From leadership research to district action: Doctoral Education in Nursing in Ibero‐America: An Analysis of Its Evolution and Perspectives for the Future

AI-assisted editorial implementation guide. Proposed district actions are separate from the original authors’ findings and recommendations. Independent peer review of this guide is not asserted.

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Evidence and transfer

Education-related source: verify which participants, institutions and outcomes were actually studied before district adoption. Source publication type: research-article. License and identity checks do not establish study quality or causality.

Original authors’ abstract, reproduced under the source license:

ABSTRACT Aim To provide an overview of doctoral programs in nursing offered in Ibero‐American countries to inform regional collaboration and academic development. Design This study was a descriptive, document analysis. Methods A systematic mapping was conducted using data obtained from official university and program websites, national postgraduate databases, and academic documents. The variables analysed included country, institution, year of implementation, number of faculty and students, course duration, delivery modality, costs, scholarship availability, internationalisation activities, and research lines. Results A total of 94 active nursing doctoral programs were identified. Brazil emerged as the pioneer, launching the first doctoral program in 1982, and remains the regional leader, accounting for 43 programs. Most programs are offered by public institutions (76.6%), delivered primarily in face‐to‐face format (64.1%), and emphasise research (90.4%). There has been a consistent upward trend in the establishment of programs since 2000, with notable expansion between 2011 and 2025. Despite this progress, regional disparities persist, along with a lack of data standardisation and a limited presence of professional doctorates. While 69.1% of programs reported international activities, few offer joint or dual degrees. The most common thematic axis, “Health Care and Nursing,” proved to be broad and non‐specific. Conclusion The study reveals the expanding landscape of nursing doctoral education in Ibero‐America, while also exposing persistent challenges regarding access, curricular clarity and regional articulation. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care Doctoral programs are essential for developing research capacity, academic leadership and evidence‐based care. Strengthening these programs could enhance nursing responses to local health needs and promote scientific progress in care delivery. Impact This study provides the first comprehensive mapping of nursing doctoral programs in Ibero‐America, highlighting regional disparities and areas for academic collaboration, with potential impact on policy‐making, curriculum development, and the strengthening of research capacity in nursing education. Reporting Method STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology). Patient or Public Involvement No patient or public contribution.

Study methods

The present study adopted a descriptive, document‐based research design. Descriptive studies are concerned with the systematic collection and organisation of information, as well as the identification of patterns, with a view to characterising phenomena or contexts. Documentary research involves the analysis of materials that have not yet been subjected to analytical treatment, such as institutional reports, regulations, and documents available online (Bowen 2009). The study adhered to the STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) guidelines for cross‐sectional observational studies, where these were applicable.

Limitations

The present study is subject to limitations inherent to its documentary nature. The data collection process was informed by the information available on the institutional websites of the doctoral programs, which presented challenges related to the updating, completeness, and standardisation of the information. The absence of direct validation with the institutions may have compromised the accuracy of the data, including but not limited to the number of faculty staff, students, curriculum structure, and internationalisation actions.

A 90-day district inquiry

Days 1–15 · Appraise. Read the source methods, recruitment, comparator, outcomes and limitations. Record how the study setting differs from your district and which claim the design can support.
Days 16–30 · Design. Choose one school improvement question with teachers. Protect a short shared planning cycle, agree an instructional change and use a common rubric for examining student work. Agree participation, privacy protections, baseline and stopping rules before starting.
Days 31–60 · Observe. Collect the pre-agreed measures, keep a log of implementation changes and invite confidential voluntary feedback. Preserve existing support for staff and learners.
Days 61–90 · Decide. Review implementation fidelity, teacher time and independently scored student work against a recorded baseline. Examine access differences and competing explanations before attributing changes to leadership. Make a dated decision to stop, revise or extend the inquiry.

Board decision brief

Present the local problem, source setting, evidence limits, intervention, responsible owner, total cost, measured changes and uncertainty. Separate staff perceptions, implementation measures and student learning outcomes.

Attribution and reuse

José Luís Guedes dos Santos; Javier Isidro Rodríguez‐López; Yalena Ortiz‐Anaya; Sandra Milena Aponte Franco; Dolors Rodríguez‐Martín; Paola Galbany‐Estragués; Olga Maria Pimenta Lopes Ribeiro; Thayza Mirela Oliveira Amaral; Alacoque Lorenzini Erdmann; Allison P. Squires. Doctoral Education in Nursing in Ibero‐America: An Analysis of Its Evolution and Perspectives for the Future. Journal of Advanced Nursing (2025-12-07). https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.70422

Prepared 2026-11-07. Source authorship and DOI are preserved. The abstract and source passages are attributed extracts; this editorial guide is offered under the same CC BY 4.0 license.