Research and evidence-based practice are important components of home healthcare nursing and bring value to our profession and specialty. The International Home Care Nurses Organization (IHCNO) fosters relationships with, and between, researchers and clinicians who investigate home healthcare and home healthcare nursing across the international community. To promote quality research, IHCNO offers an annual award of seed money, pilot funding, or total funding for research that provides promising contributions to evidence-based home care nursing.
IHCNO is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization composed of a committed network of home care nurses who advance home care nursing around the world. We provide a platform where nurses can support and learn from one another. Home care is recognized as a specialized area of nursing practice and we support home care nurses who focus on clinical practice, education, and research.
The goals of the research grants are to:
1. Create a network of home healthcare nurse researchers dedicated to research and scholarship within the home healthcare setting and academia.
2. Foster the collaboration among researchers within or across countries to conduct research in areas of interest to home healthcare nurses.
3. Showcase current projects or research that feature one or more topics that promote the science of home healthcare nursing.
4. Advise home healthcare nursing researchers on available small grant funding and research conferences.
The first research grant "A Study of Home Health Care Nursing Outcomes Quality Indicators in Thailand Using Delphi Technique" was awarded in 2019 to Werayuth Srithumsuk, RN, PhDc, Faculty of Nursing Science, Phetchaburi Rajabhat University & Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University and his coinvestigators. The results of the 2019 research award will be shared in a future article and program.
Applicants for the 2020 Home Care Nursing Research Award should consider one of the following IHCNO research priorities to guide their proposal. Significance, clinical relevance, and scientific merit of the research are critical factors in the review process.
a. Education of home care nurses
b. Leadership in home care nursing
c. Best clinical practices for home care patients and families
d. Patient and person-centered care strategies
e. Technology to improve home care nursing practice
f. Practice models for the delivery of home care nursing services
g. Innovations to enhance home care patient/family outcomes and nursing practice
h. Other topics to advance home care patient/family outcomes and nursing practice
Interested applicants are invited to visit http://www.ihcno.org and search the Research tab for eligibility criteria, guidelines for preparation of the 2020 application, and timelines. The deadline for submission of research proposals is September 30, 2020. The names of the International members of the Research Committee are listed on the website. You can also find the 2019 IHCNO Annual Report in addition to current information on the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife and how to join IHCNO and one of the committees. The October 2020 conference in Singapore, in partnership with the Tsao Foundation in Singapore, was postponed due to COVID-19. A future date has not been identified. Current updates will be shared on the website and through email with nurses who join the IHCNO network. You can join when you visit http://www.ihcno.org. There is no cost associated with joining the organization or with submitting a research application.