Research and innovation in cancer and breast care nursing

The James Lind Alliance (JLA) brings patients, carers and clinicians together equally in Priority Setting Partnerships (PSPs). Using an established method, PSPs identify and prioritise the unanswered questions or evidence uncertainties in a particular health condition or setting.
By reviewing these and other established priorities, forum members can research the things that matter most to the people who need to use the research findings in their everyday lives.
By participating in priority setting initiatives, forum members can raise the unanswered questions and evidence uncertainties in nursing practice and increase the potential of ensuring funding is made available to address these concerns. PSPs of relevance to cancer and breast care nursing include:

• Detecting cancer early
• Kidney cancer
• Living with and beyond cancer
• Mesothelioma
• Metastatic breast cancer
• Myeloma
• Pancreatic cancer
• Post mastectomy breast reconstruction
• Prostate cancer
• Teenage and young adult cancer
• Womb cancer

People look for research funding opportunities for a variety of reasons – to apply for a research project; attend a conference; and help with the cost of post-graduate study, such as studentships and fellowships. Here is a list of opportunities from charities and UK Government agencies of relevance to cancer and breast care nursing that are open to applications from nurses or midwives.

• Brain Tumour Charity, The
• Breast Cancer Now
• British Lymphology Society
• Cancer Research UK
• Marie Curie
• Tenovus Cancer Care
• Yorkshire Cancer Research

You can recognise research leaders in cancer and breast care through their publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national and international conferences. Leaders are skilled in securing funding for research, they lead and manage research teams and develop the next generation of nursing/midwifery research leaders. Here is a selection of research leaders in the field of cancer and breast care drawn mostly from the nursing professoriate, acknowledging that not all research leaders are professors and not all professors major in research.

• Alison Richardson, University of Southampton
• Eilis McCaughan, Ulster University
• Danny Kelly, Cardiff University
• Faith Gibson, University of Surrey
• Janelle Yorke, University of Manchester
• Joanne Reid, Queen's University Belfast
• Rachel Taylor, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Sara Faithfull, University of Surrey
• Theresa Wiseman, University of Southampton

Getting published is exciting and really important! It allows your peers to help you improve your writing and communicate your work and is a route to establishing your authority in your field. It may lead to invitations to speak at conferences and contribute to, or lead, other work.
Many journals are committed to publishing nursing, but it is important that you choose the right one for you. Think carefully about the audience(s) you aim to reach and take time to carefully read journals' submission guidelines before you decide. Once you have made your decision, use the journal's submission guidelines as a checklist before you submit as this will increase your chances of progressing to the next stage of the publishing process.
Here are examples of journals that specifically publish research in cancer and breast care nursing; to read their submission guidelines, google the journal.

• Cancer Nursing Practice
• European Journal of Cancer Care
• European Journal of Oncology Nursing