FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2006
Honor Society study shows majority of nurses rely on evidence-based practice
( INDIANAPOLIS ) Despite the growing application of evidence-based practice (EBP) in nursing, a majority—69 percent—of registered nurses have only a low to moderate level of familiarity with EBP, according to a recent survey by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. The survey also shows less than one half of the nurse respondents are confident with the steps of EBP process.
Perceived Need by Nurses for Information/Research
The honor society defines EBP as the integration of the best available evidence, nursing expertise, and the values and preferences of patients, families and communities served.
“Evidence-based practice equips nurses to provide optimal care with the most current research and consensus of expert opinion on clinical practice,” said Nancy Dickenson-Hazard RN, MSN, FAAN, chief executive officer of the honor society. “It translates the best evidence into the best nursing practice, research, education, administration and policy,” Dickenson-Hazard said.
The honor society conducted an Internet-based, electronic survey of active registered U.S. nurses. Invitations to participate in the survey were sent to e-mail addresses of nurses obtained from three nursing market sources. In all, 568 nurses responded, providing a 95 percent confidence level that the findings represent perceptions of the overall respondent base within a precision range of +/- 4 percent.
Source: Sigma Theta Tau International 2006 Evidence-Based Practice Research Study
The results of 2006 Evidence-Based Practice Research Study show:
- 90 percent of survey respondents need to find, access and provide care based on research or evidence at least occasionally, while 64 percent report this need at least weekly;
- 31 percent of nurses indicate a high level of familiarity with EBP;
- 24 percent rate their familiarity with EBP as low;
- More than 40 percent of respondents report a high level of comfort with the EBP process; 50 percent indicate moderate level of comfort; and about 10 percent indicate a low level of confidence with EBP; and
- A majority—73 percent—of nurses consider the availability and accessibility of EBP information and documentation to be at least adequate. But one in four—27 percent—consider resources inadequate.
The study indicates that nurses who have entered the profession in the past five years are more likely to consider the availability and accessibility of EBP information at least adequate, with more than 82 percent reporting it as more than adequate.
“The nurses overwhelmingly responded that lack of time during their shift is the primary challenge to researching and applying EBP,” said Andy McDaniel, corporate research director for the honor society. “To respond to this need, the honor society is providing more portals to EBP information to make it easier for nurses to find, read, digest and use.”
As a leading source of information on EBP, the honor society is working closely with key partners to support nursing research and EBP around the world. The honor society's EBP resources include:
- Nursing Knowledge International® ( www.nursingknowledge.org ), provides evidence-based knowledge solutions to help nurses help others.
- Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing™, a peer-reviewed journal of knowledge synthesis and research on evidence-based practice.
- Journal of Nursing Scholarship, a quarterly journal containing peer-reviewed, thought-provoking articles from honor society members and leading nurse researchers
- ceLink™ – the honor society's continuing education offering that includes more than 100 EBP case studies and articles
- Virginia Henderson International Nursing Library, an online searchable resource of nursing research and conference abstracts
For more information about the honor society's 2006 Evidence-Based Practice Research Study or to speak with an expert on evidence-based practice, please contact Leslie Flowers, public relations specialist, 317.828.6925, leslieflowers@sbcglobal.net .
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The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health of people worldwide through leadership and scholarship in practice, education and research. Founded in 1922, the Honor Society of Nursing has inducted more than 400,000 members. Members are active in 19 countries and include practicing nurses, instructors, researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs and others . The society's 446 chapters are located at 535 institutions of higher education throughout the United States, as well as Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Ghana, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, the Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa, South Korea, Swaziland, Sweden, Taiwan and Tanzania. More information about the society can be found online at www.nursingsociety.org