Mapping the Landscape of Recent Nursing Research: Insights and Future Directions from the Asian Region

Vollständiger Abstract

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This editorial paper maps the landscape of recent nursing research and innovations based on 391 abstracts presented at the Second International Nursing Research Conference in December 2025, Bangkok, Thailand. Using a mapping review approach, we identified key characteristics, emerging trends, and methodological gaps, primarily within the Asian nursing context, which accounted for 98.7% of submissions and was predominantly represented by Taiwan and Thailand. Findings revealed a profound transition toward operational safety and local clinical efficiency, with quality improvement initiatives (27.9%) and descriptive or correlational studies (25.6%) dominating the research designs. In contrast, rigorous multi-center randomized controlled trials and longitudinal studies remained scarce. The abstracts emphasized clinically vulnerable populations, particularly older adults and those with chronic non-communicable diseases, alongside a strong focus on the nursing workforce (24.0%). Five major themes emerged from our analysis: clinical nursing practice across the lifespan (52.7%), workforce sustainability within nursing administration (18.4%), implementation and improvement science research (16.9%), innovative pedagogy in nursing education (6.4%), and the integration of digital health and technology (5.6%). While highlighting rapid advancements in digital transformation, the mapping exposes critical gaps in implementation research, cost-effectiveness analyses, and long-term evaluations. Furthermore, the dominance of abstracts from well-supported nations underscores an inherent structural bias, emphasizing the need for robust financial mechanisms to ensure equity in global health research. Future directions prioritize translating evidence into practice, enhancing multi-center collaborations, and balancing high-tech innovations with humanistic empathy.