Appraising the evidence for practice: what do nurses need?

Currently there is a widespread movement, not only amongst practitioners but also managers, purchasers and policy makers, to promote evidence‐based health care. There is therefore a growing concern that practitioners should be able to efficiently access and appraise evidence. This paper discusses some of the requirements which are necessary to enable nurses to achieve this goal. It is based on three sources of evidence: the evaluation of a workshop which was designed to facilitate practitioners' appraisal and use of research; a qualitative study of practitioners' and managers' attitudes to research; and the authors' experience of working in this field. A framework is suggested whereby not just the accruement of skills, but other requisites such as a positive culture, an appreciation of the wide range of research methodologies which might inform nursing, and an exploration of sources of evidence other than research, require attention.