The Midwest Nursing Center Consortium Research Network (MNCCRN) is requesting funds for category I to build an infrastructure for a practice-based research network (PBRN). The MNCCRN comprises 20 community nursing centers (CNCs) that have been in operation from 3 to 17 years, representing 13 midwestern universities with a total of 84 practitioners. The majority of CNCs provide primary care services to underserved populations. Collectively, these centers serve the health and illness needs of a diverse population of vulnerable urban and rural residents who are at risk for limited access to care and poor health outcomes. CNCs provide alternative models of health care delivery that integrate primary care, public health, and social services. Services provided at the CNCs include health promotion, disease prevention, health teaching, counseling services, intensive case management, as well as population-based programming in partnership with community residents and other area human service providers. In many instances, the services provided by these CNCs are the only ones readily accessible to area residents.
Aims and objectives of this application center around the establishment of: a) a regional PBRN of advanced practice nurse providers who practice in nontraditional CNC settings; this PBRN will link with other similar regional nursing PBRNs and grow to a national network over time; b) a web-based system for data collection and transfer that will comply with evolving data privacy mandates; and c) a collaborative program of participatory community-focused research with vulnerable populations that will inform primary care practice, health professional education, and health care policy.
These aims will be accomplished through the development of an organizational structure that addresses research policies and procedures for member centers, establishes an electronic communication network, and outlines a fiscal plan to ensure long-term viability. The priority of this project is to establish an infrastructure for a PBRN that will ultimately conduct research. Both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies will be used to measure process, structure, and outcomes of this endeavor. The documentation of primary health care practice and outcomes in CNCs through the support of practice-based research networks, such as the MNCCRN, will provide critical data to reduce the health disparities currently experienced in vulnerable populations in the United States.
