Pragmatic clinical trials: Increasing the rate of translating nursing research into practice<sup>†</sup>
Ardith Z. Doorenbos, Yutaka Kato
Abstract
AIM: Nursing research worldwide is committed to rigorous scientific inquiry that provides a significant body of knowledge to advance nursing practice. One way to advance nursing practice is to increase the rate at which nursing research findings are translated into clinical practice, and one way to do that is to use pragmatic clinical trial research designs. This article aims to describe and advocate for the increased use of pragmatic clinical trials in nursing research and to provide a summary of one nursing pragmatic clinical trial. METHODS: A review and discussion of the features of pragmatic clinical trials. RESULTS: This article describes the principles and benefits of pragmatic clinical trials. Nurse researchers who use these principles will generate results that are more actionable, patient-centered, and relevant in clinical practice. Focusing on research that provides practical evidence that can be translated into evidence-based practice is an important way to improve the environment for nursing research that leads more rapidly to improved nursing practice. CONCLUSIONS: Embracing and increasing our use of pragmatic clinical trial design concepts in nursing research can enhance the significance of our findings and facilitate the translation of our research into practice.