Research Priorities for Intensive Care Nursing: A Focus Group and Three-Round Delphi Consensus Study

Research priorities for intensive care nursing have been set internationally but not in Japan. We aimed to identify national priorities and compare them with those reported elsewhere. Focus group interviews with 10 expert intensive care unit (ICU) nurses generated 65 categories, which 50 nurses rated over three modified Delphi rounds (consensus, median ≥ 70, then ≥ 80). Categories were restructured into 20 topics; 16 reached consensus. Five independent nursing researchers who had taken no part in the interviews or the Delphi rounds then appraised every topic for validity, applicability, utility and clarity; all 16 were endorsed, and one was reworded. Symptom management, post-intensive care syndrome prevention and ICU nurse education ranked highest, and education- and system-related topics formed about one-third of the agenda, suggesting workforce regulation shapes national research priorities alongside clinical need. The agenda gives Japanese academic societies, funders and post-graduate programmes an explicit basis for targeting research investment.