Practical Guidance for Knowledge Synthesis: Scoping Review Methods

Scoping reviews are a useful approach to synthesizing research evidence although the objectives and methods are different to that of systematic reviews, yet some confusion persists around how to plan and prepare so that a completed scoping review complies with best practice in methods and meets international standards for reporting criteria. This paper describes how to use available guidance to ensure a scoping review project meets global standards, has transparency of methods and promotes readability though the use of innovative approaches to data analysis and presentation. We address some of the common issues such as which projects are more suited to systematic reviews, how to avoid an inadequate search and/or poorly reported search strategy, poorly described methods and lack of transparency, and the issue of how to plan and present results that are clear, visually compelling and accessible to readers. Effective pre-planning, adhering to protocol and detailed consideration of how the results data will be communicated to the readership are critical. The aim of this article is to provide clarity about what is meant by conceptual clarity and how pre-planning enables review authors to produce scoping reviews which are of high quality, reliability and readily publishable.

Applying Theory Informed Global Trends in a Collaborative Model for Organizational Evidence-based Healthcare / 간호행정학회지

Getting evidence in to practice tends to focus on strategies, theories and studies that aim to close the gap between research knowledge and clinical practice. The evidence to practice gap is more about systems than individual clinician decision making. The absence of evidence for administration and management in the organization of healthcare is persistent. Teaching nurses and providing evidence as the solution to evidence-based healthcare is no longer axiomatic. Previous studies have concluded that unit level strategies integrate multi-professional teams with organizational needs and priorities. This ‘best fit’ approach that characterizes how healthcare is structured and delivered. The published literature shows that increased readiness for change is aligned with integrated approaches informed by conceptual models. The Joanna Briggs Collaboration is the largest global collaboration to integrate evidence within a theory informed model that brings together academic centres, hospitals and health systems for evidence synthesis, transfer and implementation. The best approaches to implementation are tailored to local culture and context, benchmark against international evidence, combine a theory informed model and stakeholder perspectives to improve the structure and processes of health care policy and practice.