Research Utilization vs. Evidence-Based Practice

Evidence-based practice and research are concepts that are heavily used in nursing and the medical field in general. They are concepts that are used to synthesize information that is of substantial need in the medical fraternity and hence people may fail to understand their difference. Each of them is however used differently where research utilization is the generation of new knowledge or validation of existing knowledge that is based on an unproven theory. On the other hand, evidence-based practice is the translation of evidence showcased in research and its application in making clinical decisions. 

Thinking about research utilization, one needs to think of the whole process of research. It is the process whereby a detected clinical question is investigated systematically and with extensive literature. It includes the formulation of a hypothesis in relation to the matter to be study and the validation or invalidation of the hypothesis (Groves, Burns & Gray, 2013). Two study approaches inclusive of the qualitative and quantitative research approaches are used where the former makes use of human experiences while the latter uses established statistics in data collection and analysis. Research utilization, therefore, ends up in the analysis of the collected data and the interpretation of the outcomes of the research.

While research utilization could be said to be general in terms of knowledge, the evidence-based practice involves clinical innovation to find the best evidence that can be put in practice to solve a certain specific clinical issue. It includes scores of inquiries into a particular clinical question, the collection of evidence application of the best evidence, its evaluation and lastly, the dissemination of the results (Groves, Burns & Gray, 2013). EBP is therefore not about the founding of abstract data as research utilization is but is the actual use of the evidence in research in the treatment process itself. 

References

Groves, S. K., Burns, N., & Gray, J. R. (2013). The practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders.