Doctorates and nurses.

There is a plethora of routes to obtaining a doctorate in nursing and this arises due to international differences in the modes of study, preparation of the final submission and examination systems. The variety of pathways and outcomes leads to some confusion over the status and purpose of doctorates in nursing. In this discursive paper we review the historical development of the doctorate in nursing and describe the various routes to doctorate in Europe, Australia and the United States. There is much in common between the various routes with increasing evidence of formal elements across the countries studies and, especially in the United Kingdom and the United States, evidence that the fitness for purpose of the doctorate in nursing is being examined and changes being introduced.

Barriers to, and facilitators of, research utilisation: a survey of Hong Kong registered nurses.

Aim Despite increasing efforts to promote the utilisation of research in daily nursing practice it is apparent that there are a number of obstacles to address. This paper reports a study to examine the barriers to, and facilitators of, research utilisation among registered nurses in Hong Kong. Methods A survey design and a random sampling method was used. The final sample consisted of 1487 registered nurses working in private and public health-care sectors in Hong Kong. A bilingual version of the Research Utilisation Questionnaire, comprising a 31-item barriers scale, and an 8-item facilitators scale was used. The instrument was mailed to participants who were asked to return the completed questionnaire by mail. Results The highest ranking barriers to research utilisation reported by respondents were related mainly to organisational factors with regards to inadequate facilities, no authority to change procedures, and time constraints. Hong Kong nurses, however, did not appear to see any problem with regards to items related to characteristics of research, such as conclusions drawn from research being justified, research articles not being published fast enough, and literature reporting conflicting results. This indicates that nurses are aware of research developments in nursing and can critically analyse research reports. With regards to facilitators of research utilisation, respondents agreed that managerial and peer support are the greatest facilitators. Conclusions The results indicate that factors influencing research utilisation are multidimensional and should be taken into account by all involved in the research enterprise: researchers, practitioners, educators, managers and policy-makers. The results of this study provide directions on how to assist nurses in Hong Kong in their efforts to utilise research.