2006 EBP Study

Sigma Theta Tau have published the results of a recent survey they did questioning registered nurses use of evidence-based practice in their practices. Some conclusions include:

• most nurses consistently need to find, access and provide care based on EBP
• 24% of nurses siad their familiarity with EBP was low - advanced practice nurses were more likely to indicate higher levels of familiarity
  
• 27% of nurses consider the current resources for EBP are inadequate
• nurses recently entering the field are more likely to think that availability and accessibility of resources is adequate
• prevailing challenges to finding and accessing the available information include lack of time (66%); findings difficult to appraise and analyze (45%)
  
• respondents who use resources to find EBP information also typically access more than one source including consulting with colleagues or peers and also use the internet. Books, reference manuals, print journals and medical libraries were also named as resources

A interesting finding was that there is an increasing focus on EBP in education. However, only 20% said that EBP was a significant part of their nursing education curriculum. Recent graduates (33%) with less than 5 years tenure were more likely to indicate that EBP was stressed during their education.

To see the full report, including the instrument
2006 EBP Study: Summary of Findings