Unit Leadership and Climates for Evidence-Based Practice Implementation in Acute Care: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive...

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Nurse managers (NMs) play a crucial role in implementing evidence-based practice (EBP) within acute care settings.
• Understanding NM leadership behaviors, competencies, and unit climates is essential for fostering EBP.
• A gap exists between research findings and clinical practice, necessitating an investigation into factors influencing EBP implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe nurse manager leadership behaviors, EBP competencies, and unit climates for EBP implementation in acute care.
• To examine differences between NMs' and registered nurses' (RNs') perceptions of these factors.

Main Methods:

• A multisite, cross-sectional study involving 24 NMs and 553 RNs from 24 adult medical-surgical units.
• Data collected via electronic questionnaires assessing leadership, implementation climate, and NM EBP competencies.
• Independent t-tests with Bonferroni correction were used to analyze perception differences.

Main Results:

• NMs reported moderate EBP competencies (M = 1.62).
• Both NMs and RNs perceived leadership behaviors and unit climates for EBP implementation to a moderate extent.
• Significant differences were found in RN and NM perceptions of Proactive (p = .01) and Knowledgeable (p < .001) leadership subscales.

Conclusions:

• Current NM EBP competencies, leadership behaviors, and unit climates are modest, indicating a need for interventions.
• Addressing the research-to-practice gap requires investigating social dynamics and implementation strategies.
• Developing unit leadership and climate is critical for accelerating EBP adoption and improving patient outcomes.