Objective The aim of the present study was to describe the research activities being undertaken by health service employees within one Australian health service and explore their experiences with undertaking research. Methods The present mixed-methods study was conducted across one health service in Queensland, Australia, and included a cross-sectional online survey and interviews with healthcare service employees. The anonymous survey was a self-administered online questionnaire, distributed to all 6121 employees at the health service via email, asking about research activity and engagement. Willing participants were also interviewed on their perceptions and experiences with research and capacity building. Results In all, 151 participants responded to the survey and 22 participated in interviews. Three-quarters of respondents reported actively participating in research over the past 6 years and several research outputs, such as publications, conference presentations and competitive grant funding, were displayed. Four concepts emerged from interview findings, namely collaborative partnerships, skilled mentorship, embedding research and organisational support, which represented the overall theme 'opportunities for a research-infused health service'. Conclusion Employees of the health service recognised the importance of research and had a range of research skills, knowledge and experience. They also identified several opportunities for building research capacity in this service. What is known about the topic? Building research capacity among healthcare professionals is important for enabling the conduct of high-quality research in healthcare institutions. However, building research capacity is complex and influenced by the uniqueness of organisational context. In order to successfully build research capacity among employees at any health service, current research activity, skills and experience, as well as staff perceptions around building research capacity in that setting, should first be explored. What does this paper add? Healthcare services should incorporate teaching and research with clinical care to optimise outcomes for consumers. Support for research can be diminished in favour of clinical care and reduced emphasis on the importance of research can negatively influence research activity and expansion of clinician-led research. Highlighting the perceptions and experience of clinicians with enabling research and capacity building is a context-specific but necessary process to ensure that strategies, processes and resources are targeted to maintain support for research activity while overcoming barriers. What are the implications for practitioners? Participants in this study identified several ways to build research capacity in their health service, many of which may be applicable to other settings and contexts. Building research collaborations and academic partnerships are important to enable and drive research. Structural processes, such as organisational support and opportunities for skilled mentorship, m...

Aims: This study aims to report on the everyday concern of the 'potential for misinterpretation', which was the basic social problem revealed in a grounded theory study exploring male nurse practice in inpatient rehabilitation in Australia.Background: Male nurses account for approximately 10% of nursing workforce across western countries and they practice in a range of clinical areas; however, how they practice in inpatient rehabilitation remains unexplored.Methods: Constructivist grounded theory was used in this study and was conducted in two phases: (i) involved semi-structured interviews with 11 male nurses from October 2013 to June 2014 and (ii) observation of practice of 12 male nurses and semi-structured interviews with male nurses and 15 patients from February to April 2015.Results: Nurse participants encountered the intersection of two pervasive patient ideologies about male nurses. Patients perceived nursing to be women's work and that male nurses are sexual threats. These two intersecting ideologies created a concern for male nurses working in inpatient rehabilitation and that concern was labelled 'potential for misinterpretation'. Conclusion:Gender stereotypes impacted on the ability of male nurses to practise nursing in inpatient rehabilitation. Male nurses were mindful on a daily basis that misinterpretation could, and did, happen in inpatient rehabilitation.

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