Background: Evidence-based practice is the integration of "individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research". But transferring research findings into practice is often a slow and difficult process. In the new healthcare environment, practitioners need to deliver healthcare based on sound scientific evidence and continuously innovating new, effective healthcare practices.So, it is important to develop a framework for practitioners to integrate evidence into practice and promote clinical quality improvement.

Objectives: This study was to develop a framework of evidence-based continuous quality improvement and provide a framework for nursing professionals to promote evidence implementation and continuous clinical nursing quality improvement through a systematic process.

Methods: Guided by the principles of PDCA, evidence-based nursing and work process, the framework of evidence-based quality continuous improvement was established through content analysis of evidence implementation related projects and literatures. Projects and literature were identified on searches of Medline, Embase, JBI library and Chinese databases. Review topics were focus on evidence-based medicine and nursing, evidence-based practice, evidence implementation, research utilisation and change process.

Results: The framework of evidence-based continuous quality improvement consisted of four stages and twelve steps, including evidence searching (including three steps: question identified, evidence searched, and criteria identified), status analysis (including three steps: team established, data collection and gap analysis), evidence implementation (including three steps: barrier analysis, strategy developed and take action)and outcome evaluation (including tree steps: system evaluation, practitioner evaluation and patient evaluation). And then it will turn to next cycle.

Conclusions: The framework of evidence-based continuous quality improvement provided nursing professionals a concept and method of promoting evidence into practice and promoting clinical nursing quality improvement.