ABSTRACT
A 1997 Institute of Medicine report cited growing public concern about the quality of care in the U.S. health care system for persons at the end of life. The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), the lead Institute at the National Institutes of Health for end-of-life research, has conducted a number of public forums to gather information and to assist in identifying research priorities. The complexity of biomedical research requires new methods of discovery, and scientists must use a broad approach and explore new models of team science. In December 2004, NINR and the NIH Office of Medical Applications of Research, along with many co-sponsors, held an interdisciplinary State-of-the-Science Conference on Improving End-of-Life Care. The conference panel identified many gaps in our current state of knowledge and provided suggestions for future research directions. This supplement presents papers from a distinguished group of scientists with a wide range of backgrounds who participated in this state-of-the-science conference.
Subject(s)
Palliative Care/standards , Patient Care Management , Quality Assurance, Health Care , Terminal Care/standards , Humans , Palliative Care/methods , Palliative Care/organization & administration , Quality of Life , Terminal Care/methods , Terminal Care/organization & administration , United StatesSubject(s)
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/therapy , Attitude to Health , Palliative Care/standards , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/mortality , Delivery of Health Care/organization & administration , Humans , Medicare , Palliative Care/economics , Research , United Kingdom , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
On May 1-2, 2000, the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) hosted a Spring Science Work Group on Increasing Nursing Postdoctoral Opportunities. The work group met at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda and was chaired by Dr Patricia A. Grady, director, and Dr Hilary D. Sigmon, program director, NINR. The purpose of the meeting was to identify ways to increase postdoctoral opportunities for nurse researchers. The work group considered the gaps and strengths currently present in postdoctoral education and suggested strategies and collaborative approaches for future initiatives. As biomedicine and behavioral science enter the 21st century, nurse scientists have critical roles to play in basic laboratory studies, translational research, clinical investigations, care delivery, and outcome evaluations. To fulfill these roles and to meet the growing need for well-trained nurse scientists in complex, multidisciplinary research, the "pipeline" of postdoctoral nurse researchers must be strengthened.
Subject(s)
Education, Nursing, Graduate/organization & administration , Nursing Research/organization & administration , Humans , Mentors , Middle Aged , Organizational Culture , Persuasive Communication , Program Evaluation , Training Support , United StatesABSTRACT
Quality of life for transplantation patients offers many opportunities for basic science and clinical researchers, ranging from biological and behavioral investigations to clinical interventions and population studies. Specific topics of interest for the field of transplantation research that have immediate application to studies of quality of life include signs and symptoms of chronic illness, biobehavioral risk factors for disease, functional disabilities, patient outcomes, adherence to treatment, care delivery, roles of families and caregivers, strategies of stress management, special needs of children and high-risk patients, health promotion and education, and long-term care. These topics offer investigators a unique opportunity to develop and apply integrated prevention and treatment strategies and to contribute valuable insights and skills to multidisciplinary research teams needed for quality-of-life studies of transplantation patients.
