Involvement of Nurses in Research in Malawi Alfred Maluwa, PhD
Research Director University of Malawi Kamuzu College of Nursing
Global Health Research Launch Meeting Kamuzu College of Nursing 4
th October, 2012.
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Introduction In the University of Malawi, promotion of faculty
is based on publication in peer reviewed journals Faculty at KCN
have to teach students; supervise them during clinical and
community placements; set, administer and mark examinations
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Introduction Faculty of KCN have to meet the four essential
elements of university education: a) enabling students to acquire
skills and knowledge in preparation for practice after they
graduate a) equipping students with problem-solving skills
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Introduction c. generation of new knowledge for the benefit of
the nursing / midwifery profession and the wider community, d.
transmission and preservation of societys values. The challenge is
on how to balance the importance of teaching, nursing practice, and
research /publications
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Importance of Research in Nursing Enables recognition of the
past through the researchers acknowledgment of the present /
existing knowledge. Leads to reflection, synthesis, and
identification of gaps in knowledge through critical appraisal of
the literature.
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Importance of Research in Nursing The research process itself
allows for opportunity to think logically, communicate effectively
with editors, reviewers, and readers, and therefore sharpens
argumentation. Researchers develop attributes in working
systematically, dealing with conflict, truthfulness, and
transparency in origins of ideas or concepts. Research experience
provides evidence that improves nursing practice
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Importance of Research in Nursing
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Best practices in nursing are developed through rigorous
research conducted by nurse scientists The faculty members who
publish benefit from the peer-review process Their research
findings and ideas are presented to the clinical services and
academic world
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Importance of Research in Nursing
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Status of Global Research in Nursing Nurse scholarly
productivity is not uniformly distributed across the world. Out of
1286 articles on nursing education research in major journals
published between 1991 and 2000, 90% of the articles were from
North America and Europe. Nursing research and publications were
poorly developed in the UK and lagged behind other university
disciplines.
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Status of Research at Kamuzu College of Nursing Kamuzu College
of Nursing was opened in 1979 The aim is to prepare most highly
qualified nursing and midwifery personnel for the Malawian nation
The college focuses on total student and staff development geared
towards addressing both the current and emerging health issues
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Status of Research at Kamuzu College of Nursing The college
encourages faculty to integrate the findings of vibrant research
and outreach programs to inform practice Faculty should pursue
excellence in practice through own professional and personal
development
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Status of Research at Kamuzu College of Nursing After 27 years
of its existence, (1979 to 2005) the research outputs at the
college were very low; There were 57 faculty; 6 PhD holders, 32
with Masters Degree, and 19 with B.Sc. There were 42 publications
translating to 1.4 faculty members per publication
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Status of Research at Kamuzu College of Nursing A total of 16
published articles were associated with only 2 faculty members Some
of the articles were published as early as 1988 showing that
research output per year was very low Some of the publications were
from faculty in the basic department
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Status of Research at Kamuzu College of Nursing Most of the
publications came from research projects Most faculty did not have
research projects The situation has improved with the introduction
of postgraduate programs
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Status of Research at Kamuzu College of Nursing The college has
5 Masters programs in clinical specializations; M.Sc. (Midwifery);
M.Sc. (Reproductive Health); M.Sc. (Child Health Nursing); M.Sc.
(Community and Mental Health Nursing); M.Sc. (Nursing and Midwifery
Education).
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Status of Research at Kamuzu College of Nursing Students are
undertaking research on different topics within each masters
program Students are encouraged to publish their research results
Hence the number of publications (research output) has increased to
23 in the current year.
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Status of Research at Kamuzu College of Nursing The college has
66 faculty in 4 departments; Basic studies, Maternal and Child
Health, Medical Surgical Nursing and Community. There is 1 full
professor 3 Associate professors 13 Senior Lectures 34 Lecturers 7
Assistant Lectures 8 Clinical instructors
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Status of Research at Kamuzu College of Nursing The college
continues to collaborate with the postgraduates students after they
have graduated to jointly implement research programs The college
has as of August, 2012 been designated a World Health Organization
Collaborating Centre (WHO CC) for Excellence in Inter Professional
Education and Practice
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Status of Research at Kamuzu College of Nursing The college is
developing a PhD program in inter professional Health Sciences The
program will further strengthen research at Kamuzu College of
Nursing Kamuzu College of Nursing is collaborating with other
Universities abroad, Norway, USA, UK, Ireland, Australia
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Status of Research at Kamuzu College of Nursing The college is
also engaged in regional collaboration (Botswana, Uganda, Zimbabwe,
Zambia) The college is also collaborating with institutions in the
country (College of Medicine, Luanar, FHI, NAC, Ministry of Health,
CHAM Nursing Institutions, Malawi College of Health Sciences,
NGOs)
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Concluding remarks Research is very important for evidence
based nursing practice Kamuzu College of Nursing has strategically
placed herself to implement more research programs and increase
research outputs (Publications, inventions, patents)
