Evidence-Based Practice Application in Nursing

Criteria and Process Used For Evidence-Based Nursing Practice

An evidence-based nursing practice approach entails integrating the best existing research evidence with medical/clinical experience, patient preference, and available resources to frame comprehensive interventions as best clinical practice. EBP has proven effective in cost reduction, improving clinical outcomes, and ensuring the application of the best nursing interventions (Orta, Messmer, Valdes, Turkel, Fields, & Wei, 2016). EBP operates under the standardization principle, standardizing the clinical care process to reduce variations, thus improving care outcomes. Standardized care can be re-examined and modified based on the outcomes and requirements (Akenroye, & Stack, 2016).

Steps in the process for developing an evidence-based practice begins with the creation and distillation of knowledge. The process entails researching on a clinical problem and packaging research findings into actionable products such as specific clinical practice recommendations. The aim is to increase the probability that research evidence will be incorporated into the practice. Knowledge distillation practice should be informed and steered by the consumers/end users of the research evidence to be effected in delivering care (Titler et al. 2016).

The second step is the diffusion and distribution of knowledge, which entails collaboration with a healthcare organization and expert opinion leaders to distribute knowledge that can form clinical actions to potential users. Knowledge dissemination collaboration connects researchers with intermediaries functioning as knowledge agents to the practitioner and the healthcare organization. End-user adoption and implementation are the final stages of this knowledge transfer process (Titler et al. 2016). The focus is to get health care organization teams to adopt and continuously apply evidence-based in their practice.

Criteria used to develop evidence-based practices include end-user perspectives such as applicability in the real-world healthcare settings, clinicians, and bulk of evidence required by healthcare organizations. Consideration is also given to the conventional knowledge generation, such as generalizability and strength of the evidence, and the findings from the individual research project or patient safety portfolio to be disseminated (Titler et al. 2016).  

Importance of Effective Scholarship and Information for Evidence-Based Nursing Practice

Practical scholarship and information equip the nurses with knowledge on how to translate current clinical evidence to practice. Nurses are supposed to be capable of identifying issues, appraising and integrating evidence, and evaluating outcomes. Baccalaureate education only impacts the learners with a basic understanding of evidence development, such as research process, patient preference, and clinical judgment. Study shows that many nursing students struggle to recount how research evidence contributes to clinical practice and the significance of research outcomes to EBP (Orta et al. 2016). Hence, the need for more scholarly research beyond the classwork to gain more knowledge and information on translating research evidence into practice.

Most applied methods for clinical evidence evaluation include controlled clinical trials, systemic review, and meta-analysis. A controlled clinical trial compares the efficacy of one intervention to another (placebo). The systemic review evaluates research that addresses the specific medical problem. Meta-analysis is a statistical method combining research findings from individual studies.

Clinical Question That Can Be Addressed With Evidence-Based Patient Care Technology

References

Akenroye, A. T., & Stack, A. M. (2016). The development and evaluation of an evidence-based guideline program to improve care in a pediatric emergency department. Emergency Medicine Journal, 33(2), 109-117.

Orta, R., Messmer, P. R., Valdes, G. R., Turkel, M., Fields, S. D., & Wei, C. C. (2016). Knowledge and competency of nursing faculty regarding evidence-based practice. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 47(9), 409-419.

Titler, M. G., Conlon, P., Reynolds, M. A., Ripley, R., Tsodikov, A., Wilson, D. S., & Montie, M. (2016). The effect of translating research into practice intervention to promote use of evidence-based fall prevention interventions in hospitalized adults: A prospective pre–post-implementation study in the US. Applied nursing research, 31, 52-59.

Van Ommeren, A. L., Smulders, L. C., Prange-Lasonder, G. B., Buurke, J. H., Veltink, P. H., & Rietman, J. S. (2018). Assistive technology for the upper extremities after stroke: a systematic review of users’ needs. JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologies, 5(2), e10510.

Wangmo, T., Lipps, M., Kressig, R. W., & Ienca, M. (2019). Ethical concerns with the use of intelligent assistive technology: findings from a qualitative study with professional stakeholders. BMC medical ethics, 20(1), 1 https://bmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12910-019-0437-z