Implementing Evidence-Based Practice in the Reality of Clinical Practice

More often than not, evidence-based practice projects result in more questions than conclusive answers. Most papers published in Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing result in a number of implications for future research, and often highlight the challenges of improving practice and patient care. My own experience reflects this—particularly at the end of research studies that have been implementing and evaluating implementation interventions. These challenges are perhaps partly a result of conducting research and evidence-based practice projects in the real world of clinical practice—described by Schoen (1984) as the swampy lowlands of practice. In this issue of Worldviews, a number of articles report on projects that were conducted in the reality of practice, and with people working at the front line of care. These articles highlight some of the challenges of this messy work, but also some ways to overcome them.

Free online through 31 Jan 2014: 
Implementing Evidence-Based Practice in Reality of Clinical Practice


Jo Rycroft-Malone PhD, MSc, BSc(Hons), RN Editor

Article first published online: 1 FEB 2012.  DOI: 10.1111/j.1741-6787.2011.00240.x