Critical Perioperative Nursing Research Topics

AORN Nursing Research Priorities for 2023-2028

The following AORN Research Priorities for 2023-2028 include evidence-based practice nursing research topics that serve as a pathway for the advancement of perioperative science. The ultimate goal of these priorities is the preparation of perioperative nurses who deliver quality care to continually improve surgical patient outcomes.

Download the AORN Guideline Research Gaps to inspire your own nursing research ideas.

Examine and link quality perioperative indicators to promote positive patient outcomes through evidence-based practices.

This priority addresses patient outcomes that relate to:

  • Safety
    • Patient safety
    • Worker safety (eg, technology and environmental controls)
    • Systems safety (eg, processes that promote safer workplaces)
    • Medication safety
    • Patient handling and positioning
  • Patient education practices
  • Health care settings
    • Inpatient
    • Ambulatory
    • Office-based
    • Rural
    • Critical access hospitals
  • Innovations
    • Appreciation, synthesis, and validation of advancements in technology
    • Less invasive approaches to operative and other invasive procedures (eg, imaging, minimally invasive approaches)
  • Health care policy
    • Cost, access, and availability of products (eg, cost effectiveness analysis)
  • Access to care (eg, vulnerable populations)

Build the science of perioperative nursing practice through the discovery and translation of evidence-based strategies in the clinical setting.

We support NINR's strategic plan for prioritizing research topics that align with perioperative nursing practice. This priority addresses clinical practices that relate to:

  • Healthcare team function/human factors
    • Integration of role of perioperative nurse across patient journey
    • Communication and team dynamics
    • Organizational climate
    • Perioperative workplace violence/bullying/incivility
    • Interdisciplinary collaboration
  • Influence of nurse characteristics on clinical outcomes
    • Self-care practices
    • Resilience
    • Emotional intelligence
    • Certification
    • Experience
  • Perioperative nurse education
    • Transition from the academic setting to practice
    • Transition from one clinical setting to another (eg, inpatient to perioperative nursing)
    • Advancement to clinical proficiency
  • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
    • Equity for diverse populations (eg, cultural, generational)
  • Perioperative nursing leadership
    • Management
    • Staffing models
    • Leadership style
    • Systems and models of care
    • Technology for decision support