Use of research based knowledge in clinical practice

The authors describe three research utilization projects that used a knowledge-driven approach to nursing practice. The activities involved in developing and implementing these research utilization projects included: (1) preparing nurses to read, critique, and use research; (2) identifying and reviewing research studies in a common area to develop a research base; (3) transforming the research based knowledge into a protocol to be used in the clinical area by nurses caring for patients; and (4) evaluating the protocol to see whether it is being implemented as expected and whether it is producing the predicted results. This practical utilization is discussed and illustrated in a systems theory model.