Evidence-based care: can we overcome the barriers?

Evidence-based care has become the new mantra within the NHS, despite the fact that the concept of applying research to practice has been promoted for several decades. However, literature on the subject suggests that formidable obstacles remain to the integration of research into care delivery. This article describes a study which used Funk et al's (1991a,b) Barriers Scale with a population of nurses in a large teaching hospital in the UK. This scale was specifically developed to identify barriers to the introduction of research into practice, and modified for a UK context. The results suggest that a complex array of barriers exist but that foremost among these is the nature of the organizations within which nurses work. Comparisons are made with data from the USA, and the need to create time for nurses to implement change, and to empower them to do so, is stressed.