Top ten research priorities relating to stroke nursing: a rigorous approach to establish a national nurse-led research agenda

Aim: To determine the top 10 research priorities specific to stroke nursing. Background: It is important that stroke nurses build their research capability and capacity. This project built on a previous James Lind Alliance prioritisation project, which established the shared stroke research priorities of stroke survivors, carers and health professionals. Design: Research priority setting project using James Lind Alliance methods; a survey for interim prioritisation and a consensus meeting for final priority setting. Methods: Between September and November 2014 stroke nurses were invited to select their top 10 priorities from a previously established list of 226 unique unanswered questions. These data were used to generate a list of shared research priorities (interim priority-setting stage). A purposefully selected group of stroke nurses attended a final consensus meeting (April 2015) to determine the top 10 research priorities. Results: During the interim prioritisation stage, 97 stroke nurses identified 28 shared priority treatment uncertainties. At the final consensus meeting, 27 stroke nurses reached agreement on the top 10 stroke nursing research priorities. Five of the top 10 questions relate to stroke specific impairments and 5 relate to rehabilitation and long-term consequences of stroke. Conclusions: The research agenda for stroke nursing has now been clearly defined, facilitating nurses to undertake research which is of importance to stroke survivors and carers and central to supporting optimal recovery and quality of life after stroke