Describe the steps of the evidence-based research process and the importance of using them. In the initial stages of an EBP project, where do nurses in your specialty go to locate sources of information that help them to determine whether or not a practice problem is appropriate for an evidence-based practice change proposal. Include two specific sources on information in your discussion.
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a problem-solving approach that involves using the best available evidence to answer clinical questions. It involves a systematic approach of identifying the most relevant evidence to implement a change to standard practice to improve patient outcomes or health care processes (Melynyk & Fineholt-Overholt, 2011). Such research involves:
Having a sense of inquiry;
Asking a clinical question that needs addressing in PICOT format – (P) patient or population, (I) intervention or area of interest, (C) comparison group, (O) outcome, and (T) time;
the search for information and critical appraisal of that information as it relates to the clinical question;
critical appraisal of research, is this study valid and are the results helpful to patients;
integration of the question’s basic concepts/components with existing clinical expertise;
evaluate outcomes based on the evidence, understanding the projected impacts any change can have on patients; and
disseminate the results, review and integration of the results of more than one study into the critical appraisal, so that the reliability and generalizability of the studies’ results are stronger than any one study can be (Melnyk, Fineout-Overholt, Stillwell, and Williamson, 2010).
