Qualitative insights into the effectiveness of a targeted nursing research support program: Understanding and experiences of support recipients and providers

Aim: The aims of this study were to examine the effectiveness of a targeted nursing research support program for clinical nurses. Background: Nursing research capacity is increasingly essential to clinical nurses and currently relatively low. Therefore, effective and systematic nursing research training programs are urgently needed to improve the scientific research abilities of nurses. Methods: Qualitative research was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a targeted nursing research support program. The program was formulated by considering the research training requirements of nurses and standard nursing research procedures, through literature review and group deliberations. The program was implemented for 973 nurses using a "plan-action-observation-reflection" learning cycle. The research outcomes achieved by nurses were evaluated and thematic analysis conducted to assess the perspectives of nurses and teachers regarding the research support program. Results: Nurses participating in the targeted nursing research support program collectively accomplished 195 research proposals and authored 332 original research articles. Nurses shared their rich experience as "understanding my needs and achieving my potential", including: (1) systematic procedures and coherence; (2) easy to learn, easy to use; (3) a sense of belonging and mutual support; (4) self-confidence growth; and (5) high expectations. Further, the experiences of teachers were summarized as "helping others is helping myself", including: (1) teaching is learning; (2) the happiness of being needed; and (3) the importance of scientific teaching. Conclusion: This study evaluated the experiences of nurses and educators involved in a targeted nursing research support program and assessed its preliminary effectiveness. The findings revealed that the program, grounded in scientific and systematic research principles, was beneficial to both nurses and teachers. Based on our findings, we recommend that nursing educators should prioritize comprehensive, practice-integrated research training programs and create supportive environments, to effectively enhance the research capacity of nurses.