Research and innovation competencies in nursing for the development of health careStrengthening nursing science requires continuous investment in consolidating research and innovation (R&I) competencies, both at the individual and institutional levels. R&I competencies form the foundation for building applicable, ethical, and transformative knowledge, oriented toward the social determinants of health, inequities, and emerging global challenges.
From this broader perspective, R&I competencies in nursing should be understood beyond the activation of methodological tools, drawing attention to the need for a strategic and structured agenda. This agenda should be anchored in international models of excellence and research proposals aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), demonstrating the importance and capacity to connect scientific research, public policy, and care improvement at multiple levels.
Although the scientific contribution of nursing to the development of health systems is recognized, there appears to be an underrepresentation of nursing, as a science, in research project funding programs and high-impact scientific publications. In contexts such as the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, projects led by nurses were the exception rather than the rule.
This scenario reinforces the central role of higher education institutions in nursing. As highlighted by Castillo-Martínez and Ramírez-Montoya1, universities must train professionals with critical and scientific capacity to transform reality. This implies integrating research training from undergraduate studies, promoting a culture of applied science, and creating support structures for scientific initiation and the continuity of academic careers.
Nursing holds a place as a scientific, contributive, and globally relevant discipline, where the recognition of R&I competencies development is not an option, but a professional and ethical responsibility.
Investing in these competencies ensures that nursing practice is evidence-based, that education is grounded in science, and that health policies reflect the realities of care.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
No acknowledgments.
DATA AVAILABILITY RESEARCH
The dataset of this study is not publicly available.
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FINANCIAL SUPPORT
No funding.
References
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1 Castillo-Martínez IM, Ramírez-Montoya MS. Research competencies to develop academic reading and writing: a systematic literature review. Front Educ. 2021;5:576961. http://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.576961
» http://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.576961
