Research utilization: evaluation of initiatives in a public health nursing division

The need to incorporate research findings into public health nursing has never been greater. This paper describes briefly, the initiatives to promote research in a public health nursing division and the results of the evaluation questionnaire. Results indicated that public health nurses valued research and felt comfortable with the concepts and phases of the research utilization model. They would engage in research activities if conducted at team meetings and when time was allotted. They identified administrative support and the supportive environment as being positive facilitators to research utilization. Despite these findings, the majority (67.5%) were not changing their practice as a result of the initiatives. They identified having difficulty formulating a research question and needing assistance with article critique. Time was cited as the greatest deterrent. They felt they did not have time to read research or engage in the steps of the research utilization model. Recommendations from the evaluation include the need to designate time for research utilization at team meetings. Once the nurses comfort level and value placed on research utilization increases, they may be motivated to initiate research activities on their own.