Organizational structures and processes in nurse-led, evidence-based practice projects that lead to measurable outcomes: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this scoping review is to describe health care organizational structures and processes that support implementation of nurse-led, evidence-based practice projects resulting in improvements in outcome measures.

INTRODUCTION

Many health care organizations claim to support evidence-based practice methodology; however, a gap exists between knowledge generation and its use in routine clinical practice. This scoping review protocol will examine the status of organizational factors impacting implementation of evidence-based practices and reported outcomes.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

This scoping review will consider all literature that includes descriptions of health care organizations' structures or support of evidence-based nursing programs or efforts that include outcomes. Health care organizations are defined as primary/secondary/tertiary, public/private, for profit/non-profit hospitals, medical centers, or multi-hospital systems. Literature will be excluded if the evidence-based practice project does not report the organizational structures that supported the implementation for the project. In addition, literature will be excluded if the program is not inclusive of nursing.

METHODS

Literature published in English from 1992 to present will be included. The databases to be searched include MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Embase. The search for unpublished evidence and gray literature will include ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, ANCC Magnet conferences, and government publications. Retrieval of full-text studies and data extraction will be performed independently by two reviewers. The extracted data will be presented in a tabular format with accompanying narrative summary.