Testing of the Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Survey

Area of Science:

• Nursing Research
• Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• Clinicians' evidence-based practice (EBP) skills and organizational climate are crucial for science-based patient care.
• Limited research exists on aligning organizational culture with EBP implementation, particularly at unit and organizational levels.
• The Nursing EBP Survey was developed to assess individual, unit, and organizational factors influencing registered nurses' (RNs) self-reported EBP.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish and confirm factor loading, reliability, and discriminant validity of the Nursing EBP Survey.
• To psychometrically test an instrument designed to measure registered nurses' self-reported evidence-based practice.
• To provide a validated tool for assessing factors influencing EBP among RNs.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was utilized, targeting RNs across 14 hospitals and 680 medical offices in Southern California.
• The survey instrument, comprising 29 items (22 from 1999, 7 added in 2005) on a 5-point Likert scale, was administered online from November 2016 for 23 weeks.
• Psychometric evaluation involved parallel analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and ANOVA post hoc comparisons.

Main Results:

• A total of 1,181 RNs completed the survey.
• Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated significant positive factor loadings (ranging from .70 to .94) for all items (p < .001).
• Five factors were identified: Practice Climate, Data Collection, Evidence Appraisal, Implementation, and Access to Evidence. Significant differences in scores were found based on education level and practice setting (inpatient vs. ambulatory).

Conclusions:

• Registered nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and skills related to EBP exhibit variability.
• The validated 2019 Nursing EBP Survey provides a tool for RNs to plan and support improvements in evidence-based outcomes.
• The survey can tailor future EBP initiatives to better meet the needs of healthcare professionals.