Learning Objective #1: Identify two barriers to the implementation of evidence-based practice

Learning Objective #2: Identify two strategies to encourage evidence-based practice

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The continuing challenge of health care research is not only to improve the timeliness, translation and use of research findings in practice but also to sustain the practice change. The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the presence or absence of provider and organizational variables associated with the use of evidence-based best practices. One hundred eighteen nurses from six institutions returned the anonymous survey. Study findings indicated research studies were not routinely cited in departmental policy and procedure manuals; were not mentioned/utilized during in-services or workshops; and, were not provided as a written list after training. While respondents agreed that national guidelines and national standards were used to develop policies and procedures, they did not agree that practice in their agency was based on research/evidence. Although PubMed has public Internet access, 46% of respondents indicated the hospital library was the nearest location available for conducting literature searches and 34% indicated they did not know what literature searching capabilities were available to them. Skill building using on-line and available resources can serve as a mechanism to increase awareness as well as enhancing information literacy skills at point of care. Knowledge of unit and facility outcomes data can serve as an active change stimulus and can identify high priority areas for systematic review. However, approximately one-half of the nurses indicated they did not know, or their facility did not benchmark outcomes of care. Twenty percent of the nurses indicated they did not regularly read any professional journals. Fifty-three percent of the nurses who read journals indicated reading general journals (AJN, RN, and Nursing); 64% read specialty journals (American Journal of Critical, JOGGN); and, no nurses indicated reading research journals. Facilitators of research translation include reading journals that publish original research, having a journal club and having a nursing research committee.