Current Trends and Issues in Family Nursing Research

Abstract

The purposes of this article are: (a) to examine current trends and issues in family nursing research from the perspective of an intimate outsider to the field, and (b) to offer predictions regarding future trends for family nursing research. The article is divided into three sections. First, the unique dimensions offamilies are identified and the problems these characteristics present to researchers are briefly examined. Second, a brief overview of the topics studied in family nursing research and the methodological issues of that body of literature are presented. Finally, conclusions are drawn and observations are made about the current status of family nursing research, and recommendationsfor thefuture are offered. Among the predictions are an increase in multidisciplinary research teams, greater use of midrange theories, an increase in conceptual and methodological complexity, more study offamily diversity, greater use offeministframeworks, and an increase in the number offamily nursing scholars who have programs of research.