Research utilization in the social-political arena

Many of the health problems of populations at greater risk for ill health require action at the social-political level for intervention. The experience of working with local community leaders and concerned providers to improve the resources available to meet the needs of the homeless is used to illustrate the value and problems of combining the roles of nurse researcher and change agent. Whereas the researcher must protect the integrity of the research process so that the results will be meaningful, the formation of the research questions and reporting of results also must take into account the social-political aims of the research.