National Representative Spain:

José Luis Cobos Serrano RN, MSn, Assistent Director Research Institute

Work address: Gabinete de Estudios Consejo General de Enfermeria Fuente del Rey 2,  28023 Madrid, Spain
Tel at work: +34 91 334 5520
Fax: +34 91 334 5503
E-mail: jlcobos@enfermundi.com

Download Annual Reports below:

Annual Report 2009 

Annual Report 2004

Nursing Research in Spain 1997

Myriam Ovalle, Ed. D.

Annual Report for 1997 - Spain

Education for and in nursing research

Postgraduate Research Education is undertaken by the Universities, the Ministry of Education, the General Council of Nursing, and Research Units of the National Health System.

The University Schools of Nursing have introduced research courses since 1977.

Continuing education is also undertaken by the same institutions involved in postgraduate studies. The most important, by the number of programmes and the number of training students per year, is the School of Health Sciences of the Complutense University, financed by the General Council of Nursing. Some scientific Nursing Associations are also involved in training for nursing research.

Completed and ongoing research

Development of nursing research projects

Nursing research is mainly developed by practicing nurses in primary health care settings as well as hospitals.

Also some Nursing Departments of the Universities are developing lines for nursing research.

Since we have around 150,000 nurse practitioners, the projects developed are mainly in the field of critical care nursing and primary health care.

Critical nursing care project areas are:

  • Validation of classification of nursing diagnoses, interventions, and results.
  • Development of nursing care indicators in nephrological care, oncological care, geriatric care, intensive care, palliative care.
  • Validation of nursing theories.


In primary health care the main lines of research are:

  • Validation of classifications of nursing diagnoses, interventions, and results in primary health care.
  • Development of indicators for primary health care.
  • Needs and standards for domiciliary care.
  • Development of guidelines for evidence-based nursing practice in primary health care.
  • Health education for high risk groups.

In the area of nursing manpower:

There are several studies developed this year and others to be finished next year, financed by the General Council of Nurses such as:

  • "Study on Nursing's Contribution to the Health of the Spanish Population". Madrid 1998.
  • "Prospective analysis of the nursing profession for the year 2005". Ongoing project.
  • "The Salaries and Working Conditions of the Professional Nurses in Spain". Madrid 1998.
  • "The Nurses' unemployment in Spain". Madrid 1997.

Funding

Although funding for nursing research is still one of the constraints for nursing research development the situation has improved. There are more funds available from the health government institutions at national, autonomous, local and institutional levels, from pharmaceutical industry, from university departments, and from the Spanish Nursing Organization.

New developments

The General Council of Nurses has founded the Institute for Nursing Research and Nursing Accreditation. In this Institute nurses from education, practice, management, and scientific associations will be included in order to develop a national strategy and priorities for nursing research. This Institute will constitute a structure for nursing research with the human and financial resources needed to develop research in nursing and health priority areas.

Myriam Ovalle
Representative of the Spanish General Council of Nursing

WENR c/o LEVV, P.O. Box 3135, 3502 GC Utrecht, The Netherlands,
Tel: +31 30 291 9005 Fax: +31 30 291 9049 E-mail:   wenr@levv.nl