Issue link: https://ahint.epubxp.com/i/619494
Nursing research is highly valued as a means to determine the best evidence for practice, as well as a way for heart failure (HF) nurses to provide the latest knowledge and procedures to our patients. According to the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), it is crucial that we find better methods to manage symptoms to facilitate a higher quality of life for patients with chronic illnesses, such as HF. 1 HF is an especially attractive topic for research as it affects about 5.1 million Americans and many of the guidelines are based on consensus of experts rather than scientific research. 2 The American Association for Heart Failure Nurses (AAHFN) is supportive of research that benefits patients with HF. 3 If you are interested in research activities, you may want to start with the "Research" tab on the AAHFN website. So far there are two research collaborative networks: one for palliative care and one for mechanical circulatory support. Additional networks may be established as researchers interested in collaboration on specific topics express interest. There is a need for nursing research, however a lot of nursing studies to date have small sample sizes and are often of descriptive or cross-sectional design, where the gold standard for research is the randomized controlled trial. 4 There is a need to focus on interventions 5 that can influence our future practice and longitudinal studies that demonstrate the effects of an intervention over time. 6 Future nursing researchers are encouraged to consider large, longitudinal, randomized controlled trials at multiple sites and interdisciplinary collaboration to maximize findings. The following highlights recent priorities for nursing research from large organizations and recommendations from newly published research studies. References 1. National Institute of Nursing Research. Spotlight on symptom management research. In: Research NIoN. ed. National Institute of Health. 2. Go AS, Mozafarian D, Roger VL et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics — 2014 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circ. 2014;129(3):e28-e292. 3. Amercian Association for Heart Failure Nurses. Research. Mt. Laurel, NJ: American Association of Heart Failure Nurses. 4. Polit DF. Statistics and data analysis for nursing research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.; 2010. 5. Riegel B, Moser DK. Interventions for Adults With Heart Failure. J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2015;30(4Suppl1):S1-2. 6. Riegel B, Moser DK, Anker SD, et al. State of the science: promoting self-care in persons with heart failure: a scientifc statement from the American Heart Association. Circ. 2009;120(12):1141-63. 7. Sterne PP, Grossman, S, Migliardi JS, Swallow AD. Nurses' knowledge of heart failure: Implications for decreasing 30-day readmission rates. Medsurg Nurs. 2014;23(5). 8. Reilly CM, Anderson KM, Baas L, et al. American Association of Heart Failure Nurses Best Practices paper: Literature synthesis and guideline review for dietary sodium restriction. Heart & Lung. 2015;44:289e-298. 9. Holden RJ, Schubert CC, Eiland EC, Storrow AB, Miller KF, Collins SP. Self-care barriers reported by Emergency Department patients with acute heart failure: A sociotechnical systems-based approach. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 2015;66(1):1-12.e2. 10. Shams I, Ajorlou S, Yang K. A predictive analytics approach to reducing 30-day avoidable readmissions among patients with heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, pneumonia, or CPOD. Health Care Manag Sci. 2015;18:19-34. 11. DeVore AD, Allen LA, Eapen ZJ. Thinking outside the box: Treating acute heart failure outside the hospital to improve care and reduce admissions. Journal of Cardiac Failure. 2015;21(8). 12. Albert NM, Forney J, Slifcak E, Sorrell J. Understanding physical activity and exercise behaviors in patients with heart failure. Heart & Lung. 2015;44:2-8. 13. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. AHRQ Research Funding Priorities & Special Emphasis Notices. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. 14. Centers for Medicare and Medicade Services. Top 100 Medicare research priorities. Baltimore, MD: MS.gov; 2007. 15. American Heart Association. Women's heart disease should be a research priority. Dallas, TX: American Heart Association; 2015. HEART FAILURE NURSING RESEARCH Lyne Chamberlain, MSN, CNS, CCRN-CMC, CCNS, CHFN • Professor of Nursing Seminole State College, Altamonte Springs, FL E D I T O R I A L B O A R D C O L U M N Recommendations from Recent Research • Best practices for enhancing nurses' knowledge of HF 7 • Dietary sodium recommendations by class and stage of HF 8 • Strategies to overcome barriers to self-care 9 • Tactics to reduce 30 patients' readmissions 10 • Outpatient methods to care for patients with acute HF episodes 11 • Provider-patient communications related to exercise 12 • Physiologic research on the ways that self-care influences clinical outcomes 6 Organizational Research Priorities • National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), management of chronic diseases and self-care for chronic diseases 1 • Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), transforming scientific evidence into clinical practice, especially for ambulatory care; interventions to alleviate disparities in clinical practice and healthcare; and health issues of minority women 13 • Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), preventing HF; HF with preserved ejection fraction; and control of hypertension 14 • American Heart Association (AHA)/American Stroke Association (ASA), heart disease in women 15 1 8 | T H E C O N N E C T I O N • W I N T E R 2 0 1 6