Promoting evidence-based nursing through journal clubs: an integrative review

Background The journal club has been proposed as a tool to fill the gap between theory and practice. Aim The present research is an integrative review of studies focussing on journal clubs. Methods An integrative review. We searched the databases during 2010–2019 to find papers using the keywords journal club, nursing, evidence-based practice. The modified version of Cooper’s five-stage integrative review was applied. Results The results are presented in two sections – the benefits and challenges of nursing journal clubs and an outline of presentation guidelines. We also discuss the effectiveness of journal clubs in the promotion of evidence-based nursing. Conclusions The purpose of the nursing journal club is to review existing literature, discuss the latest information and evidence and identify practical changes required to ultimately improve patient outcomes. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of journal clubs in patient care.