In this letter to the editor, Dr. Kathleen R. Stevens, Director of the Improvement Science Research Network (ISRN), responds to Woods and Magyary’s (2010) article documenting the barriers in quality improvement created by restricted pathways between research and utilization. Recommendations made by Woods and Magyary centered around the need to advance translational science with the “participation in collaborative endeavors through practice-based translational research networks that are interdisciplinary or primarily focused on nursing.” Dr. Stevens’ points out that nurse researchers are leading the way to remove these obstacles through the development of the Improvement Science Research Network (ISRN). With funding from the National Institutes for Health and the National Institute for Nursing Research, the ISRN has developed a national research infrastructure engaging academic and practice professionals in health care improvement (Fohn 2009).
References:
- Fohn, R. (2009). New $3 million grant will fuel quality improvement research. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://recovery.nih.gov/Stories/ViewStory.aspx?id=65
- Stevens, K. R. (2011). National Institute of Nursing Research has widened the blue highway of translation research. [Letter to the Editor]. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice: An International Journal, 25(3), 157-159.
- Wood, N.F., & Magyary, D.L. (2010). Translational research: Why nursing’s interdisciplinary collaboration is essential. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 24(1), 9-24.