Promoting research utilization using a conceptual framework.

Since the early 1990s, evidence-based practice has gained momentum, but barriers persist between knowledge development and application in practice. The Massachusetts General Hospital re-engineered the Nursing Research Committee as one vehicle for promoting research-based practice. Using the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services framework, the mission and methods (context) to advance research-based practice are explicated. Characteristics of the membership, leadership, and practice environment that facilitate research utilization are delineated.