Changes in nursing administration research priorities. A sign of the times.

Although research is the critical element in the advancement of knowledge, for research to contribute knowledge to the practice of nursing it must be focused on subjects germane to the practice arena. When the focus of research in a discipline is not congruent with the needs of the discipline, knowledge development is compromised. By comparing the aforementioned retrospective research reviews to the research priority lists, we see that published research in nursing administration has not been tied closely to identified priorities. Healthcare reform provides nursing administration with a renewed opportunity to focus its research on priority areas. With the implementation of healthcare reforms, the practice arena for nursing and nursing administration will shift from the acute care setting to community and home-based settings, necessitating a shift in research to address these new delivery settings and the required care systems. The priorities generated from the national consensus group represent that shift, and may provide meaningful foci for future nursing administration research.