French nurses' and allied health professionals' perception of research in their fields: A descriptive qualitative study

Aim To gather information from nurses and allied health professionals in the French context of the emergence of research in the field so as to inform the development of a new tool: The research in nursing and allied health sciences' Ideas Generator (GenI) capable of sustaining the identification of research ideas from professionals in the field. Background In many countries, research in nursing and allied health sciences remains underdeveloped. Introduction Before developing the Ideas Generator tool, it was essential to explore professionals' basis of reference in providing care, then investigate (1) their representation of research in this field of science and (2) their perception of needs for and obstacles to starting a research process. Methods The qualitative research design used focus groups. The study population included 24 participants naive to research in four hospitals in eastern France (13 nurses and 11 allied health professionals). Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The study was reported in compliance with the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research criteria. Findings Professionals used tacit knowledge and their experiences to address care, but the culture of scientific evidence was clearly missing (lack of knowledge of the origin of care guidelines, few bibliographic skills). Participation in a research process could hardly be envisaged without a supervised collaboration with a physician. Research was perceived not to be part of professionals' culture. They self-censured for lack of methodological competencies. Discussion Findings underlined some leverage, obstacles, and need to consider to generate a stimulation in the field, especially in countries where such research is still in its infancy. Implication for nursing, health, and education policy Strengthening the field of nursing and allied health research is essential to extend the skills of nurses and allied health workers and to improve the quality of patient care by taking into account results from the literature. The Ideas Generator tool will be implemented to sustain learning the skills of research through education and training.