Editorial Good Research, Good Evidence, and Good Nursing Practice: A Virtuous Circle

The field of nursing research has been growing rapidly in recent decades. Much of this research has been focused on establishing or strengthening the scientific basis for clinical practice, including the prevention of disease and disability, symptom management, and enhancement of end-of-life and palliative care. Bedside nurses must have the best available evi-dence when making patient-care decisions. The gold standard in presenting research-based evidence is the systematic review, a comprehensive analysis of the available literature leading to judgment about the effectiveness of a practice. The Cochrane Collaboration, which just celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2013, is a not-for-profit, global network dedicated to producing and disseminating systematic reviews. A Cochrane review addresses a clearly formulated question regarding a health care intervention and investigates whether or not there is conclusive evidence about a specific treatment. Before the Collaboration embarked on its work, systematic reviews were virtually unknown in the field of health care. Ini-tially focusing largely on medical interventions, the Collabora-tion has expanded to cover information relevant to other healthcare professions including nursing. The establishment of the Cochrane Nursing Care Field (CNCF) in 2009 has helped raise the profile of the Collabora-tion in the nursing community and, conversely, has enhanced the contribution of the nursing community to the Collaboration. A search of the Cochrane Librar