Turning mental health nursing problems into quality or research projects

Developing a researchable question or quality improvement project from a broad clinical problem is a key challenge for mental health nurses. In this paper, we provide an overview of some of the steps involved in proceeding from an initial "problem" within a clinical setting to determining a research question with clear conceptual components that leads to appropriate methods to explore the topic or answer the question. The focus of the proposed quality or research study must be clear to clinicians and potential participants and meet professional responsibilities. Conducting high quality research and quality initiatives will likely improve care and outcomes for mental health consumers as well as providing a reliable evidence-based foundation for further improvements.