Research Priorities of Clinical Nurses and Midwives in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a Mixed Methods Study

Effective use of resources in healthcare research is essential in meeting the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 to achieve universal health coverage, increase retention of healthcare workers, and strengthen the capacity of all countries to reduce risk and manage global health risks; the World Health Organization (WHO) also identifies nursing research as an important piece of the framework for improving global healthcare. Determining research priorities to reduce redundancy and ensure a solid evidence base for practice is especially critical in resource-limited countries or those facing healthcare crises such as those in the Middle East. To identify regional research priorities for nursing, focus group discussions composed of hospital-based nurses were conducted in Egypt, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. Forty-eight percent of research priorities were nearly the same as those identified as critical by regional nursing leadership in a previous study, demonstrating consistency between clinician- and administrator-identified research priorities, and suggesting healthcare administrators are well attuned to the research needs of clinicians. Both groups identified critical gaps in population and community health research. Across countries, research priorities identified were related to nursing workforce, health systems research, and quality of care, representing critical issues needing investigation to build a solid evidence base for nursing practice.