Interdisciplinarity of research in nursing: the crossing of health, biomedical and social sciences

Introduction. Interdisciplinarity and interprofessional networking are important basis for a successful, recognizable and innovative research. Nursing research is at the intersection of health, biomedical and social sciences. Demographic trends in developed countries require integration of health and social services.

Aim. To examine the trend of interdisciplinary approach in terms of addressing social care in connection with nursing care and especially in the field of nursing care of the elderly, we analyzed scientific publications in this field over the period 1998-2018 in the PubMed database.

Discussion. The analysis showed that the number of scientific publications considering social care aspect is growing relatively faster in comparison to those addressing nursing care, especially when addressing elderly population. Development of study programmes should follow the needs of the society so that universities will educate professionals that will be able to tackle emerging problems and issues. Involvement of students in the research projects, dealing with relevant health and social care issues can significantly contribute to gaining required competences.

Conclusions. The obtained publication data are reflecting the current trends of integration of health and social care services in practice and research. Interdisciplinary study programmes as well as engagement of students into relevant research projects are important for the efficient and quality development of care services.