Correlates among Evidence-Based Practice Beliefs, EBP Implementation and Job Satisfaction in Nurses and Health Professionals

Thursday, 15 July 2010: 11:10 AM

Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/PMHNP, FAAN
Arizona State University College of Nursing & Health Innovation, Arizona State University College of Nursing, Phoenix, AZ
Ellen Fineout-Overholt, PhD, RN, FNAP, FAAN
College of Nursing & Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ
Martha Giggleman, RN, MA
Patient Care Services, Washington Hospital Healthcare System, Fremont, CA

Learning Objective 1: Describe the relationships among EBP Beliefs, EBP Implementation and Job Satisfaction.

Learning Objective 2: Discuss implications for further research and clinical practice.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships among evidence-based practice (EBP) beliefs, EBP implementation and job satisfaction in nurses and health professionals in a 359-bed community hospital in Northern California.

Background: The Institute of Medicine has set the goal that ninety percent of clinical decisions will be evidence-based by 2020. However, estimates are that only approximately 10 to 15 percent of nurses and other healthcare providers consistently implement EBP. Research has identified barriers to EBP; however, there is a paucity of studies that have investigated the relationships among EBP beliefs, EBP implementation and job satisfaction in practicing nurses and health professionals. The ARCC (Advancing Research and Clinical practice through close Collaboration) Model provided the conceptual framework for this study.

Methods: A descriptive correlational study was conducted with 58 nurses and healthcare providers. Participants completed the EBP Beliefs Scale, the EBP Implementation Scale, and a job satisfaction scale.

Results: Approximately 40 percent of the participants had a bachelor’s degree and 7 percent reported a master’s degree as their highest level of education. Thirty-eight percent of the participants were staff nurses and 22 percent were charge nurses. Non-nurses comprised 17 percent of the sample. EBP beliefs were positively related to EBP implementation and job satisfaction. Specifically, as EBP beliefs increased, EBP implementation and job satisfaction also increased.

Implications: Organizations must cultivate cultures that support EBP in order to strengthen clinicians’ beliefs and implementation of evidence-based care. Cultures that support EBP hold promise for enhancing job satisfaction and retaining staff.