Global Health Nursing & Midwifery

Hi Sara,
For starters, are you a member of any nursing organization (ie Sigma Theta Tau International, your state nursing association, or national certification board)? They often offer grant monies. Secondly, do you belong to the alumni association at your nursing or undgraduate school? Many offer research grants. Lastly, depending on the topic/subjects of your independent research project, you may be able to find additional support. For example, Migrant Clinicians Network has its own IRB and doesn't require the researcher to be affiliated with an academic institution. Let me know if you've already explored these option, and I will continue to try and help. -Maggie Sullivan

I currently live in Ethiopia, and I would like to focus my research on African immigrant public health in the UK. I have the experience working in immigrant health, and I have already published one article in the Journal of Vascular Nursing, but I do not hold a Master's degree. I am a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, but most of their research grants appear to include the qualification of a master's degree. I looked at the Migrant Clinicians Network, but it is not clear to me if they offer research grants despite their listed IRB and research topic information. I am an alumni of the University of Minnesota, so I will explore that option further, but I'm not currently aware of any opportunities that exist. Any other options that you may be able to find would be extremely helpful. Thank you.

Hi Sara, funding for nursing research is an important topic and one of great interest. It can also be a challenge to obtain. Having reviewed the requirements for Sigma Theta Tau, they do generally require a masters degree. Migrant Clinicians Network has an open IRB, but not necesarily funding given your topic of interest. However, access to an IRB, when conducting research without academic affiliation, is an advantageous resource. In that vein, I would consider the possibility of establishing a relationship with a university, whether it be in Ethiopia or the U.K. An academic partnership could offer funding opportunities not otherwise accessible. For example, if you were conducting research in the U.S., the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR/NIH) offers grants for individual research projects that are affiliated with an academic institution. A similar option would be to investigate whether the U.K. public health system offers research grants, as that is your geographical focus of research. I would also recommend looking into a Fulbright award http://www.iie.org/en/Our-Global-Reach. They are searchable by country of interest. I hope this continues to provide some additional ideas for you to pursue. Please continue to post questions ...