Paper
Friday, 21 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Management Strategies to Create an Evidence-Based Nursing Environment
The Process of Research Utilisation: Characteristics, Complexity and Collaboration
Alison M. Hutchinson, PhD, School of Nursing, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Learning Objective #1: identify characteristics associated with the process of research use in practice.
Learning Objective #2: outline factors for consideration when developing or enhancing strategies to promote the adoption of research evidence
Although the evidence based practice movement aims to bridge the gap between research and practice, and reflect scientifically defensible ‘best practice’, the findings of research studies have had a seemingly limited influence on actual practice. The study outlined in this paper was undertaken to examine the influences on nurses’ use of research evidence in the context of a multidisciplinary practice setting. The meetings of two multidisciplinary groups, one developing a clinical pathway and the second developing a local clinical protocol, were observed over a period of six months. In addition, the respective health professionals were interviewed at three separate time points, relative to the stage of the development process. Thematic analysis of the data arising from the interviews was undertaken. This paper will discuss the findings that emerged from a total of 22 interviews, according to which the process and outcome of research utilization is impacted by characteristics related to the individual and interprofessional relations, the context of practice, the evidence itself and facilitators of research use. In particular, the data highlighted the multifaceted, complex and tedious process of research use, and the depth and breadth of factors that simultaneously impact that process. Further, these data suggest that the process of research use is more fluid, less systematic and more complicated than suggested by the linear models of research use that have been recommended for promotion of research utilization. Significantly, this study lends support to the view that social interaction and exchange between health professionals has an important influence on the process of research use, and such influences should be taken into consideration when developing or enhancing strategies to promote the adoption of research evidence.

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