The gap in knowledge in this vital area of nursing care demands a systematic review, says Fiona Cowdell

Maintaining skin integrity is an essential part of ensuring health and wellbeing in older people, and personal hygiene and emollient practices are central in achieving this aim. As nurses we are expected to deliver evidence-based care. However, there is a significant lack of evidence about how best we should provide day-to-day care that promotes skin health for older people.

This article briefly examines the concept of evidence-based practice, reveals the gap in knowledge on skin hygiene and emollient practices for older people and justifies the need for a systematic review in this area. Finally it introduces a Cochrane protocol for a review that will collate and review existing knowledge and identify areas for future research. The application to practice of the new evidence generated either by the Cochrane review or by subsequent research is examined.