Effect of a Nursing Research Council on System-Wide Practice Changes: An Evidence-Based Practice Process Improvement.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Nursing Research
• Organizational Science

Background:

• Implementing evidence-based practice (EBP) across complex hospital systems presents significant challenges.
• A gap exists in effective strategies for system-wide EBP adoption and integration.
• Nursing leadership plays a crucial role in driving practice change.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a unique collaborative strategy implemented by a Nursing Research Council to enhance EBP adoption.
• To evaluate the impact of inter-council collaboration on EBP implementation and organizational outcomes.
• To provide a model for other academic health care systems seeking to improve EBP integration.

Main Methods:

• A system-wide Nursing Research Council in a large academic health care system initiated collaboration with other system-wide councils.
• The strategy involved shared governance and joint initiatives to support the EBP process.
• Data on EBP adoption rates and organizational outcomes were collected and analyzed.

Main Results:

• The collaborative strategy facilitated the adoption of new, system-wide evidence-based practices.
• Significant improvements in key organizational outcomes were observed following the intervention.
• Inter-council collaboration proved effective in overcoming barriers to EBP implementation.

Conclusions:

• Collaborative efforts among hospital system councils are a viable and effective strategy for promoting EBP.
• This model demonstrates a successful approach to achieving system-wide adoption of evidence-based nursing practices.
• The findings suggest that shared governance and interdisciplinary collaboration can lead to measurable improvements in healthcare quality and outcomes.