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Research
Review
Professional
Nursing practice

Systematic and integrative reviews: synthesising evidence for community nursing practice

02 January 2020
Professional
02 January 2020
Volume 25 · Issue 1

Abstract

Ease of access to vast amounts of information presents significant opportunities and challenges for nurses in the community as they seek to base their practice on the best available evidence. Growing expectations around evidence-based practice have developed alongside developments in evidence synthesis, which adopts robust approaches to identifying, appraising and synthesising key evidence for clinical decision-making.

The context in which evidence-based practice occurs is key, and this article discusses the skills and knowledge needed for community nurses to discern how evidence and information should influence their decisions to review and change approaches to clinical practice. Importantly, if nurses understand the status of evidence underpinning areas of practice, they can ensure that the preferences and needs of patients and families are met.

The exponential growth in knowledge and the ease of access to vast amounts of information present significant opportunities and challenges for nurses in the community. Expectations that nurses will base their practice on the ‘best’ available evidence have developed alongside the availability of online resources, graduate preparation of nurses and consumer expectations. Nurses in the community require knowledge and skills to discern how evidence and information should influence their decisions to review and change approaches to clinical practice.

In 1983, Lisbeth Hockey said, ‘Nurses who really care, in the true sense of the term, will not be content. They will question, read and avail themselves of the new knowledge for the benefit of their patients and clients.’ Few could have predicted the growth in knowledge and its availability since the early 1980s. Crucial to this are the skills of nurses in accessing, appraising and evaluating the quality of information to inform changes in practice.

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Evidence-based practice
Evidence synthesis
Clinical decision-making
Critical appraisal