Trends in NIH-funding to schools of nursing in the last 17 years.

Background: Growing clinical demands, faculty retirements, fewer PhD-prepared graduates, and funding instability are challenges for nursing science.

Purpose: The purpose of this analysis was to investigate National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding patterns in schools of nursing (SONs).

Methods: Data were extracted from the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research between 2006 and 2022. Growth modeling examined changes in funding over time between private and public SONs.

Discussion: In the last 17 years, NIH funding for SONs has risen nearly 25% but remains only 1% of the total NIH budget for extramural research. Overall, 109 (75%) of the SONs were public and 36 (25%) were private institutions. Regarding geography, 90% of the States received NIH funding except six: ID, ME, MS, NH, VT, and WY. Private SONs consistently received more funding than public SONs but the difference was only statistically significant in 2022.

Conclusion: NIH funding has significantly increased to SONs, there is better geographic distribution but a funding disparity exists between public and private SONs.