Claiming our core: appraising qualitative evidence for nursing questions about human response and meaning.
The growing acceptance of evidence-based practice (EBP) principles in nursing raises the possibility that only question domains central to medical practice--therapy, harm, prognosis, and medical diagnosis--and "best evidence" appropriate to those domains will be valued. We propose incorporation of 2 additional question domains--human response and meaning--as particularly important for nursing practice, and we argue that the strongest evidence for these questions arises from qualitative research traditions. We discuss the evaluation and application of qualitative evidence for practice and identify unresolved issues for further discussion within the discipline.
Grace
Jeanne T
JT
University of Rochester School of Nursing, Box SON, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642, USA. jeanne_grace@urmc.rochester.edu
Powers
Bethel Ann
BA
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001294:Attitude to Health; D019985:Benchmarking; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D055318:Evidence-Based Nursing / Q000145:classification / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006694:Holistic Health; D006808:Humanism; D006801:Humans; D016294:Models, Nursing; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research / Q000145:classification / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010687:Philosophy, Nursing; D011446:Prospective Studies; D036301:Qualitative Research; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards