Bedside, classroom and bench: collaborative strategies to generate evidence-based knowledge for nursing practice.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Health Informatics
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Evidence-based practice (EBP) is increasingly adopted globally.
• A significant challenge in healthcare is the gap between research findings and clinical application.
• Evidence-based nursing (EBN) aims to improve nursing care through research, but implementation remains difficult.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present three collaborative strategies to minimize the gap between nursing knowledge and practice.
• To highlight the role of information technology (IT) in facilitating the translation of EBN into practice and education.

Main Methods:

• The Bedside strategy: Utilizing electronic health record (EHR) data for empirical evidence to inform best practices.
• The Classroom strategy: Describing the integration of EBN knowledge into baccalaureate nursing curricula.
• The Bench strategy: Applying informatics to convert paper-based EBN protocols into clinical information systems.

Main Results:

• The proposed strategies leverage IT to translate nursing knowledge into actionable insights and educational content.
• Electronic health records (EHRs) can serve as a source of empirical evidence for practice improvement.
• Informatics facilitates the conversion of EBN protocols into accessible knowledge for clinicians.

Conclusions:

• Information technology is crucial for the rapid translation of nursing knowledge into practice and education.
• The three strategies (Bedside, Classroom, Bench) offer a framework for closing the research-to-practice gap in nursing.
• Implementing these IT-enabled strategies can enhance the delivery of evidence-based nursing care.