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Research Committee and Working Groups

Nursing Research

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Advancing Evidence for Nursing Knowledge Development

Research at the International Nursing Knowledge Association (INKA), formerly NANDA® International

INKA’s Research Committee advances the evidence base that underpins nursing knowledge development by strengthening research quality, consistency, and usability across the NANDA 360 classifications.

Nursing knowledge is built through research that clarifies human responses to health conditions, strengthens nursing diagnosis concepts, evaluates outcomes, and supports the refinement of nursing actions across diverse care settings. For standardized nursing classifications to remain clinically meaningful and globally relevant, they must be grounded in rigorous evidence and transparent methods.

Grounded in INKA’s mission to develop and refine standardized nursing knowledge for practice, education, informatics, and research, the Research Committee serves as a central resource for researchers and for INKA’s classification-development work.

Through its committee responsibilities and time-limited Working Groups, the Research Committee helps ensure that nursing diagnoses and broader NANDA 360 components remain evidence-based, usable in clinical environments, and aligned with assessment-driven, diagnosis-centered reasoning.

Purpose

The Research Committee supports global, assessment-driven, diagnosis-centered knowledge development by helping ensure that research on nursing diagnoses, and the broader NANDA 360 classifications — including patient goals/outcomes and nursing actions — meets high standards of methodological rigor and produces clinically meaningful evidence.

The Committee’s work is essential to the ongoing refinement of nursing knowledge infrastructure, ensuring that:

  • Classification concepts are supported by high-quality evidence
  • Research findings can be translated into taxonomy development
  • Scholars around the world have guidance for conducting and reporting assessment-driven, diagnosis-centered studies
  • Nursing knowledge remains visible and consistent across clinical, educational, digital, and policy environments

Research strengthens the ability of nurses to communicate professional judgment clearly and supports the advancement of nursing as a discipline grounded in evidence-based reasoning.

Why Research Matters for Standardized Nursing Language

Standardized nursing language is more than a set of labels. It represents the outcomes of nursing clinical reasoning and professional judgments about human responses to health conditions and life processes.

For nursing diagnoses and related classifications to remain accurate, usable, and culturally appropriate across global settings, they require continuous evidence development. This includes research focused on:

  • Concept clarification and validation
  • Clinical reliability and diagnostic accuracy
  • Outcome evaluation and nursing-sensitive indicators
  • Implementation within documentation and informatics systems
  • Linkages between diagnoses, patient goals/outcomes and nursing actions

The Research Committee helps ensure that evidence development remains directly connected to classification refinement and clinical use.

Committee Leadership

Director: Dr. Marcos Venícios de Oliveira Lopes
research@nanda.org

Core Functions

INKA’s Research Committee carries out several core responsibilities that support researchers, committees, and the broader INKA community.

Support to the Classification Development Committee (CDC)

The Research Committee partners with the Classification Development Committee (CDC) to strengthen the research foundation of proposed and revised taxonomy content.

This collaboration helps ensure that classification development is transparent, evidence-informed, and aligned with clinical reasoning needs.

The Committee supports the CDC by:

  • Reviewing the research basis for proposed additions or revisions
  • Supporting methodological consistency across classification development processes
  • Helping align research outputs with taxonomy advancement priorities

Support to Interested Researchers

The Research Committee provides guidance and direction for scholars conducting studies related to nursing diagnoses and NANDA 360 components.

This includes support on how to:

  • Design high-quality assessment-driven, diagnosis-centered studies
  • Report findings clearly for nursing knowledge advancement
  • Translate research outcomes into classification refinement and use

Because nursing diagnosis research spans clinical practice, education, informatics, and implementation science, the Committee serves as a key resource for ensuring shared standards across contexts.

Research Best Practices for NANDA 360

The Committee establishes and disseminates good practices for conducting and reporting research that uses or evaluates the NANDA 360 clinical reasoning and classification infrastructure.

This includes attention to:

  • Validation and reliability studies
  • Clinical utility and feasibility
  • Implementation outcomes in real-world settings
  • Documentation and informatics integration
  • Cross-cultural and multilingual consistency

Good research practices strengthen the usability of classification evidence internationally and support consistent knowledge development across countries and health systems.

Review of the Nursing Actions Classification

The Research Committee contributes to the ongoing review and refinement of the nursing actions classification to ensure clarity, consistency, and alignment with assessment-driven, diagnosis-centered reasoning.

Nursing actions represent intentional, nurse-implemented interventions designed to address health situations identified through nursing diagnoses.

Evidence-based refinement of nursing actions supports stronger linkages across the care process and strengthens the broader NANDA 360 framework.

Evidence Levels for the NANDA 360 Taxonomy

In collaboration with the CDC, the Research Committee defines and maintains levels of evidence for taxonomy content.

This ensures transparent criteria for how evidence supports:

  • Development of new classification concepts
  • Revision or clarification of existing concepts
  • Guidance for clinical use and educational integration

Clear evidence levels strengthen trust, usability, and scientific credibility across the NANDA 360 classifications.

Support to Research Groups

The Committee provides consultation and encouragement to research groups working on nursing diagnoses, outcomes, and nursing actions.

By promoting collaboration and shared standards across settings and countries, the Research Committee helps build an international research community focused on assessment-driven, diagnosis-centered nursing knowledge development.

group of medical professionals sitting around a room

Working Groups

To accomplish strategic priorities, the Research Committee convenes time-limited Working Groups focused on specific deliverables.

These Working Groups enable focused progress on key areas of taxonomy refinement, evidence methodology, and research translation.

Levels of Evidence Working Group

This Working Group will:

  • Define and operationalize levels of evidence for NANDA 360 taxonomy components
  • Develop guidance for applying evidence levels consistently
  • Collaborate closely with the Classification Development Committee

Evidence level frameworks provide transparency and methodological consistency for classification refinement.

Nursing Actions Classification Review Working Group

This Working Group will:

  • Review, refine, and update the nursing actions classification
  • Support accuracy, usability, and clarity of nursing action concepts
  • Strengthen linkages across diagnoses, actions, and outcomes

Ongoing review ensures nursing actions remain aligned with evolving practice evidence and assessment-driven, diagnosis-centered reasoning.

Research Standards for NANDA 360 Studies Working Group

This Working Group will establish standards and recommended methods for developing and evaluating studies related to NANDA 360 taxonomy components, including:

  • Validation and reliability
  • Clinical utility and implementation
  • Informatics integration
  • Research reporting expectations
  • Global consistency across settings

These standards support methodological rigor and improve the translation of research findings into classification refinement.

What This Means for the INKA Community

By aligning evidence development with classification refinement, the Research Committee helps ensure that the words nurses use to describe clinical judgment remain consistent, meaningful, and supported by the best available research.

The Committee’s work strengthens nursing visibility and impact across:

  • Clinical practice
  • Nursing education
  • Digital documentation and informatics systems
  • Research and scholarship
  • Health policy and global standards environments

Through rigorous evidence development, INKA ensures that standardized nursing classifications remain clinically relevant, scientifically grounded, and internationally usable.

Research is central to nursing knowledge advancement, and the Research Committee helps sustain that foundation for the entire INKA community.

Suggested Next Step

Interested in Contributing to Nursing Research?

INKA welcomes expressions of interest from members who would like to contribute to the work of the Research Committee.

To be considered, please email the Director of Research at research@nanda.org with a brief statement of interest and a current CV. Participation is based on the needs and priorities of the Committee and alignment with your experience and expertise.

We encourage nurses and researchers committed to advancing nursing knowledge to connect with us.

To explore related initiatives and scholarly engagement opportunities, visit:

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