A Review of Advances in Evidence-based Practice: Incorporating Research into Nursing Care

Abstract

Evidence-based practice [EBP] is yet to be fully implemented in our nursing care delivery system in the developing countries and the sub-Saharan region of which Nigeria is inclusive, nursing care have relied on tradition, experience, authority, trial and error, as well as logical reasoning. EBP is the process by which nurses make clinical decisions using the best available research evidence, their clinical expertise, and patient's references. It is an essential component of modern healthcare, ensuring that nursing interventions and decision-making are grounded in the best available evidence. The objectives of the study is to identify the importance of EBP, to explore the advances in EBP such as improved collaboration and partnership, use of wearable devices use of real-world data and real-world evidence and several advancement as a result of EBP and its integration into nursing care with emphasis on the importance of research in informing nursing care and improving patient's outcome. EBP is not without challenges especially in developing countries and the sub-Saharan where frantic effort is being made to practice nursing from a scientific base, challenges ranging from lack of infrastructure, inadequate funding, poor research culture amongst nurses and so many other factors. Despite these challenges, EBP is achievable if nurses will rise up to the occasion and surmount these challenges, knowing fully that EBP is the best form of nursing care to adopt, in order to improve patient outcome.