Nursing, Health and Social Care Research Unit

Patient care in the South West: Nurses’ use of research based evidence in clinical decision making

Integral to providing excellent nursing care in a changing world is the idea of research based practice. This involves nurses making clinical decisions using the best available research in addition to their own clinical expertise. Research based practice can improve the quality of nursing care and in doing so improve patient outcomes, although incorporating good quality research findings into nursing care is a complex process. The Nursing and Midwifery Planning and Development Unit in Cork has thus commissioned the Nursing, Health and Social Care Research Unit in the Institute of Technology, Tralee to examine in detail the use of research evidence in nurses’ clinical decision making.

The study consists of three phases. Phase one involves interviewing nurses from across the spectrum of nursing disciplines - acute care, community care, intellectual disability and mental health. Participants are given practice- based scenarios and asked what decisions should be made and what sources of information could be used in the situation. Their own use of research based evidence in decision-making is then explored by asking questions such as: What organizational structures are in place that either simplify the process or make it more difficult? How comfortable are they with finding and utilising research based evidence? What barriers do they perceive? What facilitators are in place and what facilitators would they like to see introduced? In phase two, the results of these interviews are analyzed and combined with input from a panel of experts in order to develop a questionnaire to send to nurses throughout Cork and Kerry. In phase three, questionnaire results are analyzed and fed back to decision makers. Findings from this exciting project will inform managers, practitioners, policy makers, academics and researchers and make a direct contribution to the quality of patient care.

Contact:
siobhan.nimhaolrunaigh@staff.ittralee.ie.   Tel: 066 718 1971.