• Martin Rodger, Jacqueline Hills, Linda Kristjanson, and Delphi Study.
• Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Emergency Department. mrodger@westnet.com.au
• J Emerg Nurs. 2004 Apr 1;30(2):117-25.

IntroductionThe Delphi Study on Research Priorities for Emergency Nurses in Western Australia Project was designed to allow emergency nurses to design research questions and then rank them in order of priority.MethodsA qualitative methodology allowed the researchers to determine expert opinions from the membership of the Emergency Nurses Association of Western Australia to reach a general consensus related to research questions.ResultsThe results placed nurse-initiated analgesia as the top research priority, with ED staffing issues in second place and ED violence issues in third place. In all, 25 research questions were developed and ranked according to priority.DiscussionDevelopment of these ranked research questions enables researchers not only to pick a research question "off the shelf" but also to be assured that the research question is clinically relevant and is a priority for practicing emergency nurses. These attributes will encourage potential researchers to conduct studies, but they also underscore the importance of the topics for the benefit of those who fund studies.

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