Research
Innovation and scientific discovery
Leading innovative research
Nurses at the UW School of Nursing conduct rigorous research on an incredible breadth and depth of topics – all aimed at improving health throughout the world.
Research is at the core of our mission to improve education, practice, patient, and public health outcomes. As scientific pioneers and renowned thought leaders, our world class faculty conducts groundbreaking research in four key areas:
- Health Equity research examines the differences in quality, outcomes and access of health and healthcare across populations. Areas of study include social injustice, underserved populations, community-based participatory research and environmental influence.
- Symptom Science research examines clinical, lifestyle, environmental and/or genetic factors that affect illness, disability and disease to develop improved, personalized strategies to treat and prevent adverse symptoms and chronic illness across diverse populations and settings.
- Innovative Interventions research deploys rare and novel strategies for understanding, interpreting, translating, gathering or otherwise using data and information to draw conclusions and ask important questions. Innovative interventions include big data analysis, new tools and technology, and utilizing established concepts in new ways.
- Lifespan Health research studies health and well-being across the human lifespan, from developing fetuses to the end-of-life. Studies focus on understanding and promoting health during age-specific times in the human life.
Office for Nursing Research
The Office for Nursing Research (ONR) supports the UW School of Nursing’s research mission to advance nursing science. We provide resources that support our investigators in conducing innovative research, the infrastructure to allow them to carry out their investigations, and help them to maximize the influence of their research findings in the larger community.
UW is among the top ranked Schools of Nursing in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with world renown centers of research excellence. Our faculty and staff are Principal Investigators on approximately 150 active and pending research studies and are collaborators on dozens of research studies around the globe. We consistently rank among the top nursing schools in the nation for research and training funding from the National Institutes of Health and other federal and non-federal grants. The published findings from these studies will help shape the future of healthcare in Seattle, throughout Washington, and around the globe.
Our centers: Improving health
Our research addresses a vast variety of critical health issues, from laboratory and clinical studies to policy initiatives. This work impacts clinical practice across settings and informs public health policy, helping healthcare and civic leaders implement positive change.
The research our faculty conduct contributes to better prevention and management of diseases, symptoms, and conditions that affect us all. Nurse scientists help identify and overcome barriers to achieving the best and most equitable healthcare possible. Our investigators enhance quality of care, maximize health outcomes, and improve cost-effectiveness of quality services. We strengthen health infrastructures, resulting in healthier communities and more efficient and effective health systems.
Our research centers provide support, leadership, and collaborative mentoring for faculty and clinicians, as well as a variety of diverse research opportunities for students, locally and globally.
A legacy of scientific inquiry
The last half of the 20th century witnessed the most explosive growth in scientific discovery in all of human history. The UW School of Nursing has been at the forefront of the search for new knowledge, consistently ranking among the top nursing schools in the country in research awards.
Support scientific discovery
Over the past decade, NIH has significantly reduced research award funding due to budget cuts and sequestration, making private support of nursing science more important than ever. You are critical to the ongoing success of our innovative research. Your contributions drive advancements in nursing science and training of future nurse scientists who will improve health for generations to come.