train. These simulated placements are part of the 2,300 hours of clinical placements each student completes as part of their training. In year two students take part in a simulated community placement – working with local charities and organisations in the community to undertake a health promotion and education project.

In 2022 a cohort of 600 second year nursing students were given three weeks to design and deliver a health promotion or health education project either face-to-face or virtually within local communities. Students had to find and approach a local charity or organisation to work with and were supported by the Sheffield Hallam’s employability team and the volunteering team at the Student’s Union.

The initiative had a clear ethos: that nursing isn’t just treating illness – it is also teaching people to be healthy and preventing ill health through sharing knowledge and ideas. Local charities involved in the projects included organisations related to drugs and alcohol rehabilitation, families of prisoner offenders support groups, Baby Basics, foodbanks, schools, Guide and Scout groups.

“I recently had the pleasure of welcoming some of your students to come and talk to my Y9 pupils at my school - about period poverty. I just wanted to let you know how impressed I was with their delivery, their maturity and the way in which they conducted themselves. They are a credit to your establishment! I would be more than happy to welcome them back at any stage in the future.” Eileen Ronan, Teacher of Vocational Education, Oakwood High School, Rotherham

Here, we describe three community projects that our nursing students have delivered over the last 12 months, helping to support local people lead healthier lives, whilst building their skills for their future careers in nursing.

Nursing skills workshop with the Guides

A group of nursing students from Sheffield Hallam visited the 142 nd  Guides unit in Frechville, Sheffield to teach the girls aged 10–14 years about nursing. The workshop delivered some basic first aid skills including bandaging wounds and CPR training. The students also gave the girls an overview to nursing as a profession and held a discussion about nurturing positive mental health and wellbeing.

The group chose to approach the Guides because they wanted them to feel empowered if they ever found themselves in a situation which required first aid. The nursing students also aimed to inspire a new generation of young women to consider a career in the nursing profession. The feedback from the session was very positive and the student group said if they were to run the event again, they would factor in more time for greater discussion and the expansion of the topics covered as the Guides were such an enthusiastic audience.

"I hope we were able to act as good role models, inspiring these amazing girls and empowering them to believe in themselves, who they are and show them they can do anything they put their minds to.’’ Becky Howsham, Sheffield Hallam student

Helping children to reduce loneliness and isolation in the elderly population through art

Children from Listerdale Primary School and 30 th  Scout unit in Rotherham took part in an art project run by a group of nursing students to support the elderly population in the local community. The children wrote poems and letters, and created visual artwork in the form of paintings, postcards and booklets. These were distributed to residents of care homes and dementia centres in the local area.

‘‘We hope to provide some happiness to people with dementia as well as hopefully easing loneliness, while teaching our children the value of community, kindness and looking after our elderly.’’ Leanne Walsh, Sheffield Hallam student

Understanding mental health booklet for children

The significant impact the pandemic has had and continues to have on children’s mental health was chosen as a community project by one of the groups of nursing students from Sheffield Hallam. The group designed a booklet for schools to use as a teaching resource with children aged six to nine years of age. The key focus was producing a child-friendly booklet, which young children could understand, interact with, and learn from. The group decided to use the characters from the Disney film  Inside Out , which featured five characters each representing an emotion: anger, sadness, disgust, fear and joy. The work booklet gives each child an opportunity to engage in self-reflection in their own time to support how they manage their own feelings. 

"As student paediatric nurses, this project helped us to gain knowledge, skills and insight into how to speak to children about sensitive topics such as mental health, consider their psychosocial needs and collaborate as a team - all which will support us in future practice." Dani Reynolds, Sheffield Hallam Student

To conclude their community projects the nursing students produced a report summarising their findings and a poster to promote their chosen health topic. The reports found that the student’s work in the community had encouraged the groups to become more aware of their health and take ownership of their health, which could prevent future illness.

This ongoing community focused aspect of Sheffield Hallam’s student nursing training is valued by our communities and cements our commitment to working together for positive change within community health and wellbeing.

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Course Discussion Topics on LGBTQ Community Healthcare

As healthcare continues to evolve, so does the understanding and approach to caring for LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning) individuals. Here are some insightful discussion questions to explore in the course setting to help your students understand LGBTQ healthcare needs.

1. Health Disparities : What are some specific health disparities faced by LGBTQ individuals compared to the general population?

2. Barriers to Care: What are common barriers that LGBTQ individuals may encounter when seeking healthcare, and how can healthcare providers address these barriers?

3. Cultural Competence: Why is cultural competence important in providing healthcare to LGBTQ patients? What steps can healthcare providers take to enhance their cultural competence?

Help your Students Create an Inclusive Healthcare Environment

4. Language and Terminology: How does the use of inclusive language and respectful terminology contribute to creating a welcoming healthcare environment for LGBTQ patients?

5. Patient-Centered Care: What does patient-centered care look like in the context of LGBTQ healthcare, and why is it important?

6. Addressing Bias and Discrimination: How can healthcare providers recognize and address bias and discrimination against LGBTQ patients within healthcare settings?

Clinical Considerations your Students need to know in LGBTQ Healthcare

7. Routine Screening: What are some important routine screenings and health assessments that should be prioritized for LGBTQ patients, and why?

8. Mental Health Support: Why is mental health support crucial for LGBTQ individuals, and what are effective strategies for providing this support in primary care settings?

9. Hormone Therapy and Gender-Affirming Care: What are the considerations and ethical implications of hormone therapy and gender-affirming care for transgender patients?

Practical Application and Role-Play for your Students

10. Studies: Discuss case studies involving LGBTQ patients in primary care settings. How can providers navigate these cases effectively while respecting patient autonomy and identity?

11.Playing Scenarios : Engage in role-playing scenarios where students practice inclusive communication and care strategies when interacting with LGBTQ patients.

The 3rd Edition of, Women’s Healthcare in Advanced Practice Nursing , includes engaging discussion questions for the course, aimed at enhancing understanding and sensitivity in primary care settings. Additionally, the text offers a sample conversation below to assess sexual orientation and sexual activity .

These discussion questions are designed to deepen understanding and stimulate critical thinking about the primary care needs of the LGBTQ community. By exploring these topics in the course, your students can better prepare themselves to deliver respectful, inclusive, and competent care to LGBTQ patients. Emphasizing empathy, cultural sensitivity, and ongoing education is key to fostering a healthcare environment where all individuals feel valued and supported in their health journey.

Discover incisive and comprehensive information on the healthcare needs of women, transgender, and nonbinary persons in the third edition of this distinguished text, Women’s Healthcare in Advanced Practice Nursing.

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Advancing Health Equity through Education

Insights and strategies for impactful community-based scholarship.

Join us for, " Advancing Health Equity through Education: Insights and Strategies for Impactful Community-Based Scholarship ," an engaging panel discussion featuring Maranda Ward, EdD, MPH, and Patrick Corr, EdD. They will dive into topics such as preparing for your first academic position, fostering community and mentoring for early career faculty, and offering invaluable advice for graduate students, postdocs, and new faculty. Gain insights into navigating the unique challenges faculty face in academic medical centers, early career experiences, and lessons learned. Additionally, they will explore the dynamics of collaborative research and its benefits for early career faculty.  

This engaging panel discussion, co-sponsored by the MGH Institute of Health Professions and the Peter L. Slavin, MD Academy for Applied Learning in Health Care, will take place on August 13, 2024 , from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM at 2 Constitution Wharf, Charlestown, MA.

Register Now

Event Highlights:

• Panel Discussion: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
• Lunch: 12:30 PM – 1:00 PM
• Breakout Sessions: 1:15 PM – 2:00 PM

We understand that schedules can be busy, so please feel free to stay for as little or as much of the event as your time allows. We would appreciate any amount of time you could spend with us. 

Breakout Sessions:

Following the panel discussion, we will have breakout sessions to delve deeper into topics such as:

• Strategies for integrating community work with scholarly agendas and sustaining momentum for justice and equity
• Transition from administrative roles to faculty positions and the impact of student perspectives on academic work

Maranda C. Ward, EdD, MPH Dr. Maranda Ward is a distinguished educator and health equity expert. She is a 2024 finalist for AMEE's Patil Teaching Innovation Award and is listed among the nation's 2024 Health Innovators to Watch by the Boston Congress of Public Health. Dr. Ward has made significant contributions in designing and teaching health equity curricula. Her work relies on an anti-racist and DEIJ lens within health professions education. Her expertise on disparities is sought out by NPR, The Washington Post, Black Enterprise Magazine, Ebony.com, and MedPage Today, to name a few.  Dr. Ward's research includes HIV disparities, Black women's health, and youth identity. She is the PI on the "Two in One: HIV and COVID Screening & Testing Model" project as a researcher in the DC Center for AIDS Research.

Patrick Corr, EdD Dr. Patrick Corr is a dedicated educator and researcher focusing on health equity, subjective well-being, and addressing academic and social inequities. He teaches qualitative research methods, academic writing, and health equity. Dr. Corr directs the Governor's Health Sciences Academy, fostering a dual enrollment partnership with Alexandria City Public Schools. He earned his doctorate in education at George Washington University and has a rich background in education and gender studies.

Please contact Ellen Foley at efoley2 [at] mghihp.edu (efoley2[at]mghihp[dot]edu) with any questions.  

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• Published: 08 August 2024

“Moving beyond silos”: focus groups to understand the impact of an adapted project ECHO model for a multidisciplinary statewide forum of substance use disorder care leaders manuscript authors

• NithyaPriya Ramalingam   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9418-2495 4 ,
• Eowyn Rieke 2 , 5 , 6 ,
• Maggie McLain McDonnell 3 , 4 , 5 ,
• Emily Myers 4 &
• Dan Hoover   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5181-204X 1 , 5  

Addiction Science & Clinical Practice volume  19 , Article number:  58 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Metrics details

Although clinical substance use disorder (SUD) care is multidisciplinary there are few opportunities to collaborate for quality improvement or systems change. In Oregon, the Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) model was adapted to create a novel multidisciplinary SUD Leadership ECHO. The objective of this study was to understand the unique effects of the adapted ECHO model, determine if the SUD Leadership ECHO could promote systems change, and identify elements that enabled participant-leaders to make changes.

Four focus groups were conducted between August and September of 2022 with a purposive sample of participants from the second cohort of the Oregon ECHO Network’s SUD Leadership ECHO that ran January to June 2022. Focus group domains addressed the benefits of the adapted ECHO model, whether and why participants were able to make systems change following participation in the ECHO, and recommendations for improvement. Thematic analysis developed emergent themes.

16 of the 53 ECHO participants participated in the focus groups. We found that the SUD Leadership ECHO built a multi-disciplinary community of practice among leaders and reduced isolation and burnout. Three participants reported making organizational changes following participation in the ECHO. Those who successfully made changes heard best practices and how other organizations approached problems. Barriers to initiating practice and policy changes included lack of formal leadership authority, time constraints, and higher-level systemic issues. Participants desired for future iterations of the ECHO more focused presentations on a singular topic, and asked for a greater focus on solutions, advocacy, and next steps.

Conclusions

The adapted ECHO model was well received by focus group participants, with mixed reports on whether participation equipped them to initiate organizational or policy changes. Our findings suggest that the SUD Leadership ECHO model, with fine-tuning, is a promising avenue to support SUD leaders in promoting systems change and reducing isolation among SUD leaders.

COVID-19 emerged in the midst of a relentless overdose crisis. The syndemics of COVID-19 and the overdose crisis created an urgent, unique need for increased communication and collaboration within SUD treatment [ 1 ]. Diverse disciplines participate in clinical SUD care, but opportunities to collaboratively advance quality improvement or systems change are rare [ 2 ]. In addition, quality improvement in health care settings is typically slow and methodical. Change often relies on published evidence, which lags behind real-time needs [ 3 , 4 ]. COVID-19 and the arrival of non-pharmaceutical fentanyl on the West Coast prompted a need for urgent expansion and adaptations in SUD care delivery [ 5 , 6 ] such as telehealth services for low-barrier access to medications [ 7 ]. Nationally, there has been a windfall of new addiction medicine legislation in the wake of COVID-19 and the continued opioid crisis [ 8 ]. In Oregon, the landmark Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act was passed to decriminalize small-quantity drug possession and expand funding for SUD services [ 9 ].These rapid changes have two implications. First, Oregon’s SUD providers were caught in a rapidly changing landscape, and it was unclear how local and organization level systems would adapt to higher-level shifts. Second, SUD providers nationally may have increased opportunities to be involved directing reform in a time when the public eye is turning to overdose and SUD [ 10 ].

As SUD care providers adapted their care delivery to meet the ongoing needs of these co-existing crises, addiction medicine faculty at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) re-purposed the Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) model to support SUD care leaders in this time of turmoil [ 11 ]. ECHO traditionally uses case-based tele-mentoring to equip health professionals to deliver best-practice care and has been implemented to address multiple medical conditions, including for substance use disorder. ECHOs recruit broadly via email listservs, meet virtually in one-hour weekly sessions, and combine didactic curriculum with case presentations. Curriculum topics are set months in advance of the program based on the expert faculty team’s choice of priority topics and previous participant feedback. De-identified patient or systems-level cases are presented by participants and case discussions conclude with recommendations by the ECHO faculty experts and participants in the session. The SUD Leadership ECHOs were distinctly different than traditional ECHO programs; unique goals required a special development process, individual recruitment of participants, curated session content, and a modified once-monthly session format. To address the aforementioned need for increased collaboration, the SUD Leadership ECHO was designed to include participants from different roles and leadership levels within SUD treatment and harm reduction. The ECHO’s development team hypothesized that the differing perspectives and multi-level leadership nature of the group would help to promote novel learning and systems change.

In partnership with the Oregon ECHO Network (OEN), a statewide utility that supports ECHO programming in Oregon, OHSU Addiction Medicine faculty launched a 12-session SUD COVID Response ECHO to convene Oregon’s leaders in SUD care, identify barriers to effective care, and pioneer solutions together [ 12 , 13 ]. The program launched in April 2020 and focused primarily on COVID-related changes within the SUD treatment system. Following the success of the SUD COVID Response ECHO, the SUD Leadership ECHOs cohort 1 and 2 launched in September 2020 and January 2022 respectively. These iterations featured broader learning objectives: to brief leaders about emerging SUD issues in Oregon, explore solutions, and motivate systems improvement.

Clinical outcomes from ECHO programs have previously been evaluated [ 14 , 15 ], however, higher-level systems may remain slow or unaware of change directed by ECHO. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the flexibility of the ECHO model, determine if the SUD Leadership ECHOs could drive systems change, and identify what factors may enable participant-leaders to make changes.

This qualitative study used focus groups to understand how participants benefited from their involvement in the SUD Leadership ECHO. The study was conducted by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in SUD clinical care, ECHO program management, and qualitative methods as a partnership between the Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network, the OEN, and the OHSU Section of Addiction Medicine. Data collection and analysis occurred from August to November 2022 and focused on the SUD Leadership ECHO’s cohort 2. The study was deemed “not human subject research” by the OHSU Institutional Review Board.

Intervention description

The SUD Leadership ECHO cohort 2 was comprised of six sessions. Cohort 2 topic and description are listed in Table  1 below. One-hour sessions were hosted on Zoom and were divided in halves for a didactic presentation and a systems case discussion. Recruitment for cohort participants was an intensive iterative process, by invitation only. The goal of recruitment was to enroll SUD care leaders across the state of Oregon diversely representing ethnicities, gender identities, geographic and organizational settings, and experiential knowledge: clinicians, pharmacists, payor representatives, harm reductionists, persons who use drugs, advocates, and public health professionals. Table  2 provides further descriptions of leadership types considered for recruitment.

Participants

Direct outreach to attendees of at least one session of cohort 2 ( n  = 53) was conducted via email by the principal investigator (DH).

Data collection

A semi-structured, 15 question guide was developed by the qualitative analyst (NR) and explored SUD leadership ECHO participants’ experiences. The guide was iteratively refined by the larger study team as data collection progressed based on de-briefing of early focus groups. The focus group guide can be found in Appendix A.

Four focus groups were conducted by an experienced qualitative analyst (NR) by Zoom videoconference. Focus groups lasted an average of 51 min (range 40–58), contained an average of 4 participants (range 2–6), were digitally recorded with verbal consent, and were transcribed professionally. Transcriptions were validated, de-identified, and assigned a participant ID by a qualitative analyst (EM). Data was monitored for saturation (e.g., participants presented no new information), at which point recruitment stopped [ 16 ].

Transcripts were uploaded to Atlas.ti for data management and analysis. Data was analyzed concurrently using Braun and Clarke’s approach to thematic analysis [ 17 ]. An initial code book was developed using a combination of deductive and inductive codes. The code book was tested on a subset of transcripts and coded by a second analyst (EM) to ensure reliability; it was iteratively refined through analytic team meetings which included qualitative analysts (NR, EM), OEN director (MMM), and the ECHO’s project coordinator (KG). Transcripts were then dual-coded by qualitative analysts (NR, EM) using the finalized code book. Emergent themes were identified in a dialogue-based refinement process.

Demographic information

Participant information such as age, credential, location, and type of practice was collected from ECHO registration data. The Addiction Medicine ECHO Program director (DH) and the OEN director (MMM) collaboratively classified participants’ organizations into leadership categories as described in Table  2 .

16 individuals participated in the focus groups out of 53 SUD Leadership ECHO participants. Focus group participants were representative of the overall ECHO participants, as their demographics were similar as seen in Table  3 below. Focus group participants represented 7 of the 36 counties in Oregon, with 25% of participants practicing in rural areas. On average, focus group participants attended 4.5 of the sessions as compared to 3.4 sessions attended by overall participants. Focus group participants were mainly classified as Organization/Program leaders (50%) or State/Regional system leaders (38%), and had diverse credentials. Detailed descriptions and example roles for each category of leadership are included in Table  2 . They represented a wide variety of settings, including large health systems, specialty addiction and behavioral health treatment, primary care, accountable care organizations, the state health authority, and county health departments.

Overall, participants reported that the SUD Leadership ECHO sessions were beneficial. Three participants were inspired to make practice and policy changes within their systems. However, many leaders who were unable to make changes identified several barriers. Leaders also suggested modifications to improve future SUD leadership ECHO sessions. Below we summarize the results in three themes: SUD Leadership ECHO benefits, practice and policy changes, and recommendations for improving ECHO sessions.

SUD leadership ECHO benefits

Community building across disciplines and organizations allowed for cross-pollination of ideas.

Many participants commented that the chosen SUD Leadership ECHO topics were timely and relevant to what was occurring at in their practice or organization. However, when asked directly about the benefits of participation, many did not reference specific topics and needed prompting to remember specific session content. Instead, participants pointed to the multidisciplinary nature of the ECHO and the exchange of information between leaders.

The majority appreciated hearing about pressing SUD treatment and harm reduction topics from multiple perspectives by accessing, engaging, and connecting with a community of thinkers, advocates, and policy makers. This was described as “moving beyond their siloes”, with multiple participants sharing that outside of this group, few opportunities exist for direct interaction with other leaders or colleagues who lead SUD work in Oregon. Participants remarked positively about “having access to a community of thinkers” and that it was valuable “to hear and see what works.”

Participants also appreciated sharing diverse experiential knowledge. This helped them develop new perspectives on complex emerging SUD issues with less concern for gaps in their understanding. For example, one participant (17, State/Regional systems leader) remarked on the importance of having high-level leaders present to understand how things functioned on the administrative and policy side, explaining “[it’s] nice to have people that understand higher up level change and what we need to do and how systems work and not just like, oh, we need to do this, but don’t understand the background of it.” Similarly, another participant (15, Direct Care leader) mentioned the uniqueness of engaging with high level leaders in this setting, saying “I don’t think [the state health authority] comes to any other CME I do.” Other participants (4, Direct Care leader) reflected on the importance of including folks with lived experience with SUD, describing how it “changed some of the conversations that are happening in the community” and that “it [is] beneficial for folks who are in policy, who are in direct care to be hearing about those. So we have more of the spokes present around this shared purpose of people having access to great care.” A fourth participant (14, State/Regional systems leader) commented on how the SUD Leadership ECHO engaged providers beyond physicians, when compared to other societies, saying, “It [State Society of Addiction Medicine], is primarily physicians, and I don’t participate in those activities in general…there’s something really nice about the crosscutting nature of who comes to this ECHO.”

Reduction of isolation among leaders

Participants reflected that the SUD leadership ECHO created a communal space where there was shared understanding that SUD treatment and harm reduction work is challenging, with a shared commitment to persevere. Participants explained that SUD leaders can feel uniquely isolated, describing feeling a mission and drive to improve SUD care and policy, while simultaneously feeling fatigued, isolated, or defeated when change doesn’t happen. These sentiments were captured by two participants who said:

For me, being kind of isolated out here and just being able to sit in a room full of other people grappling with some of the same issues, efforts to implement in the hospital and the million harm reduction things that we would, could, should be doing and are struggling to try to implement in a conservative community, just having the space to come and be with other folks has been of massive benefit to me. - Participant 8 (State/Regional systems leader). Being in community with people who already understand that it’s hard… In a room of normy’s explaining the work we do and why it’s important, is a lot of work. And so being able to be with this group of people who I don’t have to explain why what I do is important. - Participant 16 (Organization/Program leader).

Focus on local implementation

Participants observed that the focus on local implementation was unique and informed them of policies and practices taking effect in real time across the state. This was cited as different from other learning communities, conferences, or SUD focused groups that participants were a part of, which focused on more didactic approaches, and were slower to provide relevant information. One participant (8, State/Regional Systems leader) clarified the value of shared systems context: “I always enjoy the fact that it’s folks from around our state specifically who just have to deal with the same policies and governance structures and understand how things operate in Oregon.” Another participant (7, Organization/Program leader) explained, “I hear and I learn a lot about what’s going on in other parts of the country, but then for the, ‘well, how does that translate to Oregon, or are we doing….’ And these forums seem to be a great way to learn about what’s happening in Oregon and where I might be able to connect with somebody here.”

Practice and policy changes as a result of participation in SUD leadership ECHO

Leaders who successfully made changes heard best practices and how other organizations approached problems.

Three participants mentioned making practice or policy changes; two were Organization & Program leaders and one was State & Regional leader. Changes included the creation of a two-day training to support changes in Suboxone prescribing policy, updates to staff engagement and retention operational policies, and partnering with the local jail to initiate Suboxone prescribing. All three described drawing inspiration from the exchange of ideas and being influenced by the approaches of others. Two of these participants felt that adopting a model tried successfully by others within the state helped convince stakeholders in their home organizations to embrace changes. Participants placed a high importance on gaining insights for real-life implementation in complex contexts, echoing findings from the previous section. One participant (3, Organization/Program leader) shared that their position specifically empowered them to make changes incited by the ECHO; program and policy implementation was an explicit part of their role. This participant also had a clinician partner enrolled in a separate addiction medicine ECHO. Their collaboration was instrumental in driving change within their organization:

And I think my doctor partner, she had the same experience [in a different SUD ECHO] where she’s like, ‘Why are we doing this, this way? I’m hearing from these other leaders, they’re doing it this other way.’ And so between the two of us, we were able to really influence our teams. (Participant 3, Organization/Program leader).

Barriers to initiating practice and policy changes included lack of formal leadership authority, time constraints, and systemic issues

In contrast, five others reported no practice or policy changes. One participant self-identified as merely an informal leader in their organization, and felt they lacked power to initiate changes. They “wonder(ed) if that [informal vs. formal leadership role] correlates to who feels they can make change.” (Participant 15, Direct Care leader) Participants further explained that policy changes take time, often longer than a year or two, so changes might not have occurred in the time span of this evaluation. A few participants recognized that high level systems obstructed the possibility of organizational-level changes, such as pharmacy-level buprenorphine shortages or state or federal-level policy restrictions. For example, one participant (8, State/Regional Systems leader) described that although practices they heard about in the ECHO sessions were in alignment with conversations they were having in their organization, changes “are not feasible just yet for typically a variety of policy reasons.”

Even for participants who did not report making changes, ECHO may have catalyzed future developments. One participant (11, Organization/Program leader) encapsulated this saying, “Even though I can’t think of a direct way that it led to any specific changes, it does stimulate conversation and ideas to start going.”

Recommendations for improving SUD leadership ECHO sessions

Tension existed between wanting to explore local implementation and national sud context.

While the focus on Oregon-centric policy and implementation was identified as a strength, some participants acknowledged that a balance of perspectives from the national landscape would help explore new ideas. As one participant (7, Organization/Program leader) described, “As much as I really enjoy being able to learn about what’s happening in Oregon and find a lot of value there. There are things that are happening in other parts of the country that aren’t happening here… To spark the conversation of, ‘What does that look like in Oregon?’”.

Focused presentations on one issue from multiple perspectives were desired as opposed to the traditional ECHO structure of two topics (case and didactic) in one session

The criticism raised most often was that there was too much content in each 1-hour session. Participants felt that “we were trying to squeeze a lot into a small amount of time…the topics chosen were not quick, easy.” Discussions were robust, but “we had to pivot either to the next topic or to the end of the time when there was still some really great idea generation and discussion happening that I would’ve loved to like been able to continue with” (Participant 8, State/Regional systems leader). To remedy this, one participant (2, State/Regional systems leader) suggested, “to have multiple different type of experts or people with different types of experiences talk about … the same topic.”

Greater focus on solutions, advocacy, and next steps

Discomfort at the close of ECHO sessions was also tied to a desire to focus on solutions, particularly as participants felt this group had the expertise to solve the problems discussed. There was agreement about dysfunctional systems but the discussion yielded “no tangible next step” (Participant 3, Organization/Program leader). One participant (14, State/Regional Systems leader) commented that the lack of “real accountability” was “a limitation of the Leadership ECHO” even though it gave “visibility and transparency where the problems are.” Time was a barrier to developing solutions; one participant (16, Organization/Program level leader) expressed, “this leadership ECHO is really more solutions based, than it actually got to be. We talked about a lot of problems, and then ran out of time before we could discuss solutions.”

The participants were interested in further contributing to advocacy. A few suggested the ECHO faculty team could: 1) facilitate petitions, 2) create intentional sub-committees to develop changes postulated during the ECHO, and 3) add accountability by tracking follow-through between sessions. On the theme of sub-committees, participants were interested but unsure how to organize. As one participant (5, State/Regional Systems leader) pointed out “Some folks are going to be more invested in certain ideas or areas of change and have more experience or insights into it” but may not have “an ability to commit to a timing around it.” However, participant 3 (Organization/Program leader) described leveraging the collective power of the leaders present, “It just doesn’t make sense that we’re raising our voices in silos. It would be much more powerful if we all put our voices together and had some sort of shared mission agenda something in writing that said, ’This is what our community SUD Leadership wants.’”.

Participants emphasized that the greatest benefit was connecting with other leaders with diverse perspectives who were dealing with similar issues in their organizations, and that these connections reduced isolation. Addiction treatment providers may be at heightened risk for burnout as they support a patient population with highly complex social and behavioral needs with significant trauma [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Prior research has described social support as a key antidote to improving resilience and reducing burnout for healthcare providers [ 21 , 22 ]. New evidence suggests that for addiction medicine providers, specifically, enhancing their ability to advocate and engaging with others across institutions to enact higher-level change may improve satisfaction and increase resiliency [ 20 ]. Our data shows that the SUD leadership ECHO empowered and connected leaders, and suggests that the community built by these sessions may represent one avenue to reduce burnout in these highly susceptible leaders.

Notably, unlike prior evaluations of ECHOs, the presented content was not named as a reason for attending [ 14 , 23 , 24 ]. In fact, the majority of participants could not recall specific session topics without prompting. This was particularly surprising for two reasons. First, in the typical ECHO model, the didactic topics form the backbone of the program and curriculum topics are advertised to promote attendance. Second, for the SUD Leadership ECHO, extra effort was invested to curate attractive and timely content. When the ECHO was repeated, the faculty team sought out brand new presenters and topics to keep the sessions relevant. These findings indicate that ECHO participants in leadership roles may have different needs than the typical medical provider population that ECHO traditionally serves, and special attention may need to be paid to the interactive, networking, and mutual-support aspects to provide value.

Leaders also highlighted several limitations of the ECHO. Sessions featured two topics in a single hour at the expense of depth. Cohorts 1 and 2 of the SUD Leadership ECHO held the traditional ECHO adult learning model of didactic and case studies within each session. The ECHO’s faculty team hoped to promote attendance by using a familiar model, but around half of program participants were brand new to ECHO programming. A second goal was to provide high-yield sessions by hosting condensed but meaningful discussions on two topics per session. The faculty team tried to achieve this vision by preparing extensively, coaching presenters to distill their information, and actively facilitating. However, the didactic and case model left many unsatisfied since the topics covered were complex and it was difficult to explore them adequately in 30 min. In light of these findings, the faculty team adapted to single topic sessions with panel presentations for Cohort 3. This marks a significant diversion from the typical ECHO model but promises to better meet the needs of the unique audience and uniquely complex topics; future work will assess the tradeoffs of this shift in content and structure.

Facilitating policy change was a primary goal of the SUD Leadership ECHO, however, participants often could not make changes directly. Networking and information sharing were sometimes adequate for participants to make changes within their own organizations. Participants reported this worked best when the problem was primarily unsolved because it was new to the organization. Borrowing good ideas from SUD leadership ECHO colleagues was less effective if problems were systemic in scope, needed higher level action to achieve change, or necessitated new legislation. Additionally, there was limited follow-up assistance provided by ECHO to carry change ideas forward. In Cohort 3, responding to this feedback, the ECHO hosted the advocacy officer for the American Society of Addiction Medicine and facilitated participants to comment during the rulemaking process for federal changes to methadone regulation [ 25 ].

While the number of participants who initiated organizational changes was small, two key factors were identified that helped support changes. First, those able to initiate changes typically had a leadership role with access to organizational operations. This is well-supported, as policy and implementation change typically require adaptations to organizational contexts and financial resources which direct care providers may not have authority over [ 26 , 27 ]. Second, one participant illustrated that having like-minded colleagues within their organization allowed them to build a stronger case for change. Generally, only one person per organization attended the SUD Leadership ECHO; the faculty intended through careful recruitment to maximize diversity in the program rather than recruit multiple leaders per organization. However, this approach may have undermined the goal of organizational-level change.

Participants also requested more avenues to generate solutions during and after the ECHO sessions. Suggestions included facilitated petition letters, sub-committee formation, and follow up in the full ECHO forum to ensure accountability. These suggestions highlight that the greatest barrier to progress may not be lack of time, even though conversations felt unfinished. Instead, change is a longitudinal process and effective advocacy is challenging, even for this group of experienced leaders. Promoting longitudinal changes is outside the scope of the traditional ECHO, which suggests the need to divert from the traditional model when designing sessions for this unique population. Future iterations of the SUD leadership ECHO could include adding an experienced advocate to the ECHO faculty team, or partnering with advocacy organizations to facilitate advocacy activities.

Our study has a few limitations. First, it might be affected by selection bias. Participants who were more significantly influenced by the ECHO and engaged in Oregon’s addiction medicine ECHO program may have been more likely to enroll in the focus groups. This could have resulted in a more positively biased evaluation of the ECHO. Second, the evaluation of changes was constrained by our timeframe. We conducted our post-program evaluation two months after the ECHO sessions were completed. As noted by several participants, organizational change can take months to years, and we may not have captured all practice and policy changes that will be made in response to participation in this ECHO. Future work could explore whether this novel ECHO model was successful in driving leaders to initiate changes within their organization over a lengthier time frame. Despite these limitations, our study provides valuable insight into this novel adaptation of the ECHO model, its drawbacks, and how it uniquely met needs for SUD care leaders.

Overall, the SUD Leadership ECHO was well received by focus group participants, with mixed reports on whether initiating organizational or policy change was achieved. This study confirms that replication of the SUD Leadership ECHO model, with fine-tuning, is promising. The feedback provided shows that there is untapped potential in branching away from the traditional ECHO model to meet the unique needs of SUD care leaders. Further research is needed to understand how SUD care leaders are served by ECHO versus their national professional societies and local chapters and assess if ECHO is the best forum to fill these gaps and meet SUD care leader’s needs. Furthermore, future studies should identify the avenues and program structures that are most beneficial to support organizational and local-regional SUD leaders in promoting systems change to improve substance use care.

Appendix A: Focus group guide

Introductory script.

Thank you for joining our Focus Group today. We are interested in learning the ways in which participants benefited from their involvement in the SUD Leadership ECHO; whether and what SUD practices and/or policies changed as a result of their participation in the SUD Leadership ECHO; participants’ recommendations for improving the SUD Leadership ECHO; and whether and what opportunities participants see for group advocacy around improving SUD prevention, harm reduction, recovery, and supporting people with SUD in Oregon.

This work is funded by the SUD leadership ECHO program, however, we will not share specific details about you (e.g., your name, clinic) or directly link you to your responses when reporting findings back. We are hoping to publish a paper from these findings so that others replicate some of the successful practices that were developed here.

Today, I will be acting as the facilitator of this focus group—I will be presenting the topic areas and probing for any follow-up details. I am joined by [ECHO Program Lead], [Qualitative Analyst], [ECHO project coordinator], who are here to take notes, help me keep track of time, and monitor the chat.

A focus group differs from an interview in that we are interested in your discussions around the topic. We encourage you to interact and discuss with each other. There are no right or wrong answers, so please share your experiences and thoughts as we continue.

We would like to record this focus group so we can accurately capture your experiences in your own words. This recording will be transcribed and all proper names and places will be removed to protect your identity and privacy. Do I have permission to audiotape this focus group?

Great, thank you. I may ask at times to clarify who’s speaking to make sure I’m tracking your responses. If you agree with what others are saying, please feel free to emphasize this in your replies!

Before we dive in to our questions, I want to share ground rules for today’s conversation: Before we get started we would like to remind you that everything said here should remain confidential. Stories shared here should not be shared outside of the group. Second, we would like to hear from all participants. If you are someone who finds yourself speaking up a lot, please remember to step back at times to let others speak. On the contrary, if you are someone who finds yourself listening and observing, please step up and share your experiences, it’s extremely valuable for us to hear all opinions, especially if they are different from the majority. Any questions regarding these?

Introduction

Please share your name, organization, role, in the chat.

Feedback on structure and content of ECHO

How were you connected to the SUD leadership ECHO?

Probe: What motivated you to first attend the SUD leadership ECHO sessions?

Probe: Why did you continue attending the SUD Leadership ECHO sessions?

What were the benefits of your involvement in the SUD Leadership ECHO program?

Which sessions were most impactful? Why?

Probe: Didactic/ SBAR, structural pieces, what the amount of content just right, not enough, or too much.

What new professional connections did you make? How has this impacted your current practice?

What new resources did you access? How has this impacted your current practice?

What sets the SUD leadership ECHO sessions apart from other forums (conferences, CME training, etc.)?

What made it easy to participate in the SUD Leadership ECHO program? What went well?

What opportunities are there for the SUD Leadership ECHO to be improved?

Probe: What changes could be made to how the sessions are facilitated?

Probe: What changes could be made to the structure of the ECHO?

Probe: What additional strategies could be used to build relationships and make the sessions interactive?

Probe: Was anyone missing from the conversation? If so, who should be invited to these conversations? (specific as possible: ex. name, organization, rationale for inclusion)

Are you continuing to participate in the SUD Leadership ECHO? Why or why not?

Why didn’t you attend more sessions?

Practice and/or Policy Changes

Did anything about your current practices change as a result of participating in the SUD Leadership ECHO?

Probe: If so, please describe the specific actions you took to make such changes.

Has your organization changed – or started to think about changing – any policies or practices as a result of your participating in the SUD Leadership ECHO?

Probe: If so, please describe specific actions your organization as took or plans to take to make such changes.

Opportunities for Systems Change and Advocacy

Do you see any opportunities for how SUD Leadership ECHO participants may advocate for systems change around SUD prevention, harm reduction, treatment or better supporting populations with SUD?

Probe: What areas do you see opportunities and what could that advocacy look like?

Probe: If not, please describe barriers to group collaboration and advocacy.

Probe: How could the ECHO support in making these changes? (e.g., what is already happening, what could be happening?)

Probe: How else can ECHO support systems changes and advocacy (e.g., letters to certain parties)?

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Thank you for participating in the focus group today and your candidness in discussing these topics related to SUD. Your responses will be used to inform future ECHOs around SUD. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if things come to mind after this focus group. We can incorporate those thoughts into our analysis, too.

Thank you so much, and enjoy the rest of your [day].

Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due privacy protection of participants.

Abbreviations

• Continuing medical education

Extension for community healthcare outcomes

Oregon echo network

Oregon health & science University

Substance use disorder

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Acknowledgements

The research team would like to acknowledge our SUD ECHO leadership members who participated in the focus groups. We would also like to thank Katherin Gomez- Arboleda who assisted with participant recruitment and thematic refinement.

Research reported in this publication was supported by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration under award number 1H79TI083316-01, State Opioid Response 2. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

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Fora Health, Addiction Treatment Center, Portland, OR, USA

Eowyn Rieke

Oregon ECHO Network (OEN), Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA

Maggie McLain McDonnell

Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network (ORPRN), Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 S.W. Sam Jackson Park Road, Mail Code: UHN 30, Portland, OR, USA

NithyaPriya Ramalingam, Maggie McLain McDonnell & Emily Myers

Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA

Eowyn Rieke, Maggie McLain McDonnell & Dan Hoover

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Contributions

ER, DH, and MMM managed and contributed to the operation of the SUD Leadership ECHO program cohort two, and originated the idea for this manuscript. EM and NR led data collection and interpretation, with guidance from ER, DH, and MMM. NR and DH took the lead in writing this manuscript. All authors provided critical feedback, contributed to the writing of the manuscript, and approved the manuscript draft for submission.

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Correspondence to NithyaPriya Ramalingam .

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As part of Oregon ECHO Network program evaluation, the study was deemed “not human subject research” by the OHSU Institutional Review Board.

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Ramalingam, N., Rieke, E., McDonnell, M.M. et al. “Moving beyond silos”: focus groups to understand the impact of an adapted project ECHO model for a multidisciplinary statewide forum of substance use disorder care leaders manuscript authors. Addict Sci Clin Pract 19 , 58 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-024-00485-3

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Received : 20 December 2023

Accepted : 08 July 2024

Published : 08 August 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-024-00485-3

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