Evidence-Based Practice Quality Improvement Reporting Guidelines
Staci S. Reynolds, Julee Waldrop, Jayne Jennings Dunlap
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Clarity in the accurate reporting of evidence-based practice quality improvement (EBPQI) initiatives is essential to support sustainable, scalable change in clinical settings. PROBLEM: While there are separate reporting guidelines for evidence-based practice (EBP) and quality improvement (QI), there is currently no available reporting guideline for EBPQI initiatives that comprehensively combines the 2 types of inquiry. APPROACH: This article introduces a new EBPQI reporting guideline grounded in the Mountain Model for EBPQI and aligned with a previously published EBPQI critical appraisal instrument. The 19-item guideline uses the IMRaD (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion) structure and includes specific, pragmatic guidance for reporting internal and external evidence, iterative tests of change, SMART aims, and QI-appropriate analysis methods. CONCLUSION: This new guideline provides instruction for clinicians, researchers, and students in how to report robust EBPQI initiatives.