Abstract
As a profession, nursing possesses a unique body of knowledge that guides our practice and service delivery. The creation of our knowledge comes from the production of research using the scientific method and involves both creating local knowledge reflective of local practices as well as contributing to the global evidence to inform clinical practice and policy. The COVID 19 pandemic highlighted the need for strengthening research capacity in nursing, especially in countries where it is nascent or a relatively recent phenomenon. Strengthening research capacity in nursing and healthcare more broadly is also a key goal of the World Health Organization's Pandemic Accords. A pathway to strengthening research capacity is through multinational partnerships. The purpose of this presentation is to highlight how the Global Consortium of Nursing and Midwifery Studies (GCNMS) organized and developed over a five year period into an 87 country research consortium that aims to both build health services research capacity in nursing and tackle pressing, and increasingly common, challenges affecting the nursing workforce. The presentation will highlight how the GCNMS tackled methodological and research capacity building challenges that arose with its first collaboration, which focused on capturing the experiences of nurses and midwives working during the COVID-19 pandemic. That study had over 14,000 participants from 103 countries and was the largest study ever conducted of nurses living and working in low- and middle-income countries. It will also describe how they organized their next research collaboration: The creation of the Nursing Human Resources Development Index. The goal of the index is to create international benchmarks for investing in the nursing workforce to make it more sustainable. The presentation will conclude with key recommendations for organizing and implementing multinational research collaborations in nursing.
Notes
References:
Malinowska-Lipien, I., Wadas, T., Gabrys, T., Kózka, M., Gniadek, A., Brzostek, T., & Squires, A. (2022). Evaluating Polish nurses’ working conditions and patient safety during the COVID 19 pandemic. International Nursing Review, 69(2), 239–248. https://doi.org/10.1111/INR.12724
Sánchez, M. (2025). Impacto de la pandemia COVID 19 en el personal deenfermería en Venezuela: Estrategias de autocuidadoysalud mental: Impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on nursingstaff inVenezuela: Self-Care and mental health strategies. Revista Venezolana de Enfermería, 12(1). https://saber.ucv.ve/ojs/index.php/rev_venf/article/view/31100
Santos, J. L. G. dos, Neves, K., Betat, M. G., Lemos, M., Silva, G. W. dos S., Assis, G. G. T., Stipp, M. A. C., Trotte, L. A. C., Rodríguez López, J. I., & Squires, A. P. (2025). Percepção de enfermeiros e enfermeiras brasileiros sobre estresse profissional e pessoal durante a pandemia de COVID 19. Escola Anna Nery, 29(e20240113), e20240113. https://doi.org/10.1590/2177-9465-ean-2024-0113pt
Squires, A., Clark-Cutaia, M., Henderson, M. D., Arneson, G., & Resnik, P. (2022). “Should I stay or should I go?” Nurses’ perspectives about working during the Covid 19 pandemic’s first wave in the United States: A summative content analysis combined with topic modeling. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 131(104256), 104256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2022.104256
Squires, A., Dutton, H., Burka, L., Casales Hernandez, G., Aborigo, R. A., Byiringiro, S., Cheng, H. Y., Katun, S., Lee, T., Malinowska Lipien, I., Palese, A., Ramirez, V., Smichenko, J., Zisberg, A., Ahmed, F. O., Alvarez Watson, J. L., Amaya, T., Anyorikeya, M., Arteaga Cordova, M. I., … Resnik, P. (2024). Global perspectives of nurses from 37 countries about pandemic response implementation between 2021 and 2023. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4745065
Squires, A., Dutton, H. J., Casales-Hernandez, M. G., Rodriguez López, J. I., Jimenez-Sanchez, J., Saldarriaga-Dixon, P., Bernal Cespedes, C., Flores, Y., Arteaga Cordova, M. I., Castillo, G., Loza Sosa, J. M., Garcia, J., Ramirez, T., González-Nahuelquin, C., Amaya, T., Guedes Dos Santos, J. L., Muñoz Rojas, D., Buitrago-Malaver, L. A., Rojas-Pineda, F. J., … Jones, S. (2025). A descriptive analysis of nurses’ self-reported mental health symptoms during the COVID 19 pandemic. An international study. International Nursing Review, 72(1), e13099. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.13099
Squires, A., Dutton, H. J., Casales-Hernandez, M. G., López, J. I. R., Saldarriaga-Dixon, P., Jimenez-Sanchez, J., Lee, S. A., Lee, T., Smichenko, J., Lickiewicz, J., Malinowska-Lipien, I., Damiran, D., Khatun, S., Skela-Savič, B., Anyorikeya, M., Cheng, H. Y., Rojas, D. M., Skipalska, H., Yanjmaa, E., … Jones, S. (2025). Understanding the second year of the COVID 19 pandemic from a nursing perspective. A multicountry descriptive study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, jan.70380. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.70380
Sigma Membership
Upsilon
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Global Leadership, Workforce, Sustainable Development Goals, Transcultural Nursing, Nursing Research
Recommended Citation
Squires, Allison P., "Creating and Implementing Multinational Research Collaborations in Nursing" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 344.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/presentations_2026/344
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-09-30
Creating and Implementing Multinational Research Collaborations in Nursing
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
As a profession, nursing possesses a unique body of knowledge that guides our practice and service delivery. The creation of our knowledge comes from the production of research using the scientific method and involves both creating local knowledge reflective of local practices as well as contributing to the global evidence to inform clinical practice and policy. The COVID 19 pandemic highlighted the need for strengthening research capacity in nursing, especially in countries where it is nascent or a relatively recent phenomenon. Strengthening research capacity in nursing and healthcare more broadly is also a key goal of the World Health Organization's Pandemic Accords. A pathway to strengthening research capacity is through multinational partnerships. The purpose of this presentation is to highlight how the Global Consortium of Nursing and Midwifery Studies (GCNMS) organized and developed over a five year period into an 87 country research consortium that aims to both build health services research capacity in nursing and tackle pressing, and increasingly common, challenges affecting the nursing workforce. The presentation will highlight how the GCNMS tackled methodological and research capacity building challenges that arose with its first collaboration, which focused on capturing the experiences of nurses and midwives working during the COVID-19 pandemic. That study had over 14,000 participants from 103 countries and was the largest study ever conducted of nurses living and working in low- and middle-income countries. It will also describe how they organized their next research collaboration: The creation of the Nursing Human Resources Development Index. The goal of the index is to create international benchmarks for investing in the nursing workforce to make it more sustainable. The presentation will conclude with key recommendations for organizing and implementing multinational research collaborations in nursing.
Description
Multinational research consortiums can create powerful networks that strengthen research capacity in nursing. This workshop highlights two research projects implemented by the Global Consortium of Nursing & Midwifery Studies, an 87 country research consortium. Participants will gain insights into designing and implementing multinational research studies.