ABSTRACT
Since at least the early 1970s, there have been repeated calls for a sound research base to inform clinical practice. These calls have been going on for even longer in America. However, a substantial problem concerns the lack of suitable research to provide such a base. There are plenty of research reports for nurses to read, but these are not necessarily all examples of rigorous research. In this chapter, potential limitations in the available research into patient education will be discussed, with the aim of helping nurses get to grips with the importance of adopting a critical stance when choosing studies to inform practice. The desire for nursing to be evidence-based presumes that we have an adequate body of evidence upon which to base nursing practice. Unfortunately, weaknesses in research design undermine the value of reported results, which in turn erode the value of the ‘evidence’. As will be shown in this chapter, research-based evidence may not always be available. This does not mean that the need for evidence-based practice is undermined, just that the evidence may be in short supply. Alternative sources of evidence will be mentioned and the implications of not using research to underpin patient education will also be briefly considered.
