Authors (including presenting author) :
Sit HT(1), Cheng PYI(1), Au SH(1), Siu SO(1), Shun KW(1), Lui SF(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Psychiatry, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital
Introduction :
Evidence-based Practice (EBP) is gaining its popularity in nursing practice in Hong Kong. Training for nurses on EBP, especially literature review, has been developed and implemented in view of clinical needs and professional enhancement. However not much study on the belief and competence of EBP among nursing staff in Hong Kong can be identified. Understanding the belief and competence of EBP among nurses can facilitate to develop the road map on further promotion and implementation of EBP. Meanwhile although the benefits of EBP have been widely documented in the literature, its implementation in healthcare institutions remains embryonic. Therefore, it is worth investigating the beliefs towards EBP and EBP implementation among nursing colleagues in order to map out the direction of further promotion and implementation of EBP in Hong Kong.
Objectives :
1.To have a good understanding on the belief of EBP among nurses working in psychiatric department, PYNEH
2.To explore the staff competence on clinical application of EBP among nurses working in psychiatric department, PYNEH
Methodology :
We carried out a cross-sectional study among 271 nurses in the Department of Psychiatry, PYNEH. Evidence-based Practice Belief Scale, the Evidence-based Practice Implementation Scale and Nurse Manager EBP Competency Scale were used.
Result & Outcome :
In total, 147 nurses participated in the study (response rate 54%). The overall results showed that nurses were positive towards evidence-based practice, but only practiced it to a small extent. There was a positive correlation (r) between beliefs towards evidence-based practice and implementation of evidence-based practice (r = 0.43, p < 0.001).
For EBP belief, and mean score of EBP Belief Scale is 54.19. There was no statistical difference between different age group (p= .88) and ward settings (p= .82), but there were significant statistical differences between different years of nurse experiences (p= .037), ranks (p= .001), educational level (p<0.001) and previous EBP training experiences (p<0.001). Participants who had higher nursing rank, educational background or learned about evidence-based practice had significantly higher scores on the EBP Belief Scale.
For EBP implementation, and mean score of EBP Implementation Scale is 28.26. There was no statistical difference between different age group (p= .35), years of nurse experiences (p= .473), ranks (p= .114), ward settings (p= .167), but there were significant statistical differences between different educational level (p= .024) and previous EBP training experiences (p<0.001). Participants who had higher educational background or learned about evidence-based practice also had significantly higher scores on the EBP Implementation Scale.
For competency of nursing manager in EBP, most participants reported they were “somewhat competent” and “fully competent” in different aspects on clinical application of EBP.
This study showed that nurses had positive attitude towards EBP, but practiced it to a lesser extent. As the response rate was not high, it might indicate some staff were relatively less interested in EBP. There was a positive correlation between beliefs about EBP and implementation of EBP. Difference among nurses’ years of experience, ranks, education level and whether they had previous EBP training experiences had significant impact on their belief towards EBP, while the implementation of EBP were influenced by difference in educational level and previous EBP training experiences. Meanwhile, colleagues with rank Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) or above appeared to be much competent in various aspects in clinical application of EBP. It is worth putting much resources in providing EBP training for the nursing colleague, as to act as a foundation to help nurses clarify clinical problems, search for current research and carry out evidence-based decision-making to solve the problem.
