Nursing: Evidence-Based Practice & Best Practice

It is the consistent use of best available evidence, preferably from current peer-reviewed sources in electonic and print media, to inform decisions about optimum patient management; decisions should consider the needs and preferences of individual patients. This evidence comes from many sources, especially reports from the Cochrane collaboration.

"evidence-based medicine" A Dictionary of Public Health. Ed. John M. Last, Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Cape Breton University. 3 September 2008.

This collection of 12 articles was authored by faculty from the Arizona State University College of Nursing and Health Innovation's Center for the Advancement of Evidence-Based Practice. Published in and made available by the American Journal of Nursing.

These books may support your understanding of evidence-based practice.

A collection of six databases that contain different types of high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making. A seventh database provides information about groups in the Cochrane Collaboration.

Review = completed analysis
Protocol = detailed plan for a review

Explore these journals using the publishers' sites or conduct a search on CINAHL limiting to the journal of interest.

Reading a scholarly article can be challenging for several reasons – not least of which is authors, experts in their fields of study, use professional language that can be overwhelming for undergraduates.

CINAHL ACCESS TO EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE
Use CINAHL's search options to limit search results to material considered "evidence-based".  Select "Systematic Review" under Publication Type.

Modify CINAHL search results by including the Publication Type limit to:

  1. Case Study
  2. Clinical Trial
  3. Randomized
  4. Research - or -
  5. Systematic Review