Evidence-based Nursing Practice: A Call to Action for Nursing Informatics

Group, multidisciplinary experts convened in Rotorua, New Zealand, to examine the topic of evidence based practice and outcomes from an infor-matics perspective. Using the framework described in this issue, 1 participants critically analyzed the state of the science of the building blocks for an informat-ics infrastructure for evidence-based practice, and discussed how those components support the building of evidence, the accessing of evidence, and the application of evidence to practice in acute care, primary care, and community/home-care settings. In addition, through work in small groups, the participants identified issues and knowledge gaps that are barriers to the application of evidence in practice. Summaries of the presentations and group discussions will be published in the post-conference proceedings. The articles in this issue of JAMIA reflect only a narrow portion of the breadth of topics discussed over the course of the working conference; thus, the topics are briefly summarized prior to presenting a call to action for nursing informatics. Presentations related to the state of the science served as triggers for the small-group discussions. For the building block of standardized terminologies and data structures, panel members summarized selected terminology-related activities in Asia, South America, the United Kingdom, and the United States and described initiatives related to nursing concept representation in the International Council of Nursing (ICN) and the European Committee on Standardization. Of particular relevance to the international conference was a report on development of an International Standards Organization (ISO) standard for a reference terminology model for nursing under the auspices of IMIA-NI and ICN. 2 Two articles related to these presentations appear in this issue. Coenen et al. 3 present a summary of those activities and initiatives in an international context, and Hardiker and Rector 4 report the benefits gained from implementing a formal, concept-oriented representation of the International Classification of the Nursing Practice and illustrate the manner in which formal terminologies and the more traditional enumerated classifications interrelate. 4 Discussions related to access and quality of digital sources of evidence were stimulated by three presentations. Wiechula et al. 5 described the activities of the Joanna Briggs Institute for Evidence Based in Nursing and Midwifery and highlighted two essential roles of evidence-based research groups in facilitating access to the evidence—providing information and providing those who use it (e.g., clinicians, researchers, and consumers) with support to manage the information. He emphasized the fact that, regardless of quality and relevancy of the evidence, …