Overview of nursing research in health care within the current economic context

This is an overview of nursing research findings in the following areas: forecasting the need for nursing personnel; evaluating the effectiveness of nursing care; and, costing nursing services. The author suggests the models for forecasting the need for nursing person power require further development and should incorporate more of the multitude of intricate factors that impact on nursing and the demands for care. Research in nursing case costing, workload measurement systems and the cost effectiveness of nursing care are also addressed in leading to the conclusion that there is an urgent and timely need for more nurse researchers to examine all of these complex nursing issues in relation to the whole health care system and thus be ready and in position to influence health policy and costs.