Three AACN Impact Research Grants, with funding up to $50,000 each, will be awarded to experienced clinicians, researchers to support inquiry and drive change in high acuity and critical care nursing practice
Applications for AACN Impact Research Grants and other research funding due by Oct. 30
ALISO VIEJO, Calif. — Sept. 15, 2015 — The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) aims to advance high acuity and critical care nursing practice through its annual research grants.
Applications for the next cycle of AACN grants are being accepted through Oct. 30, 2015, with awards ranging from $10,000 to $50,000.
This year, $160,000 in research funding is available, including three Impact Research Grants for $50,000 each, to support inquiry that drives change in high acuity and critical care nursing practice.
Priority projects address gaps in clinical research at the organization or system level and translation of these findings for bedside clinicians. Initiatives may include technology to achieve optimal patient assessment, management and/or outcomes; healing and humane environments; processes and systems for the optimal contribution of high acuity and critical care nurses; symptom management; and managing outcomes and preventing complications.
AACN has awarded 11 Impact Research Grants since 2011, investing more than half a million dollars to date. Current funded research teams are:
- Using a new tool to assess risk factors related to pressure ulcers in critical care
- Evaluating the effectiveness of a topical antiseptic in newborn and pediatric cardiac ICUs to prevent healthcare-associated infections
- Journal writing in the Pediatric ICU to reduce parental stress
- Identifying models of care for acute care nurse practitioners
- Implementing and evaluating an education program and screening protocol aimed at preventing ethical conflicts among clinicians
Martha A.Q. Curley, RN, PhD, FAAN, the Ellen and Robert Kapito Professor in Nursing Science at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, received an Impact Research Grant in 2013.
She and her research team with colleagues from eight pediatric hospitals used the funding to further assess the predictive validity of the Braden Q Scale for the development of immobility-related pressure ulcers and test a new element, referred to as the Braden Q+D, to describe pediatric patient risk for medical device-related pressure ulcers.
“AACN funds research studies that address clinical problems faced by nurses that are important for patients and their families to solve,” Curley said. “Our Impact Research Grant allowed us to support the infrastructure necessary to conduct a multi-site study. We were able to build a website to facilitate paper-less study coordination, develop tools to enhance inter-rater reliability and help support our statisticians to ensure high-quality study monitoring and data analysis.”
AACN will award up to three $50,000 Impact Research Grants in 2016. The association developed the program to ensure a pipeline for evidence-based resources to guide practice.
AACN continues to offer annually the AACN-Sigma Theta Tau Critical Care Grant with up to $10,000 in funding.
Principal investigators must be current AACN members with either an earned master’s degree or completed candidacy requirements for a doctoral degree. Sigma Theta Tau International members are also eligible to apply for the AACN-STTI grant.
All research grant applications must be submitted online by Oct. 30. Once funded, research projects must be completed within two years.
About the American Association of Critical-Care NursesFounded in 1969 and based in Aliso Viejo, California, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. AACN represents the interests of more than 500,000 acute and critical care nurses and includes more than 225 chapters worldwide. The organization's vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution.
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 101 Columbia, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656-4109;
Phone: 949-362-2000; www.aacn.org; facebook.com/aacnface; twitter.com/aacnme