Innovative Research in Nursing: A Necessary Change

Social and economic changes, worldwide, require strong investment in research and innovation. Least developed countries if they have a minimum level of human capital and institutional infrastructure can develop innovation research and guarantee results and impact⁽¹⁾.

In the area of health, especially nursing, a new look at research models has been considered. Arguably, basic research is necessary and essential, but there must undoubtedly be a reason in the applied future, however distant it may seem. These surveys support, with an information framework, those currently so desired, innovation surveys.

A decade ago, the editorial of an indexed journal in the nursing area already signaled the importance of the discussion for investment in innovation research in nursing, highlighting the possibility of changes in the quality or productivity of services⁽²⁾. At that time, it was considered that nursing had the challenges of training and qualifying scientists to work at an international level on the innovation of science and that this would be the role to be played by the education system, including Graduate Programs. In turn, funding institutions would need to expand funding for national research⁽²⁾.

More recently, in response to this provocation, the Graduate Programs have changed their dynamics, especially the Professional Master’s Programs in Nursing, which have invested heavily in technological innovation research. The development of research that results in innovation in care processes, such as, for example, protocols based on the best evidence, validated assessment instruments, definition of systematized work processes, among others, have significantly contributed to the improvement of nursing care.

In turn, the Federal Nursing Council (Conselho Federal de Enfermagem, abbreviated COFEN) started to invest effectively in the qualification of professionals, with the objective of training them for innovation in science. As a strategy, it has been applying financial resources in the Graduate Programs in Nursing in the professional modality. They are interested in developing innovative research for the consolidation of Systematization of Nursing Care (SNC) and Care Management.

In addition, COFEN held the 22^nd Brazilian Congress of Nursing Councils (22º Congresso Brasileiro dos Conselhos de Enfermagem) in November 2019 to advance discussions on innovation in nursing, enabling the dissemination and awarding of research in technological innovation. In the same year, in partnership with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), they created the “Laboratório de Inovação em Enfermagem: Valorizar e Fortalecer a Saúde Universal” (freely translated as Laboratory of Innovation in Nursing: Valuing and Strengthening Universal Health). It aimed to map, systematize, and disseminate innovative experiences produced by nursing within the scope of the Brazilian Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde, abbreviated SUS), in the area of service management, population health care, education and professional training⁽³⁾.

It seems to us that innovation in nursing can be perceived as a synonym for change and, nowadays, for health professionals to obtain results in the quality of care, innovation research is essential in the face of changes that happen in society. Thus, these researches have been an encouragement both for the creation of new ways of assisting and for changes in the nursing work processes. An innovative research starts from the ability to measure and evaluate to continuously improve care delivery processes, being able to give a new aspect to a care or, even, to improve the way of developing it.

For a substantial advance of this theme in nursing, it is essential to think and act beyond the traditional, the common, the determined for the new. It is necessary to dare as visionaries and protagonists of research that bring about real changes in health care around the world.

REFERENCES

• ¹
  Paul GHE. Science and Innovation for Development[Internet]. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016[cited 2020 Apr 26]. Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/research/iscp/pdf/publications/ki0116693enn_executive_summary.pdf
  » https://ec.europa.eu/research/iscp/pdf/publications/ki0116693enn_executive_summary.pdf
• ²
  Marziale MHP. Strategic research, technological innovation and nursing [Editorial]. Rev Latino-Am Enfermagem [Internet]. 2010 [cited 2020 Apr 26];18(1):[02 telas]. Available from: https://www.scielo.br/pdf/rlae/v18n1/01.pdf
  » https://www.scielo.br/pdf/rlae/v18n1/01.pdf
• ³
  Conselho Federal de Enfermagem (Cofen). Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde-Brasil (OPAS/OMS). Laboratório de Inovação em Enfermagem[Internet]. 2020[cited 2020 Apr 26]. Available from: https://apsredes.org/enfermagem/
  » https://apsredes.org/enfermagem/

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  24 June 2020
• Date of issue
  2020