Research utilization.

The gap that persists between research and practice has been highlighted by nurse practitioners. In South Africa the research-practice gap is maximized by the lack of research facilities and research utilization projects in nursing education programmes. This paper considers conceptual, empirical and pragmatic issues in an attempt to explore the complexity of the influences that may affect the integration of research into nursing practice. Issues involved in a process of transferring research-based knowledge into innovative protocols for nursing practice are also dealt with.