Research Vision Statement

Advancing the Science and Practice of Nursing

We believe that nursing is a powerful instrument for improving the human condition. At the UW-Madison School of Nursing, we use complex technologies and scientific reasoning, while involving and remaining sensitive to the unique needs individuals, families and communities to make fully informed decisions about their own healthcare.

Research and practice are integrated and focus on the needs of those whose illness or social condition leave them vulnerable or place them at risk. Researchers at the School of Nursing are advancing the science and practice of nursing through unique connections to scientific knowledge, emerging pedagogies, cutting edge technologies, and a commitment to human caring.

We advance the science and practice of nursing in three ways:

Developing Knowledge

We are committed to developing knowledge that is relevant to practicing nurses, in ways that both inform and are informed by the clinical and social contexts of contemporary nursing.  Our work involves not only systematic inquiry into human phenomena but also the generation of strategies to address gaps in health care…in all cases guided by sensitivity to the physical states, personal values, available resources, and individual aspirations of those for whom nurses provide care.

Improving Conditions

We are committed to improving conditions for persons with complex health problems, such as cancer pain, depression, domestic violence, infants and children at health risk, persons at the end of life…and the families of all these groups. We are developing therapeutic approaches specific to the health care needs of people who live in high-need, low-resource communities. We are particularly interested in reducing health risk behavior among children and adolescents, improving the health care of pregnant women and their infants, and identifying safe and cost-effective care for frail elderly people.

Transforming Healthcare

We are committed to transforming healthcare by addressing practices and systems that marginalize some people, are ineffective in preventing or reducing health problems, are unable to mitigate symptom distress, or are failing to capitalize on existing knowledge about the interrelationship of mind and body. Our nurse researchers are using the knowledge they develop to create systems and technologies that enable people to participate fully in their healthcare, and to obtain healthcare suited to their circumstances.