Pedro 8000
EBP (Evidence-Based Practice) is a fundamental approach in modern health care, is a practice model that employs the best possible scientific evidence for providing high quality patient care by integrating the best up-to-date scientific evidence to make assertive clinical decisions. The three primary sources of knowledge that must be applied to support clinical decision-making in EBP include clinical expertise, patient values and/or preferences, research evidence.
The integration of these three types of knowledge serves as a model for clinical decision making that ensures that clinically and culturally appropriate clinical decisions are made for each and every patient. Of these three types of knowledge, research based evidence is the most important knowledge in EBP. EBP research-based evidence is data and information derived from investigations such as randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, and other types of clinical research. The EBP research based knowledge base is the mechanism by which healthcare practitioners access and learn of the best and most current methods for providing care to patients. Research evidence supports the move away from clinical and professional opinions and toward clinically valid, evidence-based methods of providing care. According to (Assiri et al. 2024), evidence-based practice is now a critical part of the nursing practice to promote quality, safety, and consistency of care in the nursing practice. Additionally, evidence from research is an essential mechanism for knowledge translation to action for healthcare organizations when implementing solutions to address serious public health issues and improving population health outcomes (Leslie and Buntin, 2018).
Clinical expertise is the second major source of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP). Clinical expertise encompasses a health provider's accumulated professional experience and their knowledge and professional judgments, developed through formal education and extensive practice. Experienced clinicians can evaluate research studies and determine appropriate ways to apply the results to actual clinical settings. Clinical expertise enables health care professionals to modify evidence based recommendations to meet the specific needs of an individual patient. For example, nurses often serve as "champions" in implementing evidenced-based practices and providing coordination of care within multidisciplinary teams (Miller, 2018) as they translate evidence into practice from research, which fills the gap between evidence and reality in clinical settings.
Patient values and preferences as the third important element of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) also support patient-centered care through the incorporation of a patient's beliefs, expectations, cultural background, and personal goals for health and wellness into all aspects of the clinical decision-making process. Through the inclusion of patient values and preferences in the development of care plans, patient preference can be integrated into care decisions allowing for shared decision-making and enhanced rapport between patients and healthcare providers. Studies have shown that, when patients are able to be involved in decisions related to their own treatment options, there is an increased likelihood that patients will adhere to their treatment plan, and also report greater satisfaction with their overall care. The educational components of many evidence-based practice nursing programs further highlight the value of understanding patient values and integrating them into the delivery of clinical care (Sapri et al., 2022).
Ultimately, using evidence to inform practice will require a combination of knowledge from three sources (patient preferences, clinical expertise, and research evidence), as each source offers its own perspective on how to make clinical decisions. The source of research evidence supports the use of science; the source of clinical expertise supports the use of clinical judgment; and the source of patient preferences supports the delivery of care that is tailored to an individual's needs. When all three sources of knowledge are used in conjunction with one another, the end result will be health care that is both safe and effective.
References
Assiri, N. A., Alshahrani, S. N., Aldosari, N., Abutayrah, S. A., Alrshoodi, R. M., Alshammari, M., Qasim, A., Aldhafeeri, M. S., Almutairy, M. A., Alyami, S. m., Aldhafeeri, R. S., ALmliki, H. A. H., Jibran, L. H. O., Majdou, R. H. M. A., & Aldhafeeri, A. O. H. (2024). The reason why Evidence-Based Practice is important in Nursing. Saudi Journal of Medicine and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.64483/jmph-166
Leslie, E. T. A., & Buntin, M. B. (2018). A systematic approach to translating evidence into practice to reduce infant mortality. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 22, 1550–1555. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-018-2608-9
Miller, E. (2018). Translating evidence into practice. Pain Management Nursing, 19(5), 445–446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmn.2018.08.001
Sapri, N., Ng, Y. T., Wu, V., & Klainin-Yobas, P. (2022). Effectiveness of educational interventions on evidence-based practice for nurses in clinical settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nurse Education Today. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105295
