Top 150 Trending Nursing Research Paper Topics for 2025

Here is a complete list of 150 trending and relevant nursing research paper topics separated by category. Additionally, tips on how students can choose topics of their choice or according to their class requirements are provided.

How to Narrow Down Nursing Research Paper Topics:

1. Start by Your Class or Program Requirements – Check your syllabus or course guidelines. For example, some classes may be on theory, ethics, or clinical practice as it pertains to nursing.
2. Choosing a topic that is of personal interest to nursing would be a topic that keeps you discussing something that is of interest in nursing. This can include a specialty, a population of patients, or a nursing position.
3. Researching Current Trends: Researching current trends in healthcare, nursing practices and all current developments in the medical field. Trending topics will keep you up to date and will make you part of the profession.
4. Research Feasibility: Make sure there is enough research to be done on your selected subject. Other topics may be too broad or there may not be much research material on that topic.

I. Nursing Theory and Practice Topics

1. The role of nursing theory in practice
2. Watson’s Theory of Human Caring in clinical settings
3. Nursing interventions using Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory
4. In the mental health care, Peplau’s Interpersonal Relations Theory
5. A review of Benner’s Novice to Expert Model in nursing education
6. Roy’s Adaptation Model and patient care
7. Health Promotion Model in nursing.
8. The influence of nursing leadership on patient outcomes
9. Cultural competence in the nursing theory
10. Using the Nursing Process in care plans
11. The impact of evidence-based practice on patient care
12. Use of holistic nursing care in patient management
13. Relationship in Nursing Theories and Patient Outcomes
14. This is specifically applicable to nursing research and education.
15. Challenges of implementing nursing theory in clinical practice

choose a theory you find most interesting/or the theory that fit best with your practice setting. For instance, if you are interested in mental health, you should concentrate on Peplau’s theory.

II. Patient Care and Nursing Interventions Topics

1. Nursing interventions for managing acute pain in postoperative patients.
2. Nursing role in prevention of hospital acquired infection.
3. Patient-centered care in the management of chronic conditions
4. Family involvement in nursing care
5. Diabetes management in elderly by nursing approaches
6. Strategies for effective pain management in palliative care
7. The role of nurses in post-surgical care and recovery
8. Interventions in wound care and infection prevention for the nurse.
9. Cultural considerations in nursing interventions
10. The impact of nurse-patient communication on patient outcomes
11. Early detection of sepsis in emergency nursing practice
12. Nursing strategies for preventing falls in elderly patients
13. The nursing interventions in mental health crisis situations
14. Evidence based interventions in managing pressure ulcers
15. Approaches to patient education in disease management by nurses
16. Anxiety management by nursing interventions.
17. Role of nursing in promoting healthy sleep in hospitalized patients.
18. Pain management strategies for cancer patients
19. Management of patients with respiratory distress using nursing interventions
20. The role of nurses in the prevention of hospital readmissions

Focus: A specific patient population or situation (e.g., elderly patients, post-surgical patients, cancer patients).

III. Healthcare Policy and Nursing Administration Topics

1. Nurses’ role in healthcare policy.
2. Impact of healthcare reform on nursing practice
3. The future of nurse practitioners in primary care settings
4. Nurse leadership and its effect on healthcare delivery.
5. Importance of nurse staffing ratios in Patient care outcome
6. The roles of nurses in advocating public health policy
7. The influence of the Affordable Care Act on nursing practice
8. The effects of hospital policies on nurse job satisfaction
9. Legal and ethical aspects in nursing administration
10. The role of nurses in emergency preparedness and disaster management
11. Strategies for improving patient care in nursing leadership.
12. Role of nurses in controlling the healthcare costs and budgets.
13. Advocacy of mental health care in nursing policies.
14. Burnout effects in nursing leadership and administration
15. Analysis of policy initiatives for addressing the healthcare disparities in nursing
16. Impact of telemedicine on nursing practice
17. Appropriate strategies for promoting diversity and inclusion in nursing leadership.
18. Would nurse practitioners be the key to a preeminent healthcare system?
19. Effective leadership to address nurse turnover
20. The impact of international healthcare policies on nursing practice

Narrow down your list of topics, that work with your career goals or the current healthcare policy issues in your country or region.

IV. Nursing Education Research Paper Topics

1. Simulation-based learning for nursing education.
2. Improving critical thinking in nursing students: Strategies.
3. Current role of technology in nursing education
4. The debate between ADN vs. BSN: Advancing nursing education
5. The impact of clinical placements on nursing education outcomes
6. Cultural competence in nursing curricula
7. Preparing nursing students for leadership roles.
8. The challenges and benefits of online nursing education
9. Lifelong learning in nursing practice.
10. How diversity must be addressed in nursing education programs.
11. Best practices of mentorship in nursing education
12. Interprofessional education for nursing
13. Teaching evidence based practice in the nursing schools
14. The effect of standardized testing on the study of nursing.
15. Developing assessment strategies as competency based in nursing education

Considering that you can only effectively rewrite one passage at a time, it is advisable to narrow down to discuss one aspect of nursing education that you are passionate about such as technology use, critical thinking or clinical placements.

V. Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing Topics

1. Role of nurses in managing depression in adolescents.
2. Interventions for patients with PTSD in the nursing context
3. Psychiatric nursing in addressing substance abuse issues
4. The role of psychiatric nurses in the management of bipolar disorder
5. Effective communication strategies in psychiatric nursing
6. Impact of stigma on mental health patients in nursing care.
7. The role of nursing in suicide prevention and intervention
8. The integration of psychiatric nursing into primary care settings
9. Nursing approaches to schizophrenia management
10. Mechanisms for coping with nurses in psychiatric settings.
11. The importance of patient education in mental health care
12. Cognitive-behavioral therapy in psychiatric nursing interventions
13. Therapeutic communication in psychiatric nursing
14. The effects of mindfulness and meditation in psychiatric care
15. Nursing interventions for anxiety disorders
16. De-escalation techniques in psychiatric emergency situations
17. Nursing care of aggression in psychiatric patients.
18. Nursing support for families of mental health patients
19. The role of nurses in crisis intervention for psychiatric patients
20. Meeting the mental health needs of the healthcare workers

If you are interested in mental health nursing, think of narrowing down to a particular disorder or intervention that you feel is significant and impactful.

VI. Pediatric Nursing Research Paper Topics

1. Nursing care for children with chronic conditions like asthma
2. Pain management strategies in pediatric nursing
3. The role of nurses in child abuse prevention and intervention
4. Pediatric vaccination and nursing education
5. Pediatric palliative care: The nursing approach
6. Interventions for the nursing care of children with ADHD
7. Pediatric nursing care in emergency settings
8. The impact of family-centered care in pediatric nursing
9. Nursing education in promoting healthy eating habits in children
10. Pediatric obesity and nursing approaches to managing it
11. The role of pediatric nurses in adolescent health
12. Pediatric pain assessment and management strategies
13. The impact of pediatric nursing on childhood development
14. Pediatric nursing care for children with diabetes
15. Nursing care for children with congenital heart defects

Narrowing Down: If you are inclined toward pediatric nursing, then select a particular condition or age group.

VII. Geriatric Nursing Research Paper Topics

1. Nursing care of elderly patients with dementia
2. Nurses’ role in preventing elder abuse
3. Pain management strategies for older adults
4. Interventions for nursing elderly patients with chronic illness
5. The impact of physical activity on elderly health: Nursing interventions
6. Strategies for fall prevention in elderly patients
7. Managing polypharmacy in geriatric nursing
8. The role of nurses in end-of-life care for elderly patients
9. The importance of social support in geriatric care
10. Depression in elderly patients: Assessing and managing.
11. Nursing’s contribution to healthy aging
12. Nursing strategies for addressing incontinence in elderly patients
13. Challenges of palliative care of elderly patients.
14. Care of the elderly patient in assisted living versus nursing homes
15. Approaches to the nursing care of health for the geriatric in rural settings

Narrow Down: Select a specific issue related to the elderly population or a specific care setting that you are most interested in.

VIII. Public Health and Community Nursing  Topics

1. The contribution of community nurses in prevention of infectious diseases
2. Health education strategies for rural populations
3. The impact of lifestyle interventions on community health outcomes
4. The use of community nursing interventions to enrich the health disparities
5. The role of nurses in emergency preparedness and response
6. Maternal and child health promotion in community nursing
7. Strategies for public health nursing to combat obesity
8. Community nurses in mental health care
9. Public health nursing and addressing substance abuse
10. How nurses’ role go to clean water and sanitation influencing a community.
11. Community health and nursing interventions on the impact of air quality on community health
12. Community health screenings and participation of nursing
13. Nursing education for promoting vaccination in communities
14. The role of nurses in disaster relief efforts
15. The influence of socioeconomic factors on community health
16. Strategies of nursing for improvement healthcare accessibility in underserved areas
17. Public health nursing and the prevention of chronic diseases
18. Telemedicine in community health nursing
19. Role of the nurses in managing infectious disease outbreaks
20. Maternal and infant care through community nursing programs

Narrow down a particular public health issue that relates to you (vaccinations, communicable disease prevention, health care disparities, etc.)

IX. Innovative and Emerging Nursing Practices Topics

1. Use of artificial intelligence in nursing practice.
2. Telehealth nursing: Challenges and opportunities
3. Robotics support for the nursing profession in robotic surgery.
4. Nurses’ role in 3D printing in healthcare
5. The virtual reality in nursing education
6. Nurses’ involvement in precision medicine
7. The impact of wearable health technology on nursing practice
8. Advances in nurse-led clinics for chronic disease management
9. The implementation of electronic health records (EHR) by nurses
10. Genomics in nursing practice

Assessment: Concentrate on a particular technology or innovation on which you are enthusiastic and analyze how it can alter nursing practice.

Conclusion

These categories and topics encompass a lot of areas in nursing, meaning that the students can find a topic that interests them or is related to their field of study. Narrowing down by course requirements, personal interests, and what research is available will allow students to choose a topic that is well-defined and focused, leading to a strong, focused research paper.

Learn more on: How to Write a Research Paper