How is clinical credibility defined in nursing? A systematic review

Abstract

AimTo synthesise what is known about the concept of clinical credibility in nursing. BackgroundClinical credibility is a commonly-used phrase in both academic and clinical settings. There is a perception that having ‘clinical credibility’ is valuable when teaching health care professionals. Whilst a common topic of conversation among educators, there is lack of clarity about what it means. To date, there has not been a systematic review that has examined the definition of clinical credibility as a concept. DesignSystematic review. Data sourcesCINAHL (EBSCO), EMBASE (Ovid), MEDLINE, Nursing & Allied Health Database (ProQuest) and PsycInfo (Ovid). Search methodsPrimary studies published in English that had a focus on ‘clinical credibility’ directly or indirectly were selected. The search was carried out between May-August 2018. No date limits were applied. Two researchers completed title, abstract and full text screening. Data extraction and quality appraisal was conducted independently by two reviewers. Search outcomeA total of 2189 studies were retrieved. Seventeen studies met eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Clinical credibility was defined in different ways. The concept is employed without being clearly defined and is often used interchangeably with other phrases. The concept is more commonly depicted as having features, attributes and associated words, in essence it remains unclear. ConclusionNo clear understanding of the concept of ‘clinical credibility’ exists within the literature.