As nurses, we are aware of the importance of evidence-based practice (EBP) and want to implement all relevant evidence into practice, but what counts as “relevant”? Should all reasonably translatable findings be implemented? What do we do about practice recommendations based on studies conducted in a patient population or setting different from our own?

Although appraisal of evidence for practice includes review of the relevance for a particular clinical context, we often are asked to translate new knowledge into practice settings or populations that differ significantly from the original research setting. However, the translation of findings (eg, from adult intensive care unit (ICU) studies to pediatric ICU practice) without considering the limitations may obscure the true goals and intent of EBP, which is to integrate the best available research evidence with clinical expertise and patient preferences to solve a clinical problem.1 

Using a systematic process to evaluate evidence—one that...

You do not currently have access to this content.