Queen’s Nursing Institute to host innovative Research Community

The Queen’s Nursing Institute has announced that it will be the institutional home for the recently established Community Nursing Research Forum.

The Forum aims to share experiences and expertise in nursing research and harness the power of a collective voice to build research capacity through peer support, mentorship, and help members access research opportunities. It is for all community nurses, regardless of speciality and experience with research.

The Chief Nursing Office for NHS England has provided financial support to develop the Forum, which now has almost 250 members from around the UK.

The new Forum is convened by Dr Ben Bowers QN, community nurse and end-of-life care researcher at Primary Care Unit, University of Cambridge and Professor Catherine Evans, Professor of Palliative Care and Honorary Nurse Consultant at Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London and Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust.

An early objective of the Forum is to plan a series of webinars and online bite-size research masterclasses for members to meet, network and learn from each over the coming year. The Masterclasses will be supported by the NIHR School for Primary Care Research.

Dr Ben Bowers commented:

“This is an inclusive Forum where colleagues can share ideas, network and build research capacity in community nurse-led research. Research led by community nurses is needed to generate high-quality evidence to advance patient-centred care. The Forum welcomes any nurse wishing to develop their research skills, including critically evaluating research papers, research methods and publishing.”

The Forum was launched at a webinar held in June 2022. Over 100 nurses participated in the webinar, entitled ‘Research is everybody’s business: creating opportunities for community nurses to be involved in research’. Midwives, health visitors, community nurses, district nurses, mental health nurses, practice nurses and care home nurses were all represented at the event.

The webinar presentations focused on the diverse career journeys three community nursing colleagues have taken, integrating research and clinical care: Louise Wolstenholme, Health Visitor, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Caroline Dickson, District Nurse, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, and Lee Tomlinson, Head of Research, Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Partner organisations supporting the establishment of the Forum are:

NIHR Applied Research Collaboration South London
NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East of England
Primary Care Unit, University of Cambridge
NIHR School for Primary Care Research
The Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland

For more information about the new Forum, including how to register for email updates, go to: https://qni.org.uk/nursing-in-the-community/community-nursing-research-forum/.

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Contact information

Dr Ben Bowers: ben.bowers@qni.org.uk

Matthew Bradby, QNI Head of Communications matthew.bradby@qni.org.uk