Systematic reviews: gatekeepers of nursing knowledge

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Research
• Evidence-Based Practice
• Nursing Science

Background:

• Rapid growth in healthcare interventions and literature presents challenges in evidence retrieval.
• Increasing demand for evidence to support clinical practice.
• Systematic reviews are becoming primary sources for healthcare decisions, often prioritizing randomized controlled trials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the limitations of current systematic review methods in incorporating nursing research.
• To advocate for the development of systematic review methodologies that accommodate diverse research designs.
• To ensure that interpretive, observational, and descriptive nursing research is appropriately valued and included in evidence synthesis.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the current landscape of systematic reviews in healthcare.
• Identification of the exclusion or down-classification of nursing research methodologies (interpretive, observational, descriptive).
• Discussion on the need for methodological advancements in systematic reviews.

Main Results:

• Current systematic reviews predominantly focus on effectiveness, limiting their scope.
• Nursing's unique research methods are often excluded or deemed 'low level' evidence.
• A gap exists in systematic review methodologies to fully capture the breadth of healthcare evidence.

Conclusions:

• Systematic review methods need to be expanded to include a wider range of research designs.
• Nursing must actively participate in developing new systematic review approaches.
• Inclusive systematic reviews will provide a more comprehensive evidence base for healthcare practice.