THE Asia-Pacific region has the potential to achieve much in the field of nursing practice due to its diversity of culture, lifestyle, and habitat, not to mention the volume of nurses it is producing. As a result, there is an obvious enthusiasm among nurses to contribute information materials on the experiences related to healthcare in the region. While there are studies conducted sporadically in many countries, little is converted to unusable knowledge for practice. This is due to the limited research opportunities in terms of capacity and funding.

In order to address this deficiency, nursing professionals and nursing educators and researchers gather today at the historic landmark Manila Hotel for the First Asia-Pacific Conference on Nursing Research. The conference is intended to be a venue to formalize networks and linkages among nurse researchers and research-based nursing institutions in the region. Around 600 nurses and health workers, nurse researchers, and members of the academe on health and nursing education in the Philippines and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region are expected to attend the conference.

Distinguished nursing professionals and researchers from around the region will talk on their scholarly inquiries in line with the various themes set for the conference. These themes are nursing interventions including clinical and bio-behavioral interventions; caring for special population groups; nursing education; health and patient education; and health promotion.

Organized by the College of Nursing of the University of the Philippines and the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the conference is also part of the Centennial Celebration of the University of the Philippines.

We congratulate the University of the Philippines-Manila College of Nursing and the University of Hawaii-Manoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene headed by its Overall Chairperson Teresita I. Barcelo, Officers and Members, on the occasion of the First Asia-Pacific Conference on Nursing Research, and wish them success in all their endeavors.