Voices from practice: mental health nurses identify research priorities

Through a collaborative research project, nurse clinicians and nurse academics identified and prioritized the most important research questions arising from the current and future practice of mental health nurses in an eastern Canadian region. Study methods included the Delphi technique and a nominal group survey approach. Nine categories of research questions emerged. The top four categories are discussed under the headings: Preparation of Helpers, the Service System, Caregiver Needs, and Clients With Major Behavior Problems. This timely study offers explicit direction for psychiatric and mental health nursing practice and research, and for the development of social policy.