Guest Editorial- Gerontological Nursing Research: Lessons in Clinical and Service Relevance

Abstract

Twenty-five years ago it was possible to count on one hand the number of nurse researchers in Canada investigating questions related to the health of older people, their care, or the well-being of their family care-givers. This field was not viewed as exciting or intellectually stimulating. How things have changed. Today, research on the elderly is one of the most dynamic research areas in nursing and, for that matter, in any health-science discipline. The clinical challenges that confront practising nurses in the field of elder care make wonderful research challenges as well. These dual challenges are well represented in this issue of the journal. This issue also offers samples from the great range of research topics currently being explored by nurse researchers: clinical problems, behavioural problems, caregiver needs and services, and quality of life.