Evidence-based nursing practice: the state of the art

Numerous nursing leaders stress the need for stronger links between research and practice. These leaders suggest that links must be strengthened in two distinct yet complementary ways. First, practitioners and researchers must collaborate on research priorities; nurses providing direct care are perhaps best placed to know what questions need to be answered. Second, practitioners need to make better use of nursing research to establish a more evidence-based practice. Evidence-based practice enables nursing to provide and justify high-quality, cost-effective care.