Foreword

It is with great pride that we introduce the fourth edition of the highly valued Johns Hopkins resource, Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals: Model & Guidelines.

While I write this, we are amidst a global health pandemic that has brought into sharp focus the strengths and weaknesses of healthcare systems. Without a doubt, the public and leaders worldwide unequivocally recognize the complexity of patient care. Nurses and other members of healthcare teams are more—now than ever—the advocates for and providers of high-quality, compassionate care.

We have all recently experienced the anxiety related to lack of evidence surrounding COVID-19. This dearth of information has put into stark relief how much we rely on evidence to guide our patient care and make ourselves, our families, and our patients feel safe. The visceral feeling of “not knowing” has highlighted the importance of not only producing high-quality evidence but also rapidly and reliably evaluating and implementing it. Never has evidence-based practice felt more important than now, when we know what it's like not to have it.

Feedback from a wide variety of end users, both clinical and academic, inform the continued development and improvement of the Johns Hopkins EBP Model. While the third edition emphasized the importance of inquiry as the foundation of continuous learning, the fourth edition draws attention to the value-added contributions of EBP as an interprofessional activity to enhance team collaboration and care coordination. EBP initiatives have become more collaborative in nature, and interprofessional teams have been shown to enhance quality outcomes through the integration of varied perspectives, lower costs, and safer patient care. As with previous editions, our goal remains constant and is ever more critical—to build capacity among frontline users to discern best practices from common practices and instill them into the everyday care we provide our patients. This is not just a skill set but a mindset, and it will serve nurses and healthcare team members called upon to create and implement healthcare and public health policies in the years to come.

Once again, I am honored to endorse this continued commitment to evidence-based practice and inquiry that supports healthcare quality, innovation, and nursing leadership around the world.