101 Leading Nursing Research Topics
You might question why research is important in nursing. In this article, we will make a comprehensive list of nursing research topics that will offer great ideas to embark on your study.
Research is a fundamental aspect of the nursing practice. Research can be done in several ways including performing an experiment or proving a theory. This research is presented in a report. Students get to apply their nursing education to advance the nursing field through discoveries.
When you follow a process keenly, you add to the quality and quantity of your study. The conception, design, execution, analysis, and propagation phases of the research process should be taken into account during your study.
Tips to take into account while choosing topics for nursing research
Choosing a great topic for your research requires techniques. Here are a few tips on how to do that:
- Choose a topic that addresses current trends and issues. Avoid redundant and out-of-date topics that do not bring any new information to the field
- Go for topics that suit your interests, subject, and practice. Avoid easy topics for your research.
- Be smart in choosing a topic but do not write a topic that is too difficult for you to pursue. This will only leave you frustrated
- Maintain authenticity in your research. Use your mind and skills to come up with fresh content for your nursing research
- Do not waver from asking for help. Undertaking research is not an easy task. Sometimes, you may need help from your colleagues, professor, or individual who might be your interviewees.
Nursing research: PICOT questions
Evidence-based research is a fundamental part of clinical research. Nursing assignments may require you to come up with clinical questions along with your research. The PICOT framework is used to design clinical questions.
For a clinical question to be valid, it must address all the parts of the PICOT. The following are parts of PICOT that are the blueprint for designing your clinical questions:
- Patient, Problem, or Population
- Intervention
- Comparison
- Outcome
- Time
These components will help you outline a perfect criminal research question for your evidence-based nursing paper. You are required to follow this framework for most of your nursing research. Here are a few PICOT nursing research questions:
- Substance abuse (alcohol and tobacco) in relation to esophageal cancer
- Pediatric interventions for patients’ MRSA
- Is postpartum depression more common in first-time mothers than in second or third-time mothers who deliver premature babies?
- Are teenagers who have been exposed to long phases of chemotherapy at high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases?
- Is an annual mammogram or one after 3 years more effective in the detection and prevention of breast cancer in women under the age of 50 years?
- Can colon cancer be better determined by a colonoscopy combined with a blood test rather than a colonoscopy alone?
- Are triggers of hypertension in males over 65 years better addressed with daily monitoring of blood pressure?
- Do oral contraceptives expose a greater risk of blood clots in women between the ages of 25-40 compared to women in the same age group that avoid them?
- Does encouraging male college students to talk about sexual harassment reduce depression rates in college?
- Do breastfeeding infants decrease the chance of illness in growth and development?
- Do peer-supported intervention programs help in curbing suicide rates among teenagers in cities?
- Is maternal health affected by increased use of antidepressants among reproductively active females?
- What is the difference between Nasoenteric and Nasogastric?
- What is the best practice for oxygenation in children between 2- 3 years?
- Can conversational skills in Schizophrenic patients be improved through group therapy?
- Which is better for middle-aged women for cold prevention zinc pill or vitamin C?
- Is esophageal cancer prone to non-smoking adults?
- Is childhood obesity among school-attending children best treated through medical interventions?
- Does handwashing increase the rate of infections among children and adults?
- Which is more effective for pain in adults over 50years morphine or fentanyl?
- Do women above the age of 30 years respond well to oral contraceptives?
- Is patient care for nurses effective through the use of bedside reports for patients?
Childcare and pediatrics nursing research topics
Pediatric nursing involves taking care of an ill or incapacitated infant, children, and adolescents. Pediatrics is a very tough area of study. Thus, it is prudent to do some research on your topic before embarking on writing on it. The following are a few nursing paper topics on pediatrics
- Treating obesity in children
- Diagnosis, management, and monitoring techniques of asthma in children
- Effects of early childhood stress on child growth and development
- Treatment of childhood acute leukemia
- Ways of treating the common cold in children
- Premature baby care
- Prevention and vaccination of meningitis in children
- ADHD diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring in children
- Signs and diagnosis of autism in children
- Benefits of meditation to autistic children
- Nutritional deficiencies in children: ways of prevention
- Epidemiological research in obsess children: causes and prevention
- Genetics factors leading to type 1 diabetes in children
- Nursing interventions and care management for nephrotic syndrome in children
- Research on child immortality ratio and leading causes of death
- Pediatric cancer patient survival rates
- Effects of growth and wellbeing of eating disorders in children
- Brain function behavior in pediatric anorexia children
- Clinical indicators, diagnosis, and treatment of HHV6
- Causes and treatment of the Tourette syndrome
- Methods of helping new mothers in newborn care
- Pediatric vaccinations
- Nursing care and treatment: renal insufficiency
- Cardiovascular diseases in children
- Treatment options for hypoplastic left heart syndrome
- Raising awareness of conduct disorder in children
- Effects of radiation therapy on children
- Early life exposures that lead to heart disease in old age
- Stem cell technology usage in pediatric treatment
- Treatment of movement disorders in infants
- Care management of pediatric patients
Geriatric research topics in nursing
Geriatric research deals with medical advancements in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of physiological disorders that are associated with old age. Nurses collaborate with older patients, their family members, caregivers, and members of the community to support healthy aging. Below are a few topics relevant to geriatric research:
- Ophthalmic care for older adults
- Prediction and assessment of dementia in older adults by predictive machine learning
- Common mental health diseases in older adults
- Optimizing care for older surgical patients
- Late-life depression: causes and management
- Hip fracture care strategies for older patients
- Pain management in older patients
- Diet for elderly patients as part of healthy aging
- Health issues from malnutrition in older patients
- Aging and the immune system: changes and challenges
- Assessing physical functioning ability in the elderly
- Psychological issues in taking care of older adults with chronic illness
- Diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of delirium in older patients
- Ethical issues surrounding the use of physical restraints on the elderly
- Substance and alcohol use disorders in older adults
- Nursing strategies for perioperative care of older patients
- Diabetes management in older adults
- Oral care practices for older adults
- Is chest pain an indication of chronic disease in older adults?
- Measures of monitoring blood pressure in the elderly
- Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in the elderly: prevention, treatment, and risk factors
Critical care nursing research topics
Critical care in nursing is one of the important branches of healthcare and patient care. As a critical care nursing student, you need to submit a dissertation for study. Here are several workable topics for your dissertation in critical care nursing:
- What are the objectives of intensive and critical care in healthcare?
- Explain different methods and techniques used on patients in clinical management
- Demystify communication difficulty between patients and critical caregivers
- The role of telemedicine in primary care
- Strategies for care and management of patients suffering chronic and acute pain
- Current issues surrounding AIDS
- Assessing the leading causes of burnout among critical care nurses
- Nurses’ perspectives on exploring visitation in the intensive care unit
- Developing professional conduct in intensive care settings
- Comparative analysis of global private and public healthcare systems
- An assessment of nurses’ experience of critically ill patients
- Professional dilemma: should nurses be allowed to prescribe drugs in critical care settings?
- Is alarm setting for critically ill patients crucial
- Alternatives to the deterrence of catheter-associated UTIs in intensive care strategies
- Conceptual models of critical care settings
- Nurse education on safety in critical care settings
Evidence-based practice nursing research topics
In nursing research, evidence-based practice (EBP) is the practice of collecting, dispensing, and implementing clinical research discoveries to improve the clinical environment, clinical practice, and patient outcomes. The following are major EBP nursing research topics for exploration:
- Role of a registered nurse (RN) in management of sedation by catheter methods for obstetrical patients
- Administration of anesthetic agents by RN
- Benefits of aerobic exercise in heart failure patients
- Correlation of fat consumption and cardiovascular events
- Benefits of essential oils in hypertension patients
- Identifying stigmatization among mental health patients in a healthcare setting
- Development and deployment of nurse-friendly digital equipment to enhance the nursing experience
- How can we offer support to a family with a dying parent?
- Analysis of whether antibiotics and acid-reducing medication increases the risk of recurrent infection among older adults
- Maternal mental health support and guidance for parents with infant problems
- Recognizing health differences among the LGBTQ community
- Is the reduction of red meat intake effective in mitigating cardiovascular diseases and cancer?
- Poor management of opioid dependence among patients by nurses
- Nurses feeling of disempowerment when dealing with patients suffering extreme pain
- Health promotion spaces for minorities (blacks and Hispanics) in places of worship
- An analysis of the relationship between sedentary behavior and increased depression among older adults
Qualitative and quantitative nursing research topics
Qualitative nursing research focuses on health professionals’ and patients’ experiences. Through this method of research, an individual’s experiences are not oversimplified and turned into mere statistics.
There are four ways of conducting a qualitative research study
- Narrative inquiry. This is a research study method based on personal accounts of your participating subjects
- Grounded theory. This type of research method takes account of the social processes that influence an individual’s life
- This type of research is intended to narrate a phenomenon as experienced by an individual
- This design technique reveals culture’s influence on an individual. It exposes characteristics of a certain culture from an insider’s perspective
Here are a few qualitative nursing research topics:
- The future of nursing in the digital age
- Ethics around treating the homeless
- Remote intensive care techniques and challenges
- Diversity and inclusion in healthcare
- Mental disorders among prisoners
- How effective is e-health in treating patients?
- Methods and techniques of physical trauma
- Factors affecting patient safety
Quantitative nursing research methods use objective measurements by employing statistical methods, and mathematical and computational modeling, to enable an empiric and systematic investigation. Here are several quantitative nursing research topics:
- What are the health benefits of a healthy diet?
- A comparative analysis between home care and nursing homes
- A statistical approach to estimating the average of suicidal and self-harm patients
- Should the primary role of every nurse be teaching self-care?
- Handling abusive patients: what are the rights of nurses?
- An examination of the balance between healthcare and costs
- Is it right to treat information overload medically?
- Is pet therapy effective?
- Comparing nurses and nursing practices across the globe
- Analyzing the effectiveness of massage therapy
- Statistics on the number of children who missed immunization in your country
Controversial nursing topics
Nurses play a big role in the healthcare industry. However, the job does come with its share of setbacks and controversy. In this article, we will look at some controversial topics in nursing:
- Artificial hydration and nutrition for patients: comfort over survival treatment
- Aggressive intervention and vain care
- Ethical issues surrounding dealing with non-complaint patients
- Addressing childhood immunizations: anti-vaccine predicaments
- Nurse compensation and salary: are they given enough
- Individual, cultural, and professional discrimination
- Do long shifts by nurses affect the quality of care in healthcare settings
- Effects of short staffing in hospitals
- Workplace safety: addressing occupational hazards in nursing
- Workplace violence in healthcare settings
- Male nurses offering intimate care to female patients
- Addressing emotional health for nurses
- Mental health issues affecting nurses
- Treatment approaches amid the opioid crisis
Mental health nursing projects topics
Mental health awareness is rapidly growing around the globe. Mental health topics related to nursing would be a good catch for your nursing research. Remember to maintain updated and relevant information on these topics, as well as, be sensitive to your audience:
- Symptoms and treatment of borderline personality disorder
- What are the leading causes of stress among law enforcement officers?
- Emergency procedures for suicidal and self-harm patients
- What is the effect of video games on mental health?
- Emotional challenges in treating patients with mental health problems
- Is aromatherapy effective in treating depression and stress?
- Ethics for nurses dealing with mental health patients
- Analysis of the role of nurses in treating psychological disorders
- Treating PTSD among veteran military officers
- Recovery techniques for physical trauma
- Methods of diagnosing psychogenic movement disorders
- Genetic factors in mental health disorders?
- Effects of social media on mental health among young adults
- Schizophrenia diagnostics and treatment
- Approaches to diagnosing and managing sleeping disorders
- Is alcohol addiction an indication of severe stress or depression?
Women health topics
Women generally experience more health issues than men. Women’s healthcare is wide and interesting and can provide great nursing topics for research:
- The role of hormonal imbalance in weight gain
- Is breast cancer screening helpful in early detection and treatment?
- Is the risk of osteoporosis increased by menopause?
- Effective measures for preventing pregnancy
- Nursing methods and techniques for helping violence victims
- Preventive and treatment measures for ovarian disorders
- Analysis of female sexual health disorders
- Ethical issues in the treatment of infertility
- An overview of modern neonatal practices
- Does premenstrual syndrome affect the physical and mental health of an individual?
- Are sleep disorders among women indications of serious health issues?
Obstetric nursing topic ideas
Obstetrics involves the care of labor and delivery in childbirth. Good nursing research topics surrounding obstetrics include:
- Is elective induction for laboring safe
- Evaluation of risk factors in preterm labor
- Mental health issues during pregnancy and after childbirth
- Mitigating unhealthy habits during pregnancy
- What factors increase mortality rates among newborns?
- What are the precautionary measures to be taken against an unplanned caesarian section?
- An analysis of childbirth efficacy
- Challenges of weight gain during gestation
- Ways of mitigating postpartum depression
- Evaluating risk factors in preterm delivery
- Risk evaluation of pregnant mothers who are obese
- Risks of termination of pregnancy to a female
- Fetal observation, screening, and testing during pregnancy
- Recommendations on the post-natal period
- Management of emotional and physical changes during pregnancy
Primary healthcare nursing research topics for students
Primary healthcare refers to the first contact you experience while having a minor healthcare issue or illness. The following are some of the nursing research topics related to primary healthcare:
- Healthcare financing approaches
- Innovation of vaccination programs in rural areas
- Ethics of data collection in primary healthcare
- Medical enigmas in the emergency room (ER)
- Medical care quality evaluation methods
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of patient home care?
- What are the fundamental roles of nurses in schools?
- Describe the advantages of nurse classification
- The benefits and cost of integrating childcare into primary healthcare
Nursing paper topics for health management
- What are the main guidelines in marijuana management?
- Advantages and disadvantages of Medicare
- An analysis of gender biases in healthcare
- What is the main role of human resource departments in healthcare settings?
- Do US asylums deliver quality healthcare services?
- In what ways can a nurse become a physician?
- Does social media contain the potential to promote a healthy lifestyle
- Evaluating management values among healthcare experts
- Analysis of healthcare contracts limitation
- Is there a shortage of men in healthcare?
- Nursing uniform code guidelines
- The study of difficulties in smoking cessation
- Steps to starting a private medical practice
- An analysis of the evaluation of school-based sex education programs
- What are the different ways of promoting a positive body image among the youth?
- Do non-English speaking patients present legal risks?
- Can diet-associated cancers be mitigated by healthy eating habits?
Nursing research paper topics in pain management
- A study on the phenomenon of phantom pain
- Innovation in the use of injection
- Techniques in management of abdominal pain in children
- Analysis and evaluation of pain limits
- Protocols for treating a headache
- Effect of opioids on bone healing
- Treatment of Rheumatoid arthritis by use of opioids
- Case study: how to successfully treat a migraine
Top examples of nursing research questions
- Does brain changes due to dementia cause pain?
- What are the innovations and ways of improving operating room sustainability?
- How can digitized nursing health records improve patient outcomes?
- How can cachexia be prevented in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation?
- Is yoga therapy an effective treatment for lymphedema among cancer patients?
- Is there a correlation between aggressive behavior and psychiatric ward design?
In summary
Nursing is a critical branch of the healthcare setting. Research in nursing is important for nursing students to improve patient outcomes. Research can be done in several ways to obtain the intended outcomes. In this article, we have mentioned various nursing research topics. Take up the challenge and write a paper on any of these topics. Remember to maintain objectivity, clarity, and creativity throughout your research paper.