Defining What Evidence is, Linking It to Patient Outcomes, and Making It Relevant to Practice: Insight from Clinical Nurses

Abstract Background/Rationale Factors that impede or enable successful evidence based practice for nurses in their daily work is well documented. Less known is how nurses define evidence in their daily clinical practice and how this knowledge can inform strategies to enhance evidence based patient care and outcomes. Aims/Methods A qualitative study was undertaken to explore nurses' perceptions of what constitutes evidence as part of EBP and how applicable evidence is to their daily practice. A qualitative design using semi-structured interviews was employed for this study. Data were analyzed using directed content analysis. Results The following four key themes emerged: viewing evidence as research based and a proven practice; linking evidence to patient outcomes; basing evidence on experience; and making evidence relevant to practice. Implications Study findings point to having accessible, practical tools to make evidence credible and relevant for nurses tailored to their clinical contexts.