Research training and leadership for midwives and health visitors

We aimed to investigate the developing research capability in Midwifery and Health Visiting, as evidenced by doctoral degrees and post-doctoral careers. Our sources of information were: [1] an evaluation of research design in doctoral theses 1988-2002; [2] a search of the CINAHL, Medline, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED), British Nursing Index, and PsyclNFO databases for evidence of publication; and [3] an internet search for the eventual career trajectory of the postgraduates. To validate these data we looked retrospectively at a published survey of employment records of a sample of registered health visitors within academia. Doctoral designs had increasing diversity; though very few were clinically oriented. However, academic research leadership in the UK seems to be limited, especially in health visiting. Also, over a third of candidates graduated from 10 universities that do not have nursing or midwifery schools. We concluded that research capability is growing in midwifery and health visiting, but we could not identify a cohort sufficient to secure the development of evidence-based practice for the future of midwifery and health visiting.