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Grants and Funded Projects
Evidence-Based Practice: Acute Pain Management in the Elderly
Definition
Evidence-based practice has been defined by some experts as the synthesis and use of scientific information from randomized clinical trials. Others define evidence-based practice more broadly to also include other types of scientific investigations and other types of knowledge (e.g., case reports, expert opinion). For this study, evidence-based practice is defined as the conscientious and judicious use of current best evidence to guide health care decisions. Levels of evidence range from randomized clinical trials to case reports and expert opinion. Evidence-based practice encompasses dissemination of scientific knowledge, critique of studies, synthesis of findings, determining applicability of findings for practice, developing an evidence-based practice guideline, implementing the guideline, and evaluating the practice change.
Although clinician access to research evidence has improved over the last 10 years, little is known about the best methods for implementing research evidence in practice. Several models have been explicated for promoting adoption of evidence for use in clinical decision making. The model on diffusion of innovation created by Dr. Everett Rogers guides this research. Rogers' (1995) model was developed from review of over 4,000 studies on innovation adoption and has undergone empirical testing by various disciplines. According to this model, diffusion of an innovation (that is, the rate of adoption and the extent to which an innovation is adopted) is influenced by the nature of the innovation and the manner in which it is communicated to members of a social system (nurses and physicians in an acute health care organization).
