RWJF Solicits Research Proposals to Advance Nursing Care, Practice, and Education

Princeton NJ, Aug. 30, 2011—The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is soliciting research proposals that address nursing practice, care and education for consideration by RWJF and its partners in a multi-funder initiative. The goal of the initiative is to identify, generate, synthesize and disseminate evidence essential to informing efforts to implement the recommendations outlined in the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) report, “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.” Research proposals will be considered in the context of a National Research Agenda developed to help RWJF and its partners confront the issues facing the nursing profession and build upon approaches to care in which nurses play a central role in improving quality and transforming the way Americans receive health care.

The RWJF Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative (INQRI) is managing the initiative for RWJF and is accepting proposals until January 3, 2012.

Among the types of research projects being considered are: quick studies and scans; policy analyses; secondary data quantitative analyses; descriptive studies and case studies; demonstrations and evaluations; and theoretical modeling. To be considered, projects should address at least one of the IOM committees’ major recommendations for advancing nursing care, which are:

• Remove scope-of-practice barriers for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs).
• Expand opportunities for nurses to lead and diffuse collaborative improvement efforts.
• Implement nurse residency programs.
• Increase the proportion of nurses with a baccalaureate degree to 80 percent by 2020.
• Double the number of nurses with a doctorate by 2020.
• Ensure that nurses engage in lifelong learning.
• Prepare and enable nurses to lead change to advance health.
• Build an infrastructure for the collection and analysis of interprofessional health care workforce data.

The INQRI team will screen proposals based on how well with a proposed project aligns with the goals of the National Research Agenda, its potential for advancing knowledge to support implementation of the IOM recommendations, and methodological rigor.

More information on the program and application requirements are available by calling or emailing Heather Kelley-Thompson at (215) 573-2981 or hkelley@nursing.upenn.edu and are also online at www.thefutureofnursingorg/research.

The primary goal of the Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative (INQRI) is to generate, disseminate and translate research to understand how nurses contribute to and can improve the quality of patient care. The program, led by Mary Naylor, Ph.D, R.N., F.A.A.N. and Mark Pauly, Ph.D. of the University of Pennsylvania, in partnership with Lori Melichar, Ph.D. and her colleagues at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, supports interdisciplinary teams of nurse scholars and scholars from other disciplines to address the gaps in knowledge about the relationship between nursing and health care quality. To learn more, visit www.inqri.org, or follow on Twitter at @INQRIProgram.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, measurable and timely change. For nearly 40 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.