NURSING

Research for nursing

Papers a nurse can act on, across critical and emergency care, medical-surgical, mental health, paediatrics and neonatal, maternity, older adults, community and primary care, and oncology and palliative care. Each is read in full rather than from its abstract.

10,756 PAPERS · PAGE 197 OF 216 · NEWEST FIRST

• RNQualitative2026What Is My Role? A Qualitative Study of Labor, Birth, and Postpartum Experiences of Partners.Nursing & health sciencesPartners described their role as caregiving in three ways: physical, emotional and social. They wanted clear information, inclusion in decisions, and basic care for themselves, but often felt excluded or undervalued.
• RNCohort2026Development and Psychometric Validation of the Spanish Version of the Experience of Living With Chronic Heart Failure-University of Navarra Scale.Nursing & health sciencesA Spanish 30-item questionnaire for outpatient heart failure care was found usable for assessing profound change, acceptance, normality, hope, and family impact; the death subscale was removed.
• RNOther2026The Centralized Pain Score: A Method to Identify Nociplastic Pain in Electronic Health Records.Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management NursesA score built from chronic pain diagnoses in electronic health records was higher in records clinicians judged to have centralized pain than in matched or general records. It is a research method, not a bedside test.
• RNQualitative2026Facilitators and Barriers to Prenatal Exercise from the Biopsychosocial Perspective of Pregnant Individuals: "If You Keep Moving, Then You Won't Stop".Journal of midwifery & women's healthPregnant people rated exercise highly important and reported moderate-to-high confidence. Fatigue, pain, fear of harming the baby, work and caregiving, and unclear safety advice limited activity. Walking, stretching, routines, family support, and clear reassurance helped.
• SLPRNQualitative2026Patient Perspectives on Inpatient Mealtimes: Insights on Swallowing, Mental Wellbeing and Recovery.International journal of mental health nursingThirteen adults on mental health wards described shared dining as stressful, crowded and controlling, with queues, fixed menus and staff supervision reducing choice. Some linked anxiety to faster eating and greater choking worries.
• RNMeta-Analysis2025Does health-related quality of life change across pregnancy trimesters? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Women's health nursing (Seoul, Korea)Across 13 studies of 4,809 pregnant women, overall health-related quality of life did not differ between first and second or first and third trimesters, but was lower in the third than the second.
• RNSurvey2025Factors affecting menstrual cycle changes following COVID-19 vaccination in Korean women of reproductive age: an exploratory correlational study.Women's health nursing (Seoul, Korea)111 of 227 vaccinated Korean women reported menstrual abnormality after vaccination; irregular cycles, heavy bleeding, age, body mass index, marital status and prior infection were associated. Nurses can use this for counselling, not proof vaccine caused changes.
• RNCohort2025Maternal depression over 7 years postpartum: trajectories and multidimensional predictors in a longitudinal cohort study.Women's health nursing (Seoul, Korea)Over 7 years, 55.6% of mothers had elevated depression risk at some point, although scores did not change clearly over time. Prenatal symptoms, preterm or low-birth-weight infants, stress, low self-esteem, and marital conflict were linked to risk.
• RNQualitative2026Parents' Experiences of Having an Adolescent With a Mental Disorder Admitted to a Public Hospital's Psychiatric Unit.Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of NursingParents of adolescents admitted to a public hospital psychiatric unit in South Africa described grief, anxiety, physical stress, stigma, and feeling unsupported. Prayer and church helped, but they wanted clear information about diagnosis, medication, and discharge.
• RNSurvey2026The Impact of Perceived Stress on Depression Among Caregivers of Children With Enterostomy: The Moderating and Mediating Effects of Resilience and Perceived Social Support.Nursing openCaregivers of children with temporary stomas who felt more stress also reported more depression symptoms. Resilience was linked to part of this connection. Social support was linked to lower depression, but the study cannot show cause.
• RNQualitative2026Patient Experiences of a Recovery-Oriented Nursing Programme in Inpatient Psychiatric Care: A Qualitative Study.Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursingIn psychiatric wards, patients said nurse-led recovery groups felt useful when sessions were voluntary, structured, and led by attentive staff. Patients described the workbook and diary as tools to focus thoughts, plan for discharge, and continue strategies after leaving hospital.
• RNSurvey2026Self-Perceived Spiritual Care Competencies Among Nursing and Midwifery Students in Slovenia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nursing openMost nursing and midwifery students in Slovenia rated their spiritual care competence as only moderate. Nurses scored higher than midwives, and women scored higher than men, but few students reported high competence in assessing or planning spiritual care.
• RNSurvey2026Synthetic Cannabinoid Use and Sports-Related Concussion Risk Among US Adolescents: Implications for School Health Screening and Prevention.The Journal of school healthUS adolescents who had ever used synthetic cannabinoids were more likely to report a past-year sports-related concussion in a survey sample of 27,482 students. The link remained after accounting for alcohol, marijuana, mood, sleep, and demographics.
• RNCohort2026A Real-Time Prospective Evaluation of the Prognostic Accuracy of SIRS, MEWS, NEWS2 and qSOFA in Predicting ICU Admission and Mortality in an Emergency Department: Implications for Nursing Practice.Nursing in critical careIn ED patients with suspected infection, NEWS2 best flagged those who later needed a prolonged ICU stay, while qSOFA best flagged those who died within 28 days. No score was both good at catching those outcomes and good at avoiding false alarms.
• RNRCT2026Assessment of Discriminant Validity for Measures of Hope and Hopelessness in Adults With an Acute Cardiac Event.Research in nursing & healthAfter a cardiac event, feeling hopeless did not mean having no hope. Hopelessness and hope were related but separate, and many patients who felt hopeless still reported hope.
• RNNarrative Review2026A Reflection on Current Definitions of Critical Care and Critical Illness-A Narrative Review of the Literature.Nursing in critical careDefinitions of critical care, critical illness and chronic critical illness vary widely. The review found 13, eight and 12 definitions, with differences in timing, setting and complications, and almost no mention of patient experience.
• RNQualitative2026Patients' Experience Before Cardiac Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.Nursing openPatients waiting for heart surgery during pandemic described loneliness and losing themselves. They avoided burdening family, feared death, and said no visitors and staff focused on surgery information made isolation worse.
• RNQualitative2026Fear and Challenging Behaviour: A Phenomenological-Hermeneutic Study of Public Mass Shooting Attacks During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand.Nursing openSurvivors described fear as a physical presence that disrupted sleep and daily routines. They coped through shared silence with others, mindfulness, and creative expression. Care that validated their fear and offered non-verbal outlets supported recovery more than standard clinical explanations.
• RNQualitative2026"In God's Hands": Qualitative Study of Religion/Spirituality and HIV-Related Intersectional Stigma Among Black Women Living With HIV in Washington, DC.The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care : JANACBlack women living with HIV described stigma from family, providers, and religious spaces as barriers to care. Many used personal spirituality, not organized religion, to cope and keep taking medication.
• RNSurvey2026Investigating the Relationship Between Body Constitution as Defined Under Traditional Chinese Medicine and Vertigo in Women in Taiwan.The journal of nursing research : JNRHigher Traditional Chinese Medicine body constitution scores for Yang-Xu, Yin-Xu and Phlegm stasis were associated with a higher chance of self-reported vertigo in women. Age, migraine and endometrial polyps were also associated. This does not prove treatment.
• RNNarrative Review2026Monitoring Vaccine Safety: United States Vaccine Safety Surveillance Systems.Journal of pediatric health care : official publication of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & PractitionersPediatric nurses and nurse practitioners should familiarize themselves with U.S. vaccine safety surveillance systems like V-safe and VAERS to effectively address caregiver concerns and support vaccine confidence.
• RNSurvey2025Evaluation of breast cancer symptoms and risk factors in women: the case of Türkiye.Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S P32.1% of women reported breast cancer symptoms, and 61.5% of symptomatic women did not know how to perform breast self-examination. Nurses can ask about symptoms and teach self-examination.
• RNSurvey2026Development of the Indonesian Version of the Consumer Access, Appraisal, and Application of Services and Information for Dementia Instrument into Indonesian and Validation on a Sample of Older Adults.The journal of nursing research : JNRThe Indonesian dementia literacy questionnaire gave consistent answers in older adults, but some parts may overlap. Use it to ask patients and families about confidence finding and using dementia information and services.
• RNSystematic Review2026A Thematic Qualitative Synthesis on the Lived Experiences of Patients With Left Ventricular Assist Devices: A Journey From Vulnerability to Resilience.Nursing in critical carePatients with left ventricular assist devices describe a journey from vulnerability to resilience, marked by stigma, fear of device failure, and identity loss. Critical care nurses are positioned to support early coping through holistic, person-centred care that addresses these psychosocial burdens.
• RNSurvey2026Families' Perception of Cognitive and Emotional Support From Healthcare Professionals Across the Maternal and Newborn Care Continuum.Nursing in critical careFamilies in Ghana gave maternal and newborn staff an overall support score of 45.3 of 70. Emotional support was rated lower than information, and families wanted clearer updates, inclusion of male partners and family members, and time for discussions.
• RNPilot2026Nurse-Led Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Delivery to Adolescent Girls and Young Women Accessing Family Planning Services: A Pilot Study in Uganda.The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care : JANACNurses successfully delivered HIV prevention medication alongside contraception to young women in a busy Ugandan clinic. Nearly all eligible participants started treatment immediately, and no one acquired HIV during the six-month follow-up period.
• RNOther2026Primary Nursing in Intensive Care Units.Nursing in critical carePrimary nursing increased ICU nursing organisation scores in one unit, but the other unit only partly reached it and some patient and care process measures fell.
• RNOther2026Postoperative Consequences of Fear and Anxiety in Open Heart Surgery: A Comparative Analysis of Two Patient Groups.The journal of nursing research : JNRReferral and nonreferral cardiac surgery patients had similar postoperative pain and similar preoperative anxiety and fear. In referral patients, fear was linked to pain, and anxiety was linked to discharge time, but no treatment was tested.
• RNOther2026A Retrospective Linked Data Analysis of Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease Diagnoses in Children Aged Under Five Years in Australia, 2001-2017.The Australian journal of rural healthAcute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease were first diagnosed in 180 Australian children under 5 years. Most were Indigenous or very remote, and only 69.4% were notified to registers, so follow-up and preventive treatment may have been missed.
• RNRCT2026Single-Use Versus Multiple-Use Endotracheal Suction Catheters in Mechanically Ventilated Patients: A Feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial.Nursing in critical careIn 58 mechanically ventilated ICU patients, single-use suction catheters and chlorhexidine-flushed reused catheters were feasible, with no adverse events. This pilot cannot show whether these catheter strategies reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia compared with standard saline flushing.
• RNOther2026Achieving Cancer Prevention Equity: A Policy Analysis of American Cancer Society HPV Vaccination Guidelines.Journal of advanced nursingFragmented US HPV vaccination policy leaves 46 jurisdictions without school-entry mandates, while five mandate jurisdictions exceed 70% coverage. Rural, immigrant, Black and Latino adolescents face lower access despite free vaccine funding.
• RNSystematic Review2026A Comparison of Physiologic Third-Stage Care, Expectant Management, and Oxytocin Prophylaxis in the Prevention of Postpartum Hemorrhage Following Physiologic Labor and Birth: A Systematic Review.Journal of midwifery & women's healthAfter physiologic birth, supportive physiologic third-stage care may lower blood loss of at least 1000 mL compared with oxytocin prophylaxis. Hands-off expectant management likely increases it. Transfusion, side effects, fatigue and breastfeeding showed little difference.
• RNQualitative2026Mothers' Views on the Use of Oral Glucose for Pain Relief in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.Nursing in critical careMothers of NICU infants saw oral glucose as easy and acceptable when it seemed to relieve pain, but disliked sugar, doubted its effect, and preferred breast milk or parental comfort. They wanted guidance to participate.
• RNSurvey2026Characteristics of Vaccine-Hesitant and Nonhesitant Parents in Italy: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nursing researchAmong 308 Italian parents, 40 were vaccine-hesitant. Hesitant parents had lower education, health literacy, vaccine literacy and confidence, relied more on television, and 30 had vaccinated but no longer intended to.
• RNOther2025Psychometric testing of the Korean version of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire: a methodological study.Women's health nursing (Seoul, Korea)The Korean W-DEQ gives nurses a 26-item way to ask pregnant women about fear of childbirth, but it does not show that screening changes birth or mental health outcomes.
• RNRCT2026Effectiveness of Closed Blood-Sampling Devices in Critically Ill Adults: A Feasibility Trial.Nursing in critical careOnly 9.3% of screened patients were eligible, 27.1% of randomised patients were lost to follow-up, and 91.7% received care as planned. The device group reported lower transfusion and discard volume, but the trial did not test whether it worked.
• RNCohort2026Short Delays in Time to First Contact With Community Health Services and Risk of Emergency Hospital Attendance: Retrospective Observational Study.Journal of advanced nursingA short weekend delay in first community health service contact after a primary care referral was not associated with increased emergency department attendance within 56 days, even though Thursday referrals were less likely to be seen on days two or three.
• RNMeta-Analysis2026Maternal satisfaction with breastfeeding: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Revista brasileira de enfermagemIn 12 studies, 64.83% of postpartum women reported satisfaction with breastfeeding. Satisfaction was lower with complications, unmet expectations, or exclusive breastfeeding for less than one month.
• RNSurvey2026Association between rheumatology patients' beliefs about medicines and treatment adherence.Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S PRheumatology patients who worried more about their medicines reported following treatment less closely. Concern about medication use was linked to lower adherence. Ask about medication fears before judging non-adherence.
• RNCase Report2026Advancing Knowledge of Acute Cutaneous Graft-Versus-Host Disease Wound Care: A Case Study.Journal of wound, ostomy, and continence nursing : official publication of The Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses SocietyWounds from severe acute graft-versus-host disease had mostly resolved by the 104th day after stem cell transplant, following atraumatic skin care, soft silicone dressings, pressure relief, and pain control given with multiple systemic therapies.
• RNQualitative2026Community Dwelling Adults' Lived Experiences of Participating in Death Cafés: A Phenomenological Study With Photovoice.Journal of clinical nursingCommunity adults in Singapore said death cafés made talking about death safer and more normal. Participants said small groups, strangers, and casual settings made it easier to discuss suicide, grief, advance directives, and practical end-of-life planning.
• RNSystematic Review2026Summary of Evidence for Perioperative Management of Day Surgery Patients Undergoing Anorectal Surgery.Nursing openThis review synthesizes 46 evidence items for day-case anorectal surgery, emphasizing targeted preoperative assessment, avoiding routine antibiotics or bowel prep, and strict discharge criteria like a recovery score above 9. It guides nursing and surgical teams on perioperative care steps.
• RNQualitative2026'In the Midst of a Thunderstorm': Young People's Experiences of Physical Restraint in Inpatient Mental Health Services in the UK.International journal of mental health nursingYoung people aged 10-13 described inpatient physical restraint as frightening and confusing. Fear built before contact, restraint felt like losing control, and distress lingered afterward, often without helpful debrief.
• RNOther2026Spatial scanning for the identification of risk areas for fetal death: an ecological study in Pernambuco.Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S PA high-risk cluster in Pernambuco included municipalities in Health Regions V, VI and XI, and also VII in 2018-2022, with 50% higher risk in 2013-2017 and 39% in 2018-2022. Deaths outside health facilities were more frequent later.
• RNMeta-Analysis2026Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Fear of Childbirth Among Pregnant Women Planned for Normal Birth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Worldviews on evidence-based nursingAntenatal mindfulness programmes, which varied in childbirth education, coping and emotional support components, lowered fear of childbirth and labour pain, and were linked to fewer caesarean births and shorter labour. They did not lower epidural use or pain catastrophising.
• RNQualitative2026Decision-making about breastfeeding: influences of breastfeeding counseling.Revista brasileira de enfermagemFirst-time mothers described nurse-led breastfeeding counseling in rooming-in as practical and emotional support they said helped them feel able to decide and continue breastfeeding. Family pressure toward bottles or pacifiers could still undermine it.
• RNCohort2026Living Space Mobility and Liberty Deprivation Measures Among Residents With Dementia in Long-Term Inpatient Care: A Longitudinal Study.Nursing openResidents with dementia stayed closer to their room and living area than residents without dementia. Liberty-depriving measures were linked to more restricted movement, regardless of dementia.
• RNNarrative Review2026Diagnosis and treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea: Key clinical considerations.Journal of the American Association of Nurse PractitionersNurse practitioners and physician assistants can diagnose irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea from symptoms, limited tests, and absent alarm features, then personalize diet, medication, or gut-brain therapy choices.
• RNRCT2025Effect of a digital sexual violence prevention education program on digital sexual violence prevention knowledge, self-protection behavior, and digital citizenship among fifth-grade children: a quasi-experimental study.Women's health nursing (Seoul, Korea)Fifth-grade students who received four health education sessions about digital sexual violence scored higher on prevention knowledge and confidence to act as bystanders than controls. Self-protection behavior was not shown to improve compared with controls.
• RNSurvey2025Association between preventive health management and high-risk drinking among women of childbearing age: a correlational study of the ninth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.Women's health nursing (Seoul, Korea)Among Korean women aged 19-49, high-risk drinking was associated with smoking, skipping breakfast, no dental check-up, employment and lower education; it was not associated with stress, physical activity, general check-ups, cancer screening or flu vaccination.