ENRS MNRS SNRS WIN Feedback on the NINR Strategic Plan Working Group Draft Framework 2022-2026

As the leaders of the National League for Nursing, we wanted to share the feedback we have submitted to National Institute of Nursing Research Director Dr. Shannon Zenk and the Strategic Plan Working Group on the Draft Framework for 2022-2026 (see below and attached).

On behalf of the Boards of the Eastern Nursing Research Society, Midwest Nursing Research Society, Southern Nursing Research Society, and Western Institute of Nursing, we strongly support the overarching themes and goals in the NINR strategic plan working group draft framework that move nursing science to dismantle structural racism, promote health equity, address social determinants of health, and use holistic approaches to advance precision health and healthcare across the lifespan. We agree these are important priorities for the new strategic plan that should be threaded throughout broad areas of nursing science that continues to build upon previous work to further advance and evolve scientific knowledge, discovery, innovation, and impact.

We also strongly recommend that NINR further define key terminology, such as structural racism and precision health, and provide clear guidance about decision-making related to its funding priorities for both researchers and reviewers. There have been concerns expressed among our members that NINR may not continue to fund previous strategic priorities with nationally recognized nursing leadership (e.g., symptom science, palliative care, aging and older adults, genetics/genomics) and that an abrupt discontinuation of funding for previous work may negatively impact early career investigators, including students, post-doctoral fellows, new researchers, and established Centers of Excellence. We encourage NINR to continue funding its previous work with a strong emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion and to consider expansion to nursing workforce issues, particularly given the impact of the pandemic. In addition, we feel that nursing education research undergirds all of these efforts and should be included in the NINR funding priorities.