Introduction to Nursing Dissertations

Introduction to Nursing Dissertations

This guide gives you some ideas for dissertation titles. Nursing covers many areas, so there should be plenty to whet your appetite here.   Nursing dissertations typically take one of two forms, focusing either upon collecting and analyzing primary data or upon appraising secondary data only. Either type can be appropriate to your area of study.  You will also find an overview of how to structure your dissertation in section three below.

2. Categories and List of Dissertation Titles

2.1 Mental Health Nursing Topics

2.1.1 The value of family therapy for adolescents with eating disorders: a quantitative study in a London hospital.

2.1.2  To what extent do poor housing conditions exacerbate existing mental health issues?  A review of recent literature.

2.1.3   Do complementary therapies have any role to play in the management of schizophrenia?  A qualitative study amongst UK patients and mental health nurses.

2.1.4    Which techniques are most effective in managing challenging behaviour amongst patients with mental health issues? A cross-UK quantitative study of 3 hospitals.

2.1.5    The impact of client-centred approaches upon users of mental health services: a qualitative study amongst out-patients with depression.

2.1.6     Sheer nonsense, or a story to tell?  Can listening to the content of delusions and ‘heard voices’ help with nursing the schizophrenic patient? A review of recent literature.

2.1.7   Quality or quantity? Is time spent with patient or the quality of the interaction more important in mental health patient perceptions of nursing care? A qualitative study.

2.1.8   Nurse prescribing in mental health: to what extent is there tension between nurses and psychiatrists regarding medication for patients? A case study in one UK hospital.

 2.2  Community Nursing, Health Care Programmes

2.2.1 Partnership, team work  and health: To what extent has partnership working and a new emphasis upon team work been effective approaches in UK nursing?  A review of literature from the past 10 years.

2.2.2   How  successful was the programme to introduce ’community matrons’ in the UK? A review of literature.

2.2.3   Were the last Labour government in the UK successful in targeting health care programmes where they were most needed? A case study of the ‘Healthy Living Centres’ programme.

2.2.4   Self-management and community based care: to what extent can community nursing help patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease self-manage?  A qualitative study amongst UK nurses and patients.

2.2.5   To what extent do nurses working in the community feel they have power to influence and / or change the policies which regulate their practice?  A qualitative review amongst 5 UK nurses.

2.2.6  Health and ethnicity: do people from different ethnic backgrounds make different use of community nursing facilities? A  qualitative study of inner-city Birmingham.

2.2.7   Obesity education and prevention. Can an intervention to help  adults notice, read and understand food labelling help address obesity problems in the UK? An intervention study amongst UK adults.

2.2.8   Should stop-smoking programmes be targeted to client age, gender and other demographic variables? A review of recent literature.

2.3 History of Nursing, Nursing Education, Nursing Research, Structure of Nursing Profession

2.3.1  Can text messaging be used to improve communication between nurses? Piloting a tool for reporting in a large UK hospital: an analysis of the results.

2.3.2   Nurse’s attitudes towards evidence-based practice: a comparative, qualitative study of medical staff in the UK and in India.

2.3.3   Is a constructivist model of learning the most effective framework for teaching evidence-based practice to nurses, or are other models more appropriate? A review of the literature.

2.3.4  Nursing training and ageism: the extent to which there exists prejudice against older student nurses. A qualitative study of patient, nurse and educationalist attitudes.

2.3.5   The practice of nursing: tacit or explicit knowledge. A qualitative investigation of ways of knowing in experienced nursing practitioners.

2.3.6   Measuring the use of research practice among nurses: a qualitative study amongst nurses with one, three, five and ten years experience in the profession.

2.3.7   Kind and caring? Comparing university trained nurse-practitioners with other hospital staff in terms of degree of empathy experienced by patients. A quantitative study.

2.3.8  Can a continuing relationship between patient and nurse improve patient outcomes?  A review of literature from the UK, USA and Europe.

2.4 General Nursing Topics

2.4.1 ‘They bring it on themselves’: nurse’s attitudes towards patients attending A&E with alcohol-related injuries.  A case study carried out in a Manchester hospital.

2.4.2   To what extent do levels of stress amongst nurses improve as they develop professional experience? A quantitative study comparing nurses with one and ten or more years of experience.

2.4.3   Gender, sexuality and sexual advice. What is the impact of sexual orientation on preference for a same-sex advisor? A qualitative study in a London sexual health clinic.

2.4.4   Are patients in a rural location more or less accepting of advice given by a nurse-practitioner compared to such advice given by a GP? A comparative, quantitative study of two UK health centres.

2.4.5   Are asthma self-management programmes more effective when they involve the family as well as the sufferer?  A quantitative test of a pilot programme for one or more family members.

2.4.6   How effective are nurse telephone consultations in primary care?  A review of literature from the last 10 years.

2.4.7   The effectiveness of meditation and breathing techniques in managing patient stress: a quantitative study of a programme to teach nurses to help patients relax.

2.4.8   Communication and the emergency nurse practitioner (ENP): do increasing time and financial pressures mean that communication between nurse and patient is hampered?  A comparative literature review assessing the current situation in relationship to the role of the ENP in the 1980’s and 90’s.

2.5 Geriatric Paediatric Nursing Topics

2.5.1 Is a holistic approach to nursing elderly patients the most effective in terms of patient satisfaction? A quantitative study in UK nursing homes.

2.5.2   Can reminiscence and life-story work help improve quality of life in terminally-ill elderly patients?  A case study of the impact of a nurse-led programme working with patient’s memories.

2.5.3   Is there a need to improve student nurses’ attitudes towards caring for the elderly? A quantitative study amongst UK student nurses assessing the level of negative and stereotyped attitudes towards older people.

2.5.4   Can a case be made for a dementia nurse specialist role, and what should this role involve?  A review of literature relevant to UK healthcare.

2.5.5   How do nurses specializing in the care of elderly people understand the concept of ‘fragility’?  A qualitative, in-depth study amongst specialist UK nurses.

2.5.6    What role can parents play in improving outcomes for children with congenital heart disease?  A review of recent literature.

2.5.7   Are nurses attitudes towards pain management in children culture specific?  A review of literature.

2.5.8  Can the development of eating disorders in adolescents be predicted by behaviours in pre-adolescence?   An analysis of an early intervention programme for childhood eating disorders.

3. How to Structure a Nursing Dissertation, Tips

For details on how to structure a nursing dissertation, kindly check out the following post: