A Systematic Review of Journal Clubs for Nurses

Two previous systematic reviews describe studies on journal clubs from 1995 to 2007.

To gather, assess, and synthesize the current empirical evidence on implementation of journal clubs, influencing factors, and outcomes of journal clubs in promoting evidence-based nursing.

A systematic review based on the procedure of the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination.

Cochrane, CINAHL, and PubMed Medline databases were sought from 2008 to 2015. The final data consisted of 10 studies. Articles' references were searched manually. The quality appraisal was made according to study design. Data were analyzed by qualitative content analysis and narrative synthesis.

The analyses produced four main categories with 14 subcategories that described the journal clubs: organization, conduct of meetings, influencing factors, and intervention outcomes. Journal clubs had been carried out in a fairly uniform manner in different nursing communities. There remains a lack of evidence on journal clubs' impact on evidence-based nursing (EBN) implementation, which challenges the development of journal clubs' content and methods.

Because journal clubs have achieved a uniform and easy-to-follow manner that is suitable for different nursing contexts and provide multiple positive outcomes, they are recommended for EBN. In work communities, journal clubs should be combined with other well-known factors that promote EBN implementation. The assessment of the outcomes of journal clubs should cover all learning categories of EBN with a focus on medium- to long-term effectiveness. The evaluation of the effectiveness of journal clubs on patient care is of great importance for future studies.