Background: The Joanna Briggs Institute Model for Evidence Based Healthcare, first conceptualised in 2005, was presented as a developmental framework of evidence-based practice. It sought to situate healthcare evidence and its role and use within the complexity of practice settings globally.

Objectives: The objective of this work was to re-examine the Model and its component parts to see whether they remain relevant and a true and accurate reflection of where the evidence-based movement is today.

Methods: A citation analysis was conducted using the index citation of the original source paper on the JBI Model by Pearson and Colleagues. The databases searched were PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar from year of publication (2005) to July 2015. Duplicates and articles in languages other than English were removed and all results were imported and combined in an Excel spreadsheet for review and analysis. This was followed by a process of stakeholder engagement that involved focus-group discussions with the staff of the Joanna Briggs Institute and broader Joanna Briggs Collaboration during the 2015 annual general meeting. These data were recorded then transcribed for review and consideration.

Results:The citation analysis revealed that, despite being cited over 200 times by academics, health professionals and policy makers, the Model itself was rarely used to inform or direct policy or practice. Equally, the stakeholder consultation confirmed that there was a need to ensure the language utilised in the Model was internationally appropriate and in line with current international trends.

Conclusions:The new Model for Evidence Based Healthcare details the intricacies of the relationships between systems and individuals across different settings and the need for contextual localisation to enable policy makers and practitioners to make evidence-based decisions at the point of care.