Identifying indicators sensitive to primary healthcare nurse practitioner practice: a review of systematic reviews protocol

Abstract

IntroductionPrimary healthcare nurse practitioners (PHCNPs) practice in a wide range of clinical settings and with diverse patient populations. Several systematic reviews have examined outcomes of PHCNP roles. However, there is a lack of consistency in the definitions used for the PHCNP role across the reviews. The identification of indicators sensitive to PHCNP practice from the perspective of patients, providers and the healthcare system will allow researchers, clinicians and decision-makers to understand how these providers contribute to outcomes of care.Methods and analysisA review of systematic reviews is proposed to describe the current state of knowledge about indicators sensitive to PHCNP practice using recognised role definitions. Outcomes of interest include any outcome indicator measuring the effectiveness of PHCNPs. We will limit our search to 2010 onwards to capture the most up-to-date trends. The following electronic databases will be searched: Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Library Database of Systematic Reviews and Controlled Trials Register, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, EMBASE, Global Health, Health Economics Evaluation Database, Health Evidence, HealthStar, Health Systems Evidence, Joanna Briggs Institute, Medline, PDQ-Evidence, PubMed and Web of Science. The search strategies will be reviewed by an academic librarian. Reference lists of all relevant publications will be reviewed. Grey literature will be searched from 2010 onwards, and will include: CADTH Information Services, CADTH’s Grey Matters tool, OpenGrey, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ProQuest Dissertation and Theses and WHO. The PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews will be searched to identify registered review protocols. The review protocol was developed using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols recommendations. A narrative synthesis will be used to summarise study findings.Ethics and disseminationNo ethical approval is required for the study. The data used in the study will be abstracted from published systematic reviews. Dissemination strategies will include peer-reviewed publication, conference presentations and presentations to key stakeholders.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020198182.

A global perspective of advanced practice nursing research: A review of systematic reviews protocol

“…This review of systematic reviews will provide a description of the current state of the research, including gaps, on advanced practice nursing globally. We adapted methods used in an umbrella review that sought to identify indicators sensitive to the practice of primary healthcare NP practice [ 12 ]. The protocol for the review of reviews was developed following the PRISMA-P recommendations by Shamseer et al [ 13 ].…”

“…Any discrepancies will be resolved by consensus. A structured tool developed for a previous review of reviews will be adapted and pilot-tested by the investigators [ 12 ]. We will extract data from the methods and results section of each full-text paper.…”

“…However, these authors argue that advanced practice nursing roles have emerged unequally across the globe in response to local care needs without clear supports to develop consistent expanded roles for nurses. A recent review of systematic reviews of primary healthcare NP roles identified 396 primary studies included in the 40 systematic reviews representing on average 3 countries (range not reported to 9) [ 8 ]. Although there are several systematic reviews of APN and CNS roles in other clinical settings [ 4 , 5 , 9 ], no synthesis of this body of evidence is available for other recognized advanced practice roles, making it challenging to compare advanced practice nursing roles across jurisdictions.…”

Exploring the Competencies of Japanese Expert Nurse Practitioners: A Thematic Analysis

“…At the end of graduate school, students take the NP certification exam and become NPs. The NP certification is administered by the JONPF affiliated with the NP training graduate school [ 5 ]. The graduates proceed to find employment in a wide range of settings across Japan, including hospitals, home care, nursing homes, and remote islands.…”

“…The challenge of securing and allocating sufficient healthcare resources has led many healthcare systems to review the roles of healthcare professionals in an attempt to identify methods of building new collaboration systems that utilize resources more effectively [ 3 , 4 ]. There is a growing interest among healthcare professionals regarding substituting physicians with nurses to overcome the challenges of limited healthcare resources [ 5 ]. More specifically, advanced practitioner nurses, who receive additional education in medical skills in graduate school, have been considered effective candidates for substituting physicians [ 6 ].…”