This user-friendly guide to evidence-based practice will serve as a guide to implementing evidence-based practice in nursing and healthcare.

Despite sustained debate and progress the evolving thing that is evidence based nursing or practice (EBP) continues to dangle a variety of conceptual and practical loose threads. Moreover, when we think about what is being asked of students and registered or licenced practitioners in terms of EBP, it is difficult not to concede that this ‘ask’ is in many instances quite large and, occasionally, it may be unachievable. EBP has and continues to improve patient, client and user care. Yet significant questions concerning its most basic elements remain unresolved and, if nurses are to contribute to the resolution or reconfiguration of these questions then, as a first step, we must acknowledge their existence. From a range of international standpoints and perspectives, contributors to this book focus on aspects of EBP that require development. This focus is always robust and at times it is unashamedly provocative. Contributors challenge readers to engage with anomalies that surround the subject and readers are asked to consider the often precarious assumptions that underpin key aspects of EBP. While both conflict and concord are evident among the various offerings presented here, the book nonetheless creates and sustains a narrative that is bigger or more substantial than the sum of individual parts. And, across contributions, a self-assuredly critical stance towards EBP as currently practiced, conceptualized and taught coexists alongside respectful admiration for all who make it happen. Exploring Evidence-based Practice: Debates and Challenges in Nursing should be considered essential reading for academics and postgraduate students with an interest in evidence-based practice and nursing research.

Health care systems worldwide are faced with the challenge of improving the quality of care. Providing evidence from health research is necessary but not sufficient for the provision of optimal care and so knowledge translation (KT), the scientific study of methods for closing the knowledge-to-action gap and of the barriers and facilitators inherent in the process, is gaining significance. Knowledge Translation in Health Care explains how to use research findings to improve health care in real life, everyday situations. The authors define and describe knowledge translation, and outline strategies for successful knowledge translation in practice and policy making. The book is full of examples of how knowledge translation models work in closing the gap between evidence and action. Written by a team of authors closely involved in the development of knowledge translation this unique book aims to extend understanding and implementation worldwide. It is an introductory guide to an emerging hot topic in evidence-based care and essential for health policy makers, researchers, managers, clinicians and trainees.

The purpose of this study was to examine nurse's perceptions, attitudes, knowledge, and skills associated with evidence-based practice (EBP). Despite a surge of research over the past few decades and the availability of knowledge generated from such inquiry, only a small percentage of health care providers are implementing evidence from research into their practices. A descriptive, cross-sectional survey design using self-report questionnaires was utilized. A convenience sample of all full and part time registered nurses (RNs) employed at a 371 bed not-for-profit Northeast academic regional medical center participated. The Clinical Effectiveness and Evidence-based Practice Questionnaire, is a 24-item, Likert-style questionnaire that measures nurses' perceptions of their practice, attitudes, and knowledge/skills of EBP. Data disaggregated by years of experience and age showed no significant higher results for nurses' with advanced graduated degrees. The findings of this study support the concept that nurses with higher degrees perceive that they have greater knowledge of EBP. This is useful for nurse administrators to support strategies towards advancing higher educational degrees for nurses, and employ methodologies that facilitate findings from EBP research into their everyday practice.

To accomplish the goal of evidence-based practice, nurses' attitudes and perceptions related to research need to be identified and measured. The purpose of this study was to explore clinical nurses' perceptions of research. Nurses' perceived roles in research were compared to their educational levels. Relationships between nurses' attitudes related to research, specialty certifications, and the clinical ladder were also explored. Bandura's Social Learning Theory construct of self-efficacy was used to guide this study. Secondary data extracted from a previous study were utilized in this study. The random sample consisted of 100 participants' responses extracted from the original data set of 518 responses (leaf 40). The survey tool was a modified version of "Staff Nurses' Perception of Factors Influencing Research." Findings from this study found no differences in nurses' educational levels and their perceived role in research. In addition, this study did not find a relationship between nurses' attitudes toward research and specialty certifications, or a relationship between nurses who are on the clinical ladder and their attitudes toward research.

Formal nursing leadership influences many positive patient, nursing workforce, and organizational outcomes and has been heavily studied in hospital settings. Achieving leadership effectiveness and positive outcomes requires a leader to adjust their behaviors to both staff and work environment characteristics. A nurse's professional identity, including their values and beliefs, is also critical when evaluating nursing leadership. Yet, research of nursing leadership and the influence of staff and work environment characteristics has been predominately explored in hospital settings and little is known about nursing leadership in primary care settings. Primary care settings are an essential component of the healthcare system with nursing responsibilities expanding as new care models are developed that align with value-based payments and population health. This dissertation aimed to address identified gaps in the literature and increase the understanding of nurse identity and leadership needs, and the influence of the environmental context (staff and work environment characteristics) on leadership effectiveness in primary care settings. Two studies comprise this dissertation. The first study is a descriptive qualitative study of primary care direct care registered nurses exploring their perception of professional identity, components of their professional practice, and the support they need to function as a registered nurse and provide high quality patient care. The second study is an online survey study of primary care direct care registered nurses, which had two aims: 1) to explore differences in nurses' perceptions of their leaders' leadership behaviors and outcomes based upon registered nurses' individual and work setting characteristics; and 2) to explore effects of leadership styles, practice environment, and generational differences on nurse job satisfaction. Results of the first study indicate that a primary care nurse's identity and practice include unique characteristics and, to support nurses in this setting, it is necessary to recognize the needs of new nurses and ongoing support for all nurses. Results from the second study suggest individual and work setting characteristics influence nurses' perception of a leader's behaviors and outcomes. Furthermore, the study suggests practice environment and generational differences influence the relationship between perceived leadership style and job satisfaction. Findings from this dissertation provide additional knowledge to guide leadership training and inform future studies to create a more complete understanding of how the environmental context influences nurse leadership effectiveness.

The Institute of Medicine study Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001) recommended that an interdisciplinary summit be held to further reform of health professions education in order to enhance quality and patient safety. Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality is the follow up to that summit, held in June 2002, where 150 participants across disciplines and occupations developed ideas about how to integrate a core set of competencies into health professions education. These core competencies include patient-centered care, interdisciplinary teams, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and informatics. This book recommends a mix of approaches to health education improvement, including those related to oversight processes, the training environment, research, public reporting, and leadership. Educators, administrators, and health professionals can use this book to help achieve an approach to education that better prepares clinicians to meet both the needs of patients and the requirements of a changing health care system.

Evidence-Based Practice: An Implementation Guide for Healthcare Organizations was created to assist the increasing number of hospitals that are attempting to implement evidence-based practice in their facilities with little or no guidance. This manual serves as a guide for the design and implementation of evidence-based practice systems and provides practice advice, worksheets, and resources for providers. It also shows institutions how to achieve Magnet status without the major investment in consultants and external resources.

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/