The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), a Qatar Foundation initiative, has today opened applications for its new grant for nurse-led research projects. Two selected projects – one of which must be conducted in Arabic – will be awarded with US $7500 each. The grants have been made possible with the support of the University of Calgary in Qatar.
Applications are open from December 15 2021 to February 1 2022. Registered nurses worldwide, who are at any stage of their career, are encouraged to apply via wish.org.qa/nursingaward. The winners will be announced on March 1, 2022.
Sultana Afdhal, CEO of WISH, Qatar Foundation’s global health initiative, said: “In line with our ongoing efforts to empower nurses to lead, be trusted in the area of research and take a seat at the decision-making table, the aim of this grant is to encourage more nurses to engage in healthcare research.
“Nurses are vital for keeping communities healthy, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought this fact into stark relief. Therefore, it goes without saying that nurses need to be actively involved in research and policymaking if we are to address and tackle the world’s most urgent healthcare challenges.”
Applicants’ research projects may involve clinical care, social care, or education. While prior research experience is not necessary, applicants should have a clear project proposal which aligns to one of the core themes of the upcoming global WISH conference in 2022: COVID-19 legacy, health and sports, wellbeing, sustainability, and disability.
Priority will be given to proposals that include a clear description of the project, aim to influence a specific policy or practice and outline the intended and expected impact of the project on patients and/or staff. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method studies will all be considered.
WISH has been at the epicenter of promoting the empowerment of nursing through its involvement as a founding partner of the global Nursing Now campaign in 2018. Since then, in collaboration with local and global partners, WISH has hosted several leadership courses, symposiums, and workshops with the goal of having the voices of nurses heard when it comes to healthcare policy making.
In 2018, WISH published its report titled “Nursing and Universal Health Coverage (UHC),” which describes how strengthening nursing and midwifery as part of the wider health workforce will enable the rapid, high quality, and cost-effective scaling up of UHC. Just last month, WISH published its report on Nurses for Health Equity, urging rapid investment in nurses and nursing and highlighting how nurses can strategically address the social determinants of health and move toward health equity in healthcare systems and communities.
To read more about the criteria for WISH’s new grant, visit Nursing Award
