Editorial
supported to be part of research activity that will define the future of their practice. This should be supported by a shared responsibility with organisations 9 including providers, education, regulation and commissioning. When social care nurses are enabled to contribute to and lead research, the profession’s expertise becomes more visible, valued and influential. The opportunity before us now is to ensure that social care nursing is not only evidence informed, but evidence generating, shaping the future of care where people live. Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors. Competing interests None declared. Ethics approval Not applicable. Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group. ORCID iD Caroline Morton https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6107- 683X References 1 Kelly S , Pryor C, Stephens M, et al . Exploring the Presence and Impact of Advanced Nursing Roles in Care Homes and Charitable Organisations: An International Systematic Scoping Review. J Adv Nurs 2025. 2 Pryor C , Kelly S, Heaslip V, et al . Adult social care nursing: A hybrid concept analysis. Int J Nurs Stud Adv 2026;10:100491. 3 Skills for Care . Nurses in social care. 2025. Available: https:// www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Adult-Social-Care-WorkforceData/ workforceintelligence/Reports-and-visualisations/Regulated- professions/Nursesin-social-care.aspx
4 Care Quality Commission . Delivering evidence-based care and treatment. 2024. Available: https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance- regulation/providers/assessment/single-assessmentframework/ effective/delivering-evidence-based-care 5 Nursing and Midwifery Council . Standards of proficiency for registered nurses. 2018. Available: https://www.nmc.org.uk/ standards/standards-for-nurses/standards-of-proficiency-for- registered-nurses/ 6 Connor L , Dean J, McNett M, et al . Evidence-based practice improves patient outcomes and healthcare system return on investment: Findings from a scoping review. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs 2023;20:6–15. 7 Connor L . Nursing in the care sector: complex, autonomous and hiding in plain sight. 2026. Available: https://www.fons. org/blogs/nursing-in-the-care-sector/ 8 DHSC. 2025. Available: https://www.gov.uk/government/ statistics/adult-social-care-workforcesurvey-april-2025/adult- social-care-workforce-survey-april-2025-report 9 Chinn T . How often do we pause to realise what evidence- based means in practice. Nursing Times; 2023. 10 Department of Health and Social Care . Fit for the future: 10 Year Health Plan for England. 2025. Available: https://assets. publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6888a0b1a11f859994409147/ fit-forthe-future-10-year-health-plan-for-england.pdf 11 Skills for Care . Strategy to enable social care placements for student nurses and nursing associates. Skills for Care; 2025. Available: https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/resources/ documents/Regulated-professions/Nursing/Student-nurse- placements/Strategy-to-enable-social-care-placements-for- student-nurses-and-nursing-associates.pdf 12 NHS England and NHS Improvement . Making research matter: Chief Nursing Officer for England’s strategic plan for research. 2021. Available: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wpcontent/ uploads/2021/11/B0880-cno-for-englands-strategic-plan-fo- research.pdf 13 University of Salford . Research priority setting for adult social care nursing. 2025. Available: https://adult-social-care-nursing. salford.ac.uk/work/research-priority-setting-foradult-social- care-nursing/ 14 NHS England . Nursing research and evidence underpinning practice, policy and system transformation. n.d. Available: https://www.england.nhs.uk/nursingmidwifery/researchand- evidence/
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Evid Based Nurs Month 2026 | volume 0 | number 0 |
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