What do we mean by evidence? Implications for primary health care nursing

Abstract

Evidence based practice is currently high on the health care agenda. It is proposed that, not only should health care be based on research findings, but that health professionals should be able to critically appraise the evidence available in order to apply research to practice. It is important for nurses working in primary care to utilise evidence within an area of practice which can be wide ranging—from leg ulcer management to health promotion and counselling. This paper argues that, in order to give the highest quality of care, nurses working in primary care need to consider the meaning of evidence and to draw on evidence arising from different philosophical research positions. The notion of critical inquiry is proposed as an alternative position to the randomised controlled trial and the origins and applications of these approaches are explored within the context of primary care.