Evidence-based nursing

Abstract

An editorial that reflects on the practice of evidence-based nursing (EBN) and the persistent gap between the best publications and their implementation in daily clinical practice. The author argues that not all nurses have the resources (training, time, funding) or should research, but they should consume research and transfer the best evidence to the patient. She recalls that EBN starts from a structured process —problem formulation, literature search, evaluation of the validity and usefulness of the findings, implementation and evaluation of the impact— and cites organizations that summarize the evidence, such as Cochrane and the Spanish Collaborating Centre of the Joanna Briggs Institute. She highlights the role of clinical practice guidelines and of initiatives oriented to their implementation, such as the National Health System Clinical Practice Guidelines Programme and the Centres Committed to Excellence in Care (CCEC) programme, and underlines the need to involve all agents of the system —nursing, care management, administration and government— to achieve evidence-based care.