Understanding research capacity and culture of nurses and midwives in two health services in Western Australia.

Background:
Health services with a strong research culture report better patient outcomes and organisational performance. Measuring research capacity and culture (RCC) is important for understanding baseline research capabilities of a health service and assessing the effectiveness of capacity-building and culture-improving interventions.

Aim:
To describe the RCC of nurses and midwives in two health services in Western Australia.

Methods:
A cross-sectional survey of nurses and midwives was undertaken using a previously validated RCC tool to measure RCC in individual, professional group, and organisational domains, and identify barriers, enablers, and research activity. Staff at each health service were recruited via email during a three-month period in 2022. Quantitative data were analysed for descriptive statistics. Qualitative comments underwent content analysis.

Results:
Three hundred nurses and midwives completed the survey. Research capacity was low to moderate at the individual and group domains and moderate in the organisational domain. Participation in research activities was generally low. Top barriers for research involved lack of time and backfill, and other work roles taking priority, whilst top enablers were skill development, job satisfaction, and addressing identified problems. The results appeared similar across the two services.

Conclusions:
The findings align with previous studies, indicating that research capacity continues to be limited for nurses and midwives. Organisations should acknowledge key barriers and enablers for research and implement targeted capacity-building and culture-improving strategies.