Aim. To provide a critical analysis of key concepts associated with evidence-based nursing (EBN) to substantiate an operational definition for nurses to use in practice. Background. Despite the plethora of literature surrounding what evidence-based nursing is and is not and how it differs from its cousins, evidence-based medicine and evidence-based practice, nurses still struggle to get evidence into practice. Several reasons for this have been reported, for example, a lack of understanding about what evidence-based nursing means or time to engage with and apply the evidence into practice.Design. An in-depth critical review and synthesis of literature was undertaken. Method. Using the key words; evidence-based nursing, evidence-based medicine and evidence-based practice 496 articles were yielded. These articles were limited to 83. Using Burns and Grove's (2001) phased approach to reviewing the literature the articles were critically reviewed and categorised into key concepts and themes.Results. The in-depth critical review and synthesis of the literature demonstrated that evidence-based nursing could be defined as a distinct concept. The review clearly shows that for evidence-based nursing to occur, nurses need to be aware of what evidencebased nursing means, what constitutes evidence, how evidence-based nursing differs from evidence-based medicine and evidence-based practice and what the process is to engage with and apply the evidence. Conclusion. The in-depth critical review and synthesis of the evidence-based nursing literature reinforces the need to consolidate a position for nursing in the evidence-based field. The review confirms that evidence-based nursing can be defined and conceptualised; however, for nurses to engage and apply with the evidence-based processes they need to be informed of what these are and how to engage with them in practice. Relevance to clinical practice. This paper examines the concept of evidence-based nursing and its application to clinical practice.

The theory of care-seeking behavior was tested in the context of mammography use among midwestern women (N = 178). In multivariate logistic regressions, mammography adherence in the past 5 years was related to habit, the interaction of anxiety and barriers, belief in one's risk of breast cancer, age, and family history of breast cancer. Recent use of mammograms (i.e., in the past 1 or 2 years, depending on age) was related to norm and habit. Intention was related to utility beliefs regarding mammography, norm, habit, and belief in one's risk of breast cancer. As proposed from theory, anxiety and barriers interacted to influence adherence, the variables of habit, utility beliefs, and norm were related to either recent use or intention. Contrary to theory, belief in one's risk of breast cancer, age, and family history of breast cancer were related to adherence or intention after controlling for theoretically derived variables. The explanatory variables for each outcome were not identical, indicating that these mammography-related outcomes are characteristically different.

Meaning-making has emerged as a core construct in addressing trauma, loss or crisis. This paper considers how diasporic Black Africans living with HIV, who come from interdependent collectivist cultures where the norm is one of implicit support, extend their meaning-making strategies when faced with a diagnosis of HIV. In this qualitative study, 13 Black African migrants and refugees living with HIV in New Zealand were interviewed and the transcripts analysed. After their diagnosis, participants began a journey of reconceptualising situational and global meaning. They extended their meaning-making strategies to include a community of like others to gain explicit support. Caregivers in host countries must understand the meaning-making processes of HIV-positive Black African migrants in order to provide competent services that lead to good social and health outcomes. All healthcare and social services workers should regularly assess Black African migrants and refugees living with HIV for positive social connectedness as well as medication adherence and more specific health concerns.