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The research programme for ACUMeN takes into account the research priorities of the three collaborating departments and also reflects government and nursing priorities.
The objectives of the research domain are to:
- Promote collaborative research and clinical scholarship among staff in the University, the Trust and in the wider musculoskeletal community
- Provide strategic direction and management of collaborative musculoskeletal research projects and clinical scholarship initiatives
- Generate funding for musculoskeletal research projects for the development and evaluation of new nursing interventions and services locally, nationally and internationally
- Promote research and scholarship as a professional responsibility for practising nurses working in the speciality of musculoskeletal care
- Improve the capability of staff working in musculoskeletal care to appraise and critically evaluate research findings applicable to their practice
- Contribute to the development of research capacity
- Provide a nurturing environment for future generations of nurse researchers
- Act as a national and international research resource for nurses and others working in the speciality
Rheumatology is a discipline in which there is already considerable research work undertaken in clinical trials, and although a number of nurses are involved in these studies, under auspices of medical staff the focus if their work is drug therapy rather than nursing. ACUMeN therefore intends to develop a research programme focused on nursing, undertaken by the senior staff in the unit. In addition we are working towards capacity building in a number of ways including:
- Developing and providing a support structure for existing staff involved in research
- Attracting post graduate students
- Attracting post doctoral students
- Encouraging the secondment of clinical practitioners to work on research projects
The research programme has two strands. The first focuses on local needs and is being generated by our Practice Development Unit, which is under the auspices of our Practice domain. The second strand has a national/international agenda and is intended to produce more generalisable results and knowledge. This strand will begin by building on a portfolio of work in the speciality previously undertaken by members of ACUMeN.
The overarching strategy focuses on Patient Outcomes from care in its broadest sense, and work is either underway or planned in a number of areas:
- Quality of Life
- Patient Education
- Sexuality and Body Image
- Ethnicity and Cultural Diversity
- Service Developments
- Patient Perceptions of Care
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