What is needed for nurses to work with evidence-based practice? A qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Healthcare transformation requires adopting evidence-based practice (EBP) principles for high-quality patient care.
• Nurses often rely on tradition and intuition, hindering the full implementation of EBP.
• Understanding nurses' needs is crucial for promoting EBP and overcoming existing barriers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the current needs of hospital, community care, and student nurses regarding the implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) principles.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative, exploratory study utilizing focus group discussions with nurses and student nurses.
• Data collected from 5 focus groups (25 participants) across hospital, community, and educational settings.
• Analysis involved reflexive thematic analysis, with themes aligned to the TICD checklist domains.

Main Results:

• Nurses and student nurses find EBP complex, requiring enhanced EBP knowledge and readily available, reliable evidence.
• Participants desired facilitated access to evidence, opportunities for peer collaboration, and dedicated time for EBP activities.
• Meeting these needs can boost EBP engagement, support professional growth, and empower nurses in leadership roles.

Conclusions:

• Nurses face challenges in applying EBP and require support for successful implementation.
• Key needs include increased EBP knowledge, access to tailored, ready-to-use information, role models, autonomy, incentives, time, and EBP integration into daily practice.