Ontario Health Care Evaluation Network

Abstract

In recent years nurses have been included on committees formed to plan changes in health-care delivery and hospital restructuring, taken up advanced-practice roles such as nurse clinician or nurse practitioner, and become involved in the trend toward community care (Ciliska et al., 1996; Kitson, Ahmed, Harvey, Seers, & Thompson, 1996; Landes-man, 1996; Nicklin & Dunn, 1995; Sharratt & Hiscott, 1995; Shaw, 1995; Verderber & Urden, 1994). Despite these gains, there is a clear need for nurses to further expand their roles and empower the profession by documenting changes in nursing practice. While health-care reform may be perceived as upheaval, it can also provide nursing professionals with unique situations in which to conduct research. Opportunities will exist to plan and implement new programs or procedures and to evaluate their effect on health-care delivery, to make further recommendations, and to disseminate findings to other health-care professionals, including health-care policy-makers.