Evidence based practice: Challenges and facilitators

Title: Evidence based practice: Challenges and facilitators

Abstract:

Nurses provide care to clients with severe and enduring illnesses, which means that they are faced with clients presenting with complex and challenging problems. For this reason, it is most important to provide interventions which are based on valid and reliable evidence which is clinically proven effective. There is strong evidence suggesting that when nurses used research findings in their practice, patients’ health outcome improved as compared to those patients receiving standard nursing care. However, nurses may be reluctant to use research findings in their practice for various reasons. One reason is lack of understanding and/or skills in research. Therefore, this paper aims at demystifying evidence-based practice (EBP), exploring the importance of (EBP), the current state of nursing research and hindering factors to the conduct and use of research such as nurses’ attitudes towards research, fear of change, lack of authority to change practice, lack of time to conduct or appraise research studies and lack of support. Furthermore, recommendations for practice, research and education will be presented, in an attempt to bridge the gap between theory, practice and research.

Biography:

Gihane has more than 20 years experience in mental health nursing and education. She worked as a Transcultural Mental Health Clinical Nurse Consultant, she coordinated a number of projects addressing consumers’ care and satisfaction. She won 2 nursing achievement awards due to her contribution to mental health nursing. Her PhD was on the ‘lived experience of caring for a relative with mental illness’. At her current role as lecturer at Western Sydney University, Australia she coordinated a number of under-graduate and post-graduate units and is involved in the development and review of curriculum. Her role also includes supervision of higher degree research students and her research interests are in the area of mental health, transcultural nursing, evidence-based practice and nursing education which are reflected in her publications.