Exploration of Ongoing Processes of Evidence to Practice

Both individual and organizational factors inherent in the process of translating evidence into nursing practice have been identified and well described through past research on the phenomenon. However, until recently, solutions have focused on the individual nurse as the main conduit for changing practice to a more evidence-based culture. The context of the organization and a systems approach has not been well articulated, though it is recognized as playing an important role in this process. In addition, how organizational context interacts with individual determinants to explain how nurses go about using or not using evidence in their practice has not been studied. The grounded theory methodology particularly lends itself to explaining this process as it is aimed at discovering theory from the data (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). Theory emerges from data that is methodically gathered and analyzed throughout the research process. The goals of this study will be: 1) To identify new factors inherent to knowledge utilization that may or may not have been addressed in current instruments used to measure knowledge utilization and attitudes towards it, 2) To explore the process of using evidence as it is occurring during a resourced evidence-based practice project to understand the context and identify conceptual relationships that facilitate or hinder its use, and 3) To develop a theory which asserts a reasonable relationship between the identified concepts within the context of the military hospital environment. This study will attempt to find relationships between current predictors of research utilization that enhance or hinder the use of new knowledge in practice within the military nursing environment. At the same time, new concepts not previously described may emerge as being important in nurses' use of new knowledge in their practice that could be examined in both environments. It is expected that, as a result of this study, a picture of how determinants of knowledge utilization interact to promote the uptake of new knowledge will emerge, giving important information that advanced practice nurses and administrators can use to enhance the use of evidence in practice and to create an environment of learning, application or knowledge and better patient outcomes.

Final Report is available on NTRL: https://ntrl.ntis.gov/NTRL/dashboard/searchResults/titleDetail/PB2014101...