A recent study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Nursing (AJN), found that many U.S. registered nurses are not ready to engage in evidence-based practice (EBP), the "gold standard" approach to clinical problem solving, due to gaps in computer literacy knowledge and skills, limited access to quality information resources and attitudes toward research. This lack in usage could adversely affect patient outcomes.
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a systematic research process that uses the best evidence currently available for clinical decision making in order to provide the most consistent and best possible care for patients.
"Most nurses practice nursing based on what they learned in nursing school. Given that the average age of today's nurse is over 40, nursing school was many years ago," said Diane Pravikoff, PhD, RN, managing editor of the Online Journal of Clinical Innovations and director of research and professional liaison at Cinahl Information Systems in Glendale, CA and author of the study. "This presents the profession with a serious dilemma. The community and patients demand a professional practice based on the most recent up-to-date information and, there are healthcare providers who may not be prepared to meet these demands because they don't know how to find information or don't have the tools to obtain it."
While nurses acknowledge that they frequently need information for practice, they feel more confident in asking colleagues, peers and searching the Internet than in using more credible bibliographic databases such as PubMed or CINAHL to find specific information. Personal and organizational barriers to research utilization and implementation of EBP include: