Perceptions of Implementing Nurse Practitioner Role in India

Background: The nurse practitioner (NP) role is a reasonably successful and is rapidly growing globally. The NP role in India has not yet evolved and remains in the infancy stage. It is a dire need to develop the NP role to ensure affordable and accessible health care, particularly in underprivileged areas. Opinions from Indian citizens are vital to notify the health authorities about current requisites and strategic forecast directions for role development. Objective: This study aimed to determine the perception of implementing the NP role in India among pa-tients, nurses, and doctors.Design: A multisetting cross-sectional survey.Setting and Participants: One thousand seventy Indian beneficiaries, nurses, and doctors from 5 tertiary hos-pitals in different zones (Northern, Eastern, Central, Southern, and Western) of India were selected through a proportionate stratified random sampling technique (lottery method). The sample size was calculated using probability-proportional size (PPS) based on total population data from the 5 selected settings.Methods: Likert scales along with sociodemographic profiles were used to assess the perception, including necessity, feasibility, and accessibility to implementing the NP role in India. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: The mean age of nurses was 30.69, doctors 43.63, and patients 38.15 years. Almost 407 (98%) nurses and 98 (85%) doctors did not have experience working with NPs. Surprisingly, 61 (53%) doctors and 513 (95%) patients were unaware of the NP role. Participants' were in favor of implementing the NP role in India, and they view this as necessary, feasible, and acceptable.Conclusion and implications: Implementing the NP role is necessary, feasible, and acceptable in India. NPs can perform most of health tasks independently. Hence, NP role implementation is promising with meticulous strategic planning. The NP role implementation process must be proactive with a suitable model through well-defined roles, awareness, licensure, and cadre creation.(c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.