Nursing Faculty Attitudes, Knowledge and Practice Towards Research & Barriers of Research Utilization in Academic and Clinical Settings
Background: Health research is essential in improving health care and plays a central role in the field of medicine. Advances in disease surveillance, diagnosis, treatment and prevention all rely heavily on quality research. In addition, research influences health care policy. Critical thinking skills of individuals are also greatly enhanced as a result of their involvement in research. Clinicians incorporate information from clinical research trials into their practices, which improves patient management and disease outcome. Globalization of diseases and the increasing need of incorporation of evidence-based medicine into practice have made quality demographic and clinical research even more imperative. Purpose: The main aim of this study is to evaluate the nursing faculty members’ attitudes towards research and identify the barriers in implementing the research at universities and hospitals. Research Methods: A descriptive, cross sectional non-experimental survey research design was conducted with a convenient sample of 86 nurses and academics in major educational institutions/hospitals. A standardized Evidence-Based Practice & BARRIERS to research utilization self-administered questionnaire used to collect the data from the faculty members of educational institutions and nurses in the hospitals. Results: Data was analyzed using SPSS 26.0 version. Frequency, mean ratings, Chi-square tests, Pearson values were employed. This study indicated that the MSN and PhD prepared faculty had a higher level of knowledge and attitude towards evidence-based practice when comparing to BSN prepared clinical nurse educators and nurses. Conclusion: The study concluded that majority of the academics and nurse educators agreed that there is a need for evidence-based practice and research should be mandatory in both clinical and academic settings. However, the participants expressed that there are significant barriers of research including lack of funding, workload, lack of interest, lack of knowledge about the research methods, lack of organizational support and benefits to involve in research. Study recommends that the policy and guidelines should be developed for the nurses working at the clinical settings to conduct research. There needs to be staff training and education focusing on research methods and analysis.