A philosophical analysis of evidence-based practice in mental health nursing

Mental health nurses need to be aware that their knowledge base does not exist in isolation from other cultural practices. They/I/we must become more willing to engage in theoretical problem solving that directly affects clinical practice issues such as the introduction of evidence-based practice. Critical discussion of evidence-based practice should be informed by the complex issues that permeate all our socio-cultural and linguistic practices. This paper examines some of the major philosophical problems in the debate over the use of evidence-based practice in mental health nursing using both Foucault's formulation of discourse analysis and Derrida's construal of deconstruction. The conclusion reached is that postmodern philosophy offers a way to rid nursing of incessant naiive attacks on either quantitative or qualitative research methods which underpin the debate over evidence-based practice in mental health nursing.