Conducting Clinical Trials to Support Evidence-Based Clinical Nursing Practice: Challenges and Recommendations

Abstract

Clinical trials are important for the development of health professions including nursing profession. Much of what health care providers practice in clinical settings is derived from evidence rooted in clinical trials. Despite nursing researchers employed clinical trials to generate evidence that can support nursing practice for many years, the significance of generated evidence is influenced by two key factors. First, the relevance of the studied topic to nursing profession. Second, the adherence of the study design to standards of clinical trials. This paper aims to discuss feasibility of generating evidence to support nursing practice based on clinical trials. The paper also presents recommendations to support the utilization of clinical trials in nursing research.