[NSCF Roster] 

The Nursing Science: Children and Families [NSCF] Study Section reviews applications that address clinical nursing practice from preconception through adolescence, women’s health, and health disparities. In addition, this study section reviews applications related to health promotion across the life span (except for older adults), nursing diagnosis and treatment of human responses to actual or potential health problems, and patient outcomes responsive to nursing interventions in these populations. Nursing research in these segments of the population includes both scientific inquiry in nursing science as well as psychosocial and behavioral processes directly relevant to nursing care and research relating to nursing interventions in patient care. Biological, psychological, social, and cultural perspectives are frequently employed in the design and conduct of nursing research, as are multidisciplinary perspectives. The outcomes are for either short or long term improvements in patient outcomes. Nursing interventions are designed to enhance disease prevention, promote recovery, and/or maintain health. Research addressing cost issues or system issues should focus on the cost of nursing care or the environment in which nursing care is delivered and be related to patient outcomes. 

Specific areas covered by NSCF: 

• Management of infants, children, and adolescents with acute and chronic illness and women during the perinatal period, including issues such as symptom management, decision making, self-care and family illness management, prevention of disability, quality of life, adherence, nurse-client communication, and family functioning.
  
  
• Care giving, health promotion and disease prevention for children, adolescents, and adult (except for older adults) men and women, families and groups across the life span including normal growth and development, maturational processes, and lifestyle behavior changes. Examples might include stress, adaptation, coping training, social support, lifespan issues such as parenting, pregnancy, infant, child, and adolescent health, women's and men's health, and promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors such as diet, exercise, and smoking cessation.
  
  
• Other nursing practice issues dealing with infants, children, adolescents, healthy women and men (except for older adults) including end of life, biobehavioral phenomena, health disparities, transcultural issues, methodological approaches, community health, care systems, environmental and work place issues.
  
  
• Studies related to the practice environment in which nursing care is delivered to infants, children, adolescents and healthy women and men (except for older adults) including patient outcomes of home care, long term care, hospital care, and community health care, factors underlying the quality of nursing care, and cost-effectiveness and informatics issues of nursing care as they relate to these patient populations and outcomes.

NSCF has the following shared interests within the HOP IRG: 

• Those applications pertaining to infants, children or families, women’s health and health disparities may be reviewed by NSCF. Those pertaining to adults and older adults may be reviewed by NSAA. Applications originating from other sources and that fall within the domain of subject areas covered by the HOP IRG may be referred to the most appropriate study section within the HOP IRG.

NSCF has the following shared interests outside the HOP IRG: 

• Other IRGs: Applications not directly related to nursing science and that do not fall within the domain of subject areas covered by the HOP IRG could be referred to the most appropriate IRG.
  
  
• Study Sections in NIAAA, NIDA, and NIMH may review applications in treatment and health services research. For more information, see their web sites.