Integrating Citizen Science into Advanced Practice Nursing education: a contemporary challenge.

Abstract

Advanced Practice Nursing is internationally recognised as an innovative model of practice that expands the traditional scope of nursing by integrating specialised knowledge, advanced clinical skills, and greater autonomy in clinical decision-making. Within this model, research competence is recognised as a strategic pillar for consolidating Advanced Practice Nursing practice. Citizen Science, in turn, represents an innovative approach that promotes the active involvement of citizens throughout the research process, strengthening the alignment between research priorities and community needs. This paper discusses the integration of Citizen Science into postgraduate nursing curricula for Advanced Practice Nurses as a strategy to strengthen their capacity to generate context-sensitive and socially relevant evidence. It examines the potential contributions of Citizen Science to evidence generation and knowledge co-creation and proposes pathways for curricular integration. These includes curriculum review, the implementation of Citizen Science pilot projects, capacity building for faculty members and clinical mentors to support research based on Citizen Science principles, the development of partnerships across academic, healthcare, governmental, and community settings, and the strengthening of science communication initiatives. The paper also discusses key implementation challenges, including institutional resistance, ethical and legal considerations, and the need to prepare educators and students for participatory research approaches. Integrating Citizen Science into postgraduate Advanced Practice Nursing education represents a contemporary and strategic opportunity to better prepare nurses to generate context-sensitive evidence, engage citizens as partners in knowledge production, and promote more responsive, equitable, and socially accountable healthcare.