A Scoping Review of Nurse-Led Medical-Surgical Knowledge Translation Interventions to Improve In-Hospital Clinical Practice in the WHO Afro Region

Abstract

The process of placing research knowledge into action and thereby ensuring its dissemination is very important in healthcare currently. Although nurse-led knowledge translation interventions have become an important focus in the high-income countries, the extent of such interventions in the World Health Organization (WHO) Afro Region is not well established. This scoping review aimed to map the evidence of nurse-led knowledge translation interventions in the countries in the WHO Afro Region using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Scoping Review Methodology. A systematic electronic search of articles was carried out in selected electronic data bases using various search engines. All 688 eligible identified articles were imported into the Systematic Reviews Web App (Beta) Rayyan. The selection process included title and abstract screening, and full text article screening. A Prisma flow diagram detailing the procedure was developed. The review process resulted in 21 selected articles. The results showed minimal publications between 2013 and 2019 with a sudden increase in 2020 (n = 5) and 2021 (n = 4). The Eastern WHO Afro Region contributed 48% of the studies, followed by the Western WHO Afro Region with 43%. Ten countries were selected through the process of screening according to where nurse-led medical-surgical knowledge translation interventions were found. Nigeria contributed 33%, followed by Uganda with 19%. The scoping review concluded that studies be appraised for their ability to promote evidence-based knowledge, skills and behaviour in both rural and urban clinical settings. More of these studies need to be conducted in the WHO Afro Region. More focused systematic reviews should be conducted to sum up the best available research on these specific questions, supported by findings by clinical setting, type of intervention, and outcomes.