Making connections: the linkage between research and practice--evidence for improving the quality of pediatric nursing.

Research enriches pediatric nursing practice through the translation of the best evidence for practice – making this connection is essential for improving the quality of pediatric nursing. GENERATING AND DISCOVERING new knowledge is critical for the development of evidence to improve pediatric nursing practice. The power of research is that it provides the evidence to develop best practices to enhance pediatric nursing care (Christian, 2010). Indeed, these lessons from research are translated and applied to pediatric nursing practice to improve the health of children and their families (Christian, 2012a,b). To that end, the purpose of clinical nursing research is to generate nursing knowledge to provide evidence to guide nursing practice (Polit & Beck, 2012). Moreover, translation of evidence into practice improves the quality of pediatric nursing care (Christian, 2011; Hockenberry & Wilson, 2011). Thus, it is essential that pediatric nurses recognize that best practices are grounded in research and then translated into pediatric nursing practice (Christian, 2012a). Identifying this linkage between research and clinical practice is integral for improving pediatric nursing practice, as well as the quality of care for children and their families. In this issue of the Journal of Pediatric Nursing, nine articles use a variety of research methods to generate evidence for improving pediatric nursing practice, while enhancing the quality of lives of children and their families: