The emphasis on high-quality evidence-based care as well as cost- effectiveness in today's health care environment is posing unique challenges for health professionals, including the nursing profession. Although evidence-based care has resulted in improved patient outcomes, only a small percentage of health care providers are basing their care on this model. Nurses, as well as other health care providers, are struggling to deliver evidence-based care while managing demanding patient loads. In addition, a huge gap exists between the translation of research interventions to practice settings. Therefore, intensified efforts must be taken to decrease the time lag between the discovery of research findings and implementation into practice in the form of evidence-based care. The proposed conference is an excellent match with AHRQ's long-term commitment to translating research into practice and focuses on two of AHRQ's priority areas: children's health care issues and the care of older adults. The objectives of our third annual EBP conference are to assist nurses and other health care providers in learning the skills to: (a) search for the latest practice evidence, (b) evaluate the strength of evidence that is relevant to their practice, (c) plan practice changes in response to critically appraised evidence, (d) overcome barriers in implementing evidence-based care, (e) plan strategies for evaluating the outcomes of evidence-based care, and (f) become knowledgeable of the most current evidence that is influencing the care of high-risk children and youth, older adults, and the acute/critically ill. The proposed funding will greatly enhance the impact of this conference through national outreach and dissemination of evidence-based practice.
