Nursing science research must look at the whole picture of health, including health equity, social determinants of health, and the translation of science into policy and practice, the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR) said in its approach to developing the 2022–2026 strategic plan.

Created to encompass the latest advancements in nursing research and standards of care, the plan outlines the agency’s future research goals and objectives. It also builds on NINR’s past accomplishments, such as identifying a potential blood-based biomarker for diagnosing mild traumatic brain injuries and studying the link between palliative care interventions and the well-being of patients with cancer in a community practice setting.

But it also relies on input from its core audience: nurses. NINR is calling on the nursing community for feedback as it finalizes the draft plan, including experts under the National Advisory Council for Nursing Research, NINR and NIH staff, external stakeholder groups, and the nursing science community. It’s also using feedback collected during the 2020 “Tell Us What Nursing Research Means to You” web campaign.

The agency named several priorities beyond the strategic plan’s whole-health focus:

  • Embracing change and new opportunities
  • Focusing on dissemination and implementation of supported research
  • Encouraging today’s nurse scientists to serve as role models and mentors to the next generation
  • Fueling clinical research, eliminating health disparities, preventing chronic conditions, addressing women’s health, supporting minority investigators, and conducting randomized interventions

Organizations such as NINR and ONS keep the nursing community informed of the latest developments, research, and care methods, but that work is driven by needs identified from nursing practice. Oncology nurses have a critical role to communicate those needs so larger organizations can understand where to direct future funding and research, so share your feedback today.

NINR will open the plan for public comment in late 2021.