Identify effective approaches to improve health and well-being by addressing the conditions in which people are born, grow, learn, work, play, live, and age.
Nursing research embodies the holistic perspective of the nursing discipline, which considers the whole person in advancing health and well-being. This perspective ideally positions the discipline to address the conditions of people’s lives in the promotion of health both through research that informs policy and the day-to-day practices of nurses as they interact with patients, families, and communities in a variety of settings. Research in this area seeks to protect or improve health by addressing the conditions in which people are born, grow, learn, work, play, live, and age and the wider set of social and economic factors shaping the conditions of daily life.
Research developed using this lens could examine causal pathways and mechanisms through which the conditions of daily life positively or negatively influence health. Research approaches might include intervention or implementation science research that develops innovative strategies to address the conditions of daily life (e.g., food, housing, employment, education) and research to evaluate existing or upcoming interventions (e.g., programs, environmental changes) to understand their health impact.
Also of interest are studies that focus on social risks and protective factors that are downstream effects of higher-level conditions of daily life. These include social risks and protective factors that have adverse or beneficial effects on individual- or interpersonal-level social and economic circumstances, and social needs or health-related social needs that an individual or provider prioritizes for assistance in the context of healthcare.