The role of nursing in a translational research group

Abstract

The article reflects on the importance of research for evidence-based nursing care and describes the role of nursing in translational research in mental health, taking as an example a group of the Biomedical Research Networking Centre for Mental Health (CIBERSAM), specifically the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Service of the Gregorio Marañón General University Hospital. The author contextualizes the relevance of research in mental health —the leading cause of disability and of socio-health spending— and details the activities that nursing develops within the research team: appointments and coordination of visits, identification and recruitment of participants, performance of clinical and neuroimaging tests, health education, data management and exploitation, training, and coordination of clinical trials ensuring good practice. She concludes that, despite the traditionally scarce dedication to research, the nurse plays a fundamental role in projects as part of a multidisciplinary team and that the knowledge generated translates into improvements in clinical practice.