Paper
Sunday, November 4, 2007
276
FRAMEWORKS TO GUIDE EBP RESEARCH: UNITING KING'S THEORY AND THE ACE STAR MODEL
Imogene M. King, EdD, RN, FAAN, University of South Florida, South Pasedena, FL, USA
PURPOSE: To lay directions for contemporizing King’s framework and theory by extending concepts to include important elements of evidence-based practice and to anchor the ACE Star Model in a broader nursing framework.
SIGNIFICANCE: As with most research, clear theoretical frameworks enhance study quality, interpretation of results, and meaningful explanations. Yet most translational and EBP research is conducted without an explicit framework, making it difficult to build and test associations and causality among the main concepts. Currently, none of the major nursing theories have been contemporized to specifically include EBP. The result is that EBP and translational research in nursing have been atheoretical or have borrowed theories from other fields.
METHODS: King’s framework reflects a strong evolutionary movement to carve out the unique discipline of nursing. This evolution was moved forward using a focus group to explore theory revision that incorporates EBP.
During a guided 2-hour discussion, Dr. King interacted with 20 nurses: EBP experts, clinicians, doctoral students, nurse educators, from the US and abroad. The group discussed need, feasibility and advisability of revising her framework to incorporate EBP using the ACE Star Model of Knowledge Transformation.
FINDINGS: The following consensus was developed:
- A nursing theory that clearly and explicitly incorporates EBP is needed
- Initial assessment indicated that King’s General Systems Framework could be revised to incorporate EBP and the ACE Star Model would be a preferred model to incorporate.
CONCLUSION: King's nursing experiences foster scientific theory, research, and knowledge development in nursing. Enthusiasm for making nursing theory pertinent in today’s healthcare has spurred efforts to revise the King General Systems Framework to include EBP. The end result of this project, an EBP-inclusive nursing theory, will provide a framework within which to grow a coherent body of translational and EBP research in nursing.