Nurses' Perspectives on the Implementation of Knowledge in Clinical Practice: A Qualitative Study

Background: The delivery of nursing care based on available evidence and centered on the individuals who require it and has a positive impact on the quality of professional interventions, leading to health benefits for the population across all core domains of nursing practice, as well as contributing to the advancement of the profession. Objective: To analyze nurses' perspectives on the effects of their participation in evidence implementation programs in clinical nursing. Methods: In the Qualitative Descriptive Study, the study participants were nurses who took part in the "Safe Transition" project, a collaborative initiative involving three institutions: a nursing school, a hospital, and a network of primary healthcare institutions. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews that were analyzed by two researchers using content analysis techniques, with the support of the qualitative data analysis software. Results: From the content analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with 17 nurses involved in knowledge implementation projects in clinical practice, the following categories emerged: Cultivating a spirit of inquiry and an evidence-based practice culture; Critically appraising established practices and evidence-based recommendations; and Integrating evidence into clinical expertise to drive change, improve outcomes, and enhance the quality of care. Conclusions: Effective communication and structured opportunities for knowledge sharing emerged as central to the critical examination of clinical practice and to the development of professionals' competencies in evidence use. Evidence implementation was further motivated by professionals' recognition that it can generate tangible benefits for healthcare service users. Collectively, these findings inform recommendations for clinical practice, nursing education, and future nursing research.