Trends in NIH-funding to schools of nursing in the last 17 years

Growing clinical demands, faculty retirements, fewer PhD-prepared graduates, and funding instability are challenges for nursing science.

The purpose of this analysis was to investigate National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding patterns in schools of nursing (SONs).

Data were extracted from the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research between 2006 and 2022. Growth modeling examined changes in funding over time between private and public SONs.

In the last 17 years, NIH funding for SONs has risen nearly 25% but remains only 1% of the total NIH budget for extramural research. Overall, 109 (75%) of the SONs were public and 36 (25%) were private institutions. Regarding geography, 90% of the States received NIH funding except six: ID, ME, MS, NH, VT, and WY. Private SONs consistently received more funding than public SONs but the difference was only statistically significant in 2022.

NIH funding has significantly increased to SONs, there is better geographic distribution but a funding disparity exists between public and private SONs.