Research utilization and research related activities of nurses in Northern Ireland

There is a need for more information about research utilization and other related research activities among nurses in the U.K. This article reports on data from a large scale survey of nurses in Northern Ireland, in particular their self-reported extent of research utilization, their attitudes to research, research projects carried out and their frequency of accessing research information. A questionnaire was administered to a convenient sample of 2600 nurses from 23 hospitals in 14 Trusts. The number of responses was 1368 (52.6%). The findings show that although respondents held positive attitudes to research, only about a third reported utilizing research 'frequently/all the time' and less than 40% reported that they had implemented research findings in the two years prior to the survey. These figures were, however, higher for degree nurses. The implications of these and other findings are discussed.