Gerontological Research Is It Useful for Nursing Practice?

The potential usefulness to gerontological nursing practice of nursing as well as non-nursing research was studied. The empirical phase of nursing research was also compared with that of medical, behavioral science, and multidisciplinary research. Although the quantity of nursing research reviewed was small, nearly 80% was judged to be potentially useful to the practice of gerontological nursing. About one third of the non-nursing research was judged potentially useful. These findings are relevant to all nurses, indicating the value on non-nursing as well as nursing research to nursing practice. Overall, the design of nursing research compared favorably to the design of non-nursing research.