An Evidence-Informed Health Policy Model: Adapting Evidence-Based Practice for Nursing Education and Regulation

Evidence-based practice (EBP) models help address clinical problems; translate relevant research to practice; and improve care, outcomes, and systems quality. These models designed to solve clinical problems can be adapted to solve health policy problems in nursing education and nursing regulation. This article describes a model for evidence-informed health policy (EIHP) in nursing based on Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt's EBP model. The EIHP model combines the use of the best available evidence and issue expertise with stakeholder values and ethics to inform and leverage dialogue toward the best possible health policy agenda and improvements. Unique to this model are dual uses for the PICOT question: to clarify the policy question driving the evidence search and to deconstruct and analyze existing or pending policy retrospectively. Implications for the model's use in nursing education and nursing regulation are described, and implementation challenges are addressed.