NURSES PERCEPTIONS OF CONSENSUS REPORTS CONTAINING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Consensus reports providing guidelines designed to alter clinical prac tice are being disseminated with increasing frequency by professional associations, the government, and voluntary health agencies. The purpo se of this study was to examine nurses' perceptions of consensus repor ts that contain recommendations designed to alter clinical practice, i ncluding the extent to which consensus reports offer relative advantag e over other more traditional sources of practice-related information. Strategies for encouraging the use of consensus reports are discussed .