Developing an Open Innovation Nursing Home Living Lab in Austria

Evidence-based practice involves incorporating clinical expertise, the best research evidence, and the patient's/resident's individual values into daily health care practice.1 Studies show that using evidence-based care leads to better clinical outcomes, decreases morbidity and mortality, improves patient safety, and reduces costs.2,3 However, barriers prevent evidence-based care from being successfully offered in nursing homes (eg, time constraints or inadequate staffing), and existing theory-practice gaps can only be bridged by merging nursing practice and research in a facilitating manner.