The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), as part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, supports clinical and basic research to establish a scientific basis for the nursing care of individuals across the life span—from management of patients during illness and recovery, to the reduction of risks for disease and disability, and the promotion of healthy lifestyles.

During this time, many academic institutions established predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowship programs to train independent nurse investigators.

The impetus for establishing the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) came from the findings of two federal studies.

A 1983 report by the Institute of Medicine recommended that nursing research be included in the mainstream of biomedical and behavioral science, and a 1984 NIH Task Force study found nursing research activities to be relevant to the NIH mission.

These findings resulted in legislative action that established the National Center for Nursing Research (NCNR) at NIH in April 1986.