Informatics competency, attitudes toward evidence-based practice, and clinical decision-making skills in nurses

Area of Science:

• Nursing Informatics
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Clinical Practice Research

Background:

• Nurses' clinical decision-making skills are crucial for patient safety and outcomes.
• Evidence-based practice (EBP) enhances the quality and standardization of nursing services.
• Understanding factors influencing these skills is essential for advancing nursing practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between informatics competency, attitudes toward evidence-based practice (EBP), and clinical decision-making skills in nurses.
• To identify how informatics competency and EBP attitudes influence nurses' decision-making abilities.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive correlational study was conducted with 300 nurses in Birjand, Iran.
• Data were collected using validated questionnaires assessing informatics competency, EBP attitudes, and clinical decision-making skills.
• Statistical analysis (SPSS-25) was performed to determine correlations and predictive relationships (p < 0.05).

Main Results:

• A significant positive correlation was observed between informatics competency, EBP attitudes, and clinical decision-making skills.
• Informatics competency significantly predicted 26% of the variance in clinical decision-making skills.
• Informatics competency also predicted 20% of the variance in attitudes toward evidence-based practice.

Conclusions:

• Improving nurses' informatics competency and fostering positive attitudes toward EBP are key to enhancing clinical decision-making.
• Nurse managers should develop targeted strategies to strengthen these competencies.
• These interventions can lead to improved nursing care quality and patient outcomes.