The Cochrane Collaboration’s 20^th Anniversary: pointing out the urgency for evidence-based patient centred nursing care.

Isabel CF da Cruz - RN, PhD. A member of the Cochrane Nursing Care Field (CNCF)

The Cochrane Collaboration is commemorating its 20^th anniversary in 2013. The Cochrane Collaboration is widely recognised as the gold standard in assessing and reporting research to determine the effectiveness of different healthcare treatments and interventions through the production of systematic reviews. Although largely considered as having a medical focus, many Cochrane reviews are of direct relevance to nursing care.

In 2009 the Cochrane Nursing Care Field (CNCF) was established to promote and support resources for evidence-based nursing care at the point where it is necessary.

As a nurse educator for 20 years, in almost all of my courses, I have assisted nursing students as well as novice nurse researchers to develop basic skills such as performing literature searches, critiquing research articles related to patient care, developing a paper, and subsequently publishing it.

Seems easy? But it wasn’t and it still is not! I identify the main barrier as an absence of a patient centred care approach associated with a low health professional culture about nursing practice based on scientific evidence. In this context it is not easy to develop clinical expertise.

This editorial represents an effort to encourage nurses to engage in evidence-based nursing care and a patient centred care approach by  accessing, utilizing and assisting in the dissemination of Cochrane systematic reviews in their daily practice. .

I hope that for the next 20 years the Cochrane Collaboration with the assistance of the CNCF will be an indispensable tool for nurses, all around the world.

Until this goal is achieved, is important to stress to all nurses everywhere that evidence-based practice is a fundamental part of patient care which will directly impact on \ better health outcomes.

PS - A special thanks to Dr Cindy Stern, Coordinator Cochrane Nursing Care Field.