Building a Community Nursing Research Community of Practice

Abstract

Most health and social care is provided to adults at home and in care homes. The need for community nursing has rapidly risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 41% increase in people dying at home (O’Donnell et al, 2021), and many more people have experienced conditions and health issues requiring community nursing interventions. However, there is a dearth of nurses leading and contributing to research on community healthcare and generating evidence to underpin care. Lack of evidence impedes policymakers in commissioning high-quality community healthcare and optimising outcomes for patients and their families. This editorial seeks to establish a Community of Practice for Community Nursing Research working group, collaborating with key partners such as the Queen’s Nursing Institute and International Collaboration for Community Health Nursing Research. The Community of Practice would create a forum to share ideas, network and build research capacity in community nurse-led research.