A Delphi study on research priorities for emergency nurses in Western Australia

The Delphi Study on Research Priorities for Emergency Nurses in Western Australia Project was designed to allow emergency nurses to design research questions and then rank them in order of priority.

A qualitative methodology allowed the researchers to determine expert opinions from the membership of the Emergency Nurses Association of Western Australia to reach a general consensus related to research questions.

The results placed nurse-initiated analgesia as the top research priority, with ED staffing issues in second place and ED violence issues in third place. In all, 25 research questions were developed and ranked according to priority.

Development of these ranked research questions enables researchers not only to pick a research question "off the shelf" but also to be assured that the research question is clinically relevant and is a priority for practicing emergency nurses. These attributes will encourage potential researchers to conduct studies, but they also underscore the importance of the topics for the benefit of those who fund studies.