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 203 OF 216 · NEWEST FIRST

• RNOther2026A Point Prevalence Study of the Provision of Palliative Care for Adult Inpatients With Mental Health Issues.Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses AssociationMost adult mental health inpatients identified as potentially benefiting from palliative care had no evidence of referral or care provision. Older adult wards contained most of the patients with potential palliative care needs.
• RNSurvey2026Factors associated with externalized anger among early adolescents in rural Appalachia: A conceptual proposition with implications for violence prevention.Archives of psychiatric nursingIn 1564 rural adolescents, harsh parenting was linked to higher externalized anger, while caregiver support, supportive adults at school and perceived neighborhood safety were linked to lower anger. Girls reported higher anger than boys, contrary to the expected male risk.
• RNSystematic Review2026Barriers and Facilitators to Early Postpartum Blood Pressure Follow-Up After Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: An Integrative Review.Journal of midwifery & women's healthFor postpartum patients with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, early blood pressure checks were often missed, especially among Black, Hispanic, younger, publicly insured, and multiparous patients. Remote monitoring, nurse-led education, multilingual access, and continuity of care helped, but disparities remained.
• RNCohort2026Clinical Interventions During Inter-hospital Transfer of Infants With Moderate-to-Severe Bronchiolitis: Implications for Advanced Nursing Practice.Nursing in critical careThree simple thresholds at the regulation call identify which infants need a doctor on the transport team: HFNC with FiO2 over 40%, CPAP with FiO2 over 35%, or pCO2 over 65 mmHg. Applying these criteria would have allowed 70% of transfers to be safely managed by nurse-led teams.
• RNCohort2026Concordance Between the Minimum Data Set Kidney Impairment I1500 Item and eGFR Records in Nursing Homes.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationThe MDS kidney impairment item agreed with eGFR below 60 in only 60.3% of nursing home assessments. It identified 25.8% of assessments with eGFR below 60. Use lab eGFR for kidney monitoring and medication safety.
• RNCohort2026Influence of alcohol on the worsening of COVID-19 and the occurrence of long COVID.Revista latino-americana de enfermagemAlcohol use before infection did not directly cause long COVID, but it was associated with hospitalization, which was directly related to long COVID. Nurses should screen for alcohol use to identify patients at higher risk of severe acute disease requiring admission.
• OTRNSystematic Review2026Social Isolation and Loneliness Among Older Asian Immigrants Through the Lens of Sense of Coherence: Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies.Journal of advanced nursingOlder Asian immigrants linked loneliness to language barriers, reversed family roles and lost cultural connection. Ask about these when assessing older adults, not only mood.
• RNQualitative2026Family Members' Experiences of Weaning From Mechanical Ventilation in Intensive Care: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study.Nursing openFamilies of ICU patients being weaned from mechanical ventilation felt secure when they could stay near, touch and talk to the patient, and receive clear information. Their ability to take part varied.
• RNQualitative2026Bereavement Groups for Parents Who Have Lost a Child: A Qualitative Study of Parental Experiences in a Danish Context.Scandinavian journal of caring sciencesBereaved parents valued hospital-led groups where familiar palliative care staff facilitated sharing. Trust came from staff knowing their history. Practical supports like childcare, evening meetings, and home-like venues reduced barriers. Parents described moving from isolation to belonging through shared stories and witnessing.
• RNOther2026Management of Gastrointestinal Function in Patients After Laparoscopic Surgery for Benign Gynaecological Diseases: A Best Practice Implementation Project.Nursing openShorter first flatus and defecation times and less abdominal distension were reported with a ward-based perioperative bundle after laparoscopic gynaecological surgery, but many measures were delivered together, so no single component can be credited.
• RNRCT2026The Effect of Abdominal Massage and In-Bed Exercise on Gastrointestinal Complications, Pain and Comfort in Palliative Care Patients: A Randomised Controlled Trial.Scandinavian journal of caring sciencesIn palliative patients receiving tube feeding, usual medical care and prokinetics when indicated, nurse-applied abdominal massage or in-bed exercise lowered pain and raised comfort over three days compared with no intervention. Some gastrointestinal symptoms improved, but diarrhoea and vomiting results were inconsistent.
• RNOther2026Physical health screening for people with severe mental disorders: a best practice implementation project.Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S PIn a Brazilian centre for people with severe mental disorders, documented physical exams rose from 9% to 47.1% when a nursing intake stamp and routine nursing assessments were added, and weight or height recording rose from 0% to 22.4%; blood tests and electrocardiograms remained absent.
• RNSystematic Review2026Experiences and Perspectives of Perinatal Care for Women of Refugee Background, Interpreters, and Care Providers: A Scoping Review.Journal of midwifery & women's healthLanguage barriers and low health literacy drive negative perinatal experiences for women of refugee background. In-person interpreting builds trust, while telephone or family interpreting causes anxiety and missed information. Cultural safety requires adapting care to women's social contexts, not just clinical needs.
• RNOther2026Research Topics and Trends in MIMIC-IV: A Large ICU Database Relevant for Critical Care Nursing.Nursing in critical careA mapping of 1150 papers using the MIMIC-IV database shows research focuses on mortality, sepsis and machine learning. The authors note a gap in studies about nursing workflows and patient experience, suggesting future work should target these areas.
• RNOther2026Reliability and Validity of the Swedish Version of the Parents' Postoperative Pain Measure (PPPM-S): A Cross-Sectional Psychometric Study.Scandinavian journal of caring sciencesA 15-item parent checklist of children's behaviour after day surgery gave scores related to a child pain scale and was found feasible for home use. A score of 5 or more may flag pain that may need medicine.
• RNSurvey2026The Effect of Alexithymia, Metacognitive Beliefs and Self-Efficacy on Disability in Patients With Schizophrenia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursingYoung adults with schizophrenia who had more difficulty identifying emotions and unhelpful beliefs about thinking also reported more disability and lower confidence. Beliefs about thinking were linked to disability even when difficulty with emotions was considered; difficulty with emotions was linked to lower confidence.
• RNOther2026Clinical and epidemiological profile of pediatric patients undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: experience at a referral center.Revista latino-americana de enfermagemPediatric patients on ECMO who developed mechanical complications had nearly three times the odds of death. The cohort was severely ill, with most receiving vasoactive drugs or antibiotics before support began.
• RNSurvey2026Difficulties Experienced by Nurses in Psychiatric Hospitals During the Transfer of Psychiatric Inpatients With Physical Complications to General Hospitals: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study.Nursing openMost psychiatric nurses reported difficulty transferring patients to general hospitals, citing stigma and unclear roles. Regular information sharing about specific patients reduced these difficulties, but routine cooperation meetings between hospitals did not.
• RNSystematic Review2026Guidelines for Verification of Gastric Tube Location in Adult Hospitalised Patients: A Systematic Review.Nursing in critical careAdult hospital tube guidelines disagree on verification. They discourage auscultation, support aspirate pH and marking, and advise x-ray if doubt remains, but only one guideline was high quality.
• RNQualitative2026Outpatient discharge management model: a strategy to promote continuity of care.Revista brasileira de enfermagemNurses and physicians at a Brazilian teaching hospital described barriers to sending chronic patients back to primary care, including poor communication and unclear criteria. They helped design a discharge model where a nurse coordinates the transition, but the model's impact on patient outcomes has not yet been tested.
• RNSystematic Review2026Wearable Electronic Monitoring of Vital Signs in Hospitalised Adults: A Nursing Focused Scoping Review of Clinical, Economic and Implementation Outcomes.Journal of advanced nursingIn hospital wards, wearable monitoring was reported to detect deterioration earlier, but benefits depended on alert governance, training and response capacity. Nurses also described added device work, alarm fatigue and unclear savings.
• RNQualitative2026Barriers and Enablers in Home-Based Staphylococcus aureus Decolonisation Among Orthopaedic Surgery Patients: A Qualitative Study.Nursing openPatients preparing for hip or knee replacement described surprise and fear after a positive test result or before surgery. Clear instructions and nurse or GP support were described as helping them follow home decolonisation; late notices, tight timing, and missing products hindered it.
• RNOther2026Uncovering Research Themes in Simulation-Based Critical Care Education: A Bibliometric and Cluster Analysis.Nursing in critical careResearch on critical care simulation has grown steadily, focusing on five areas: acute care outcomes, curriculum development, patient safety and teamwork, procedural skill acquisition, and learner confidence. The United States leads publication volume, while collaboration networks remain strong.
• RNOther2026The effect of menstrual education on knowledge on menstruation: a quasi-experimental study.Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S PAdolescent girls' menstruation knowledge scores rose from 7.16 to 9.62 on a 10-question test after two 40-minute school education sessions.
• RNCohort2026Place of Death, Care Intensity, Symptom Prevalence, and Symptom Management for Patients With Stroke at End-of-Life.The Journal of neuroscience nursing : journal of the American Association of Neuroscience NursesFor 257 patients who died after stroke, proxies reported pain in 62.6%, breathlessness in 50.6%, emotional distress in 57.6%; hospital death was linked to more breathlessness and better breathlessness management.
• RNRCT2026Application of Affective Touch in Patients With Advanced Cancer: Effects on Existential Distress, Pain, and Quality of Life.The journal of nursing research : JNRFor patients with advanced cancer, nurse-delivered hand touch plus empathic talk added to routine care lowered existential distress, eased pain right after sessions, and improved social and emotional quality of life, but did not relieve pain later.
• RNCohort2026The Impact of Real-Time Data Analytics on Infection Prevention and Control Practices in Ophthalmology: A Nursing Perspective on Patient Outcomes and Cost-Effectiveness.Nursing & health sciencesPatients having ophthalmic surgery with real-time data analytics infection prevention nursing had better 1-month quality-adjusted life years, fewer postoperative infections, lower costs, and better vision and pain scores than manual monitoring.
• RNQualitative2026Patients' Perceptions of the Role of Nursing in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs: Qualitative Study.JMIR nursingPatients in substance use rehabilitation valued nurses for listening, emotional support, and trust. They often did not recognize nurses' technical tasks and confused nurses with doctors or social workers.
• RNCohort2026Accidents from falls among hospitalized patients in Emergency Units: a multicenter study.Revista brasileira de enfermagemMost emergency-unit falls happened from stretchers (68.2%), and admission fall-risk assessment was documented in only 42.7% of records. Among documented harm categories, 50.0% had no harm, but 5.6% died. Nurses should treat older, confused, agitated patients on stretchers as high risk.
• RNSystematic Review2026A Systematic Review of Obstetric Mistreatment Among Women Living With HIV.Nursing & health sciencesAcross 23 studies, women living with HIV reported obstetric mistreatment such as non-consented exams, broken confidentiality, stigma, neglect, and forced sterilization. In three quantitative studies, any mistreatment ranged from 12.2% in Tanzania to 79% in Ethiopia.
• RNOther2026"We're All in This Together": A Mixed-Methods Study of Provider and Patient Perceptions of Emergency Care for Opioid Use Disorder.Journal of advanced nursingPeople with opioid use disorder described avoiding emergency care due to fear of judgment and pain dismissal. Providers reported feeling helpless and unsafe. Both groups agreed addiction is a disease, but disagreed on whether naloxone changes behavior or if disclosure is honest.
• RNSurvey2026Patient Mobilisation Attitudes and Beliefs Survey-Intensive Care Unit: Turkish Validation and Reliability Study.Nursing openThe Turkish version of the ICU mobilisation barrier survey dropped four items and merged knowledge with attitude into one subscale, leaving 22 items across two domains. It is a usable tool for assessing staff perceptions, not a measure of patient outcomes.
• RNQualitative2026Women's Autonomy in Obstetric Care: A Qualitative Study on Violations and Experiences.Nursing & health sciencesWomen described obstetric care where information, consent, bodily privacy, support and personal values were often overlooked. They felt decisions were made for them, not with them. Nurses and midwives can watch for these patterns in maternity care.
• RNSystematic Review2026Fears and pre-colonoscopy anxiety: a scoping review.Revista brasileira de enfermagemAcross 24 studies, patients awaiting colonoscopy most often feared diagnosis, pain, and complications. Anxiety was most often linked to knowledge or information, previous colonoscopy experience, and gender.
• RNOther2026Inequalities in the health care system utilization for intrauterine device insertion.Revista latino-americana de enfermagemWomen seeking IUD insertion faced long waits and poor information: only 20.9% knew primary care could insert it, and 25.4% left without insertion. Women without previous pregnancy had worse access. Nurses should counsel and refer actively.
• RNOther2026Self-test for HIV infection diagnosis: educational technology development and validity.Revista brasileira de enfermagemA 12-page booklet explaining how to use HIV self-test kits was rated as clear, accurate, and visually helpful by both experts and potential users. It covers step-by-step instructions, result interpretation, and disposal, aiming to reduce barriers to testing.
• RNRCT2026Patient-reported barriers to dietary adherence in heart failure: a qualitative substudy of the Pro-HEART trial.European journal of cardiovascular nursingPeople with heart failure and diabetes or metabolic syndrome said strict diet plans felt culturally foreign, socially isolating, and emotionally stressful. Tracking food and weigh-ins increased stress, and motivation declined without consistent support or flexibility.
• RNRCT2026The effectiveness of innovative educational techniques based on the Transtheoretical Model on the self-care ability of patients with colorectal cancer undergoing ostomy: A randomized controlled trial.International journal of nursing sciencesPatients taught stoma care through a staged nursing bundle scored 56.31 on a 15 to 75 self-care scale versus 23.28 for control before discharge, and had lower one-month complications (11.0% versus 38.0%). The bundle had many parts, so no single tool can be credited.
• RNQualitative2026Grieving from the Margins: Black Canadian Men Navigating the Invisible Burden of Perinatal Loss and Masculine Expectations.The Canadian journal of nursing research = Revue canadienne de recherche en sciences infirmieresBlack Canadian men described perinatal loss as grief they hid to appear strong for partners. They reported limited support and used faith, family, work, and hobbies to cope.
• RNCohort2026Evaluation of Nurse-Led Triage in the Emergency Department: A Retrospective Observational Study.Journal of clinical nursingNurse-led triage in a Spanish emergency department showed most patients were low or moderate urgency. While higher acuity patients got seen faster, only 23.8% of the most urgent met target time-to-care benchmarks, likely because immediate care took priority over electronic documentation.
• RNSystematic Review2026Factors Influencing Breastfeeding Outcomes Following Neonatal Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review.Journal of human lactation : official journal of International Lactation Consultant AssociationAfter neonatal hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy, breastfeeding was more likely with moderate than severe injury, and enteral feeds during cooling were associated with earlier milk and discharge breastfeeding. Evidence was mixed and low quality.
• RNOther2026Infusion Pump Interoperability and Resulting Alert Reduction: Multisystem Findings.Journal of nursing care qualityAfter interoperability, drug library alignment, functional testing, and quarterly data analytics service, 22 infusion pump sites had fewer programming alerts, edits, overrides, and potential averted overdose events. Alerts fell from 73.4 to 48.6 per 1000 events, but patient outcomes and workload were not measured.
• OTRNSystematic Review2026Experiential Aspects in Patients With Permanent Urostomy Following Bladder Cancer Surgery: Meta-Synthesis of Qualitative Studies.Nursing openPeople living with a permanent urostomy after bladder cancer surgery described fear of leaks and odour, changed body image, sexual problems, family and financial stress, and gaps in home stoma care. These themes describe daily life, not treatment effects.
• RNSurvey2026Factors determining patient satisfaction during healthcare delivery in Limpopo, South Africa.CurationisPatients reported dissatisfaction with long outpatient waits, dirty linen and environmental hygiene. Inpatients also reported less agreement that nurses sat and talked with them or explained their condition.
• RNRCT2026A Virtual Reality-Based Cognitive Restorative Intervention Using Nature to Improve Attention, Self-Care, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Heart Failure.The Journal of cardiovascular nursingNature-VR did not improve attention in heart failure compared with Urban-VR. Both groups improved self-care and quality of life over 52 weeks, so any benefit may reflect usual care and weekly calls.
• RNSurvey2026Predictors of Filipino Life Satisfaction Using the Revised Filipino Satisfaction With Life Scale.Nursing researchThe revised Filipino Satisfaction With Life Scale scored consistently as one overall measure in 694 Filipino Americans. Higher satisfaction linked to older age, female sex, partner support, lower stress; PTSD and other medical conditions linked to lower.
• RNQualitative2026Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions of Digital Counselling: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.Scandinavian journal of caring sciencesHealthcare professionals described digital counselling as requiring active support for patients' technology use and careful assessment of suitability. They emphasised that empathy, clear language, and knowing when to switch to face-to-face or phone contact remain essential to safe, patient-centred care.
• RNSurvey2026Pathways to self-management among older adults with multimorbidity in rural China: A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis.International journal of nursing sciencesIn 487 rural older adults with multiple chronic conditions, high self-efficacy sat at the centre of good self-management. Social support, resilience and resource access shaped different pathways, while low self-efficacy marked poor self-management.
• RNOther2026Applying the quality improvement cycle to prevent cardiac surgical site infections.Revista brasileira de enfermagemA quality improvement cycle with protocol, bundle, education, adherence strategies, discharge booklet and audits coincided with surgical site infection falling from 13.59% to 6.91% and mediastinitis from 5.34% to 1.38%. No control group, so components cannot be separated.
• RNSystematic Review2026Influence of Music on Cortisol Levels in Mechanically Ventilated Critically Ill Patients: A Systematic Review.Nursing in critical careMusic lowered serum cortisol in three of five small trials of adults receiving invasive mechanical ventilation, but did not show a consistent effect. Patient-preferred music may be a low-risk comfort option, not proven treatment.