The purpose of developing national research priorities for nursing is (a) to identify key areas where the development of nursing knowledge is of current
importance to health care in Canada, (b) to support research capacity in these areas, and (c) to provide potential non-government funders of health research with
direction regarding research needs related to nursing. The overarching goal of this initiative is to generate and translate nursing knowledge that will promote the
health of Canadians and optimize the delivery of health care.
While the national nursing research priorities provide nurse researchers with lines of inquiry to pursue, they are not meant to be prescriptive or exclusive of other research interests. Instead, they represent an effort to highlight areas where the advancement of the knowledge base for nursing practice is of current importance for the profession and for health care.
CASN’s Mission and Strategic Priorities
The CASN mission is to lead nursing education and scholarship in the interest of healthier Canadians. This mission, and CASN’s goal to advance nursing knowledge, provided the impetus for this initiative. The delineation of research priorities for nursing aligns with CASN’s strategic priority to “foster the development of research and scholarship in nursing education to support disciplinary knowledge, nursing’s contribution to interprofessional knowledge, and innovative, quality health care.”
