Public health nurses review of the evidence base of state healthcare priorities

With the information explosion on the Internet, research evidence for public health nursing interventions is often available, but not in a format that is readily accessible and understood by practicing public health nurses (PHNs). This paper reports the process and outcomes of a collaborative evidence-based PHN project. University PHN faculty, students, and members of a state public health association's nursing section came together with a two-fold purpose: (a) to improve PHN skills in retrieval and analysis of research evidence, and (b) to identify specific evidence-based interventions targeted at previously identified state healthcare issues. Healthcare issues reviewed were chronic disease (adult obesity), immunizations, lead, prenatal outcomes, and sexually transmitted diseases. Within the collaborative, subcommittees created questions using the PICO (population, intervention, comparison, and outcome) format for each issue, investigated the evidence base, reported results, and made recommendations. Fact sheets with findings and recommendations were prepared in formatting styles similar to that of US Preventative Services Task Force or Cochrane Collaborative. These fact sheets are held in a repository located on the state public health association's website. Bringing together faculty, students, and practicing PHNs in this venue provided the means for all to integrate the evidence-based practice process and discover interventions applicable to practice. Finally, in this constantly changing environment, evidence-based investigations such as those above must be dynamic, rather than static in nature, to keep effective evidence-based interventions at the forefront of public health nursing practice.