SESSION

Friday, July 23, 2004: 3:30 PM-5:00 PM

Multisite Research: Building Community Among Diverse Members of a Research Team

Learning Objective #1: Identify three strategies and outcomes of those strategies used to build community within a multisite research team
Learning Objective #2: Identify the process involved in collection and transport of biological samples for biomarker analysis
Multi-site nursing research is often undertaken in rural areas in an effort to obtain adequate sample, improve representation of the study population and recruit a sample in a shorter period of time. If members of the research team are separated by distance, strategies must be identified for maintaining a feeling of connectedness rather than isolation. These strategies have an impact on 1) each member’s experience of the research process and 2) the integrity of protocols and guidelines at individual sites for sample collection and transport. In response to problems encountered with data collection, strategies must also be employed to maximize the data that can be used in analysis. The purpose of this symposium is to present challenges and rewards of conducting multi-site rural research. Presenter 1 will provide an overview of strategies used to build community within a research team located at three rural sites. Presenter 2 will report findings from a qualitative study that provides an evaluation of these strategies from the perspective of members of the research team. Presenter 3 will explicate matters related to the challenges involved in collection and transport of biological samples for biomarker analysis. Presenter 4 will present information about survival analysis, a specific statistical strategy used to maximize the amount of data available for analysis in studies in which the dependent variable is time to occurrence of specific events.
Organizer:Mary Beth Flanders Stepans, RN, PhD
Presenters:Susan Wilhelm, RN, PhD
T. Kim Rodehorst, RN, PhD
Paula Vasek, RN
 Application of Survival Analysis to Examine Outcomes in a Multi-Site Rural Intervention Research Study
Susan Wilhelm, RN, PhD
 Challenges of Collecting and Transporting Biological Samples
Paula Vasek, RN
 The Experience Of Multi-Site Nursing Intervention Research From The Team Members’ Perspective
T. Kim Rodehorst, RN, PhD

15th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
July 22-24, 2004