Measuring the Impact of an Educational Intervention on Evidence-Based Practice

Abstract

Background With an increasingly complex health care system, there are greater demands for nurses to have a strong foundation in evidence-based practice (EBP) competencies because of their relationship to improved patient and organizational outcomes. Attributes such as knowledge, skills, and attitudes contribute to the development of EBP competencies. Method A quasi-experimental study with a pretest/posttest design was conducted to evaluate the outcomes for 30 RNs in an acute care setting who attended a 3-hour EBP educational intervention using the Healthcare EBP Assessment Tool questionnaire. Results The nurses demonstrated a significant improvement in their perceived understanding of EBP after the intervention ( p = .005). Statistically significant improvements were also noted on the subscales of frequency, ability, desire, and barriers. Conclusion Advances in the perception of EBP competencies made by the participants of this intervention may enhance their feeling of contributing to the organization and result in improved patient outcomes and work environment. Further research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of other interventions, including opportunities to be involved in quality improvement projects and research studies. [ J Contin Educ Nurs . 2022;53(3):109–114.]

Effectiveness of Educational Interventions to Increase Skills in Evidence-Based Practice among Nurses: The EDITcare Systematic Review

“…The review included fifteen studies—nine in the United States of America [ 8 , 48 , 50 , 51 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 60 ], two in Taiwan [ 52 , 61 ], and one each in Portugal [ 62 ], Finland [ 63 ], Spain [ 53 ], and India [ 64 ]. All were published between 2011 and 2022.…”

“…All were published between 2011 and 2022. One study used a pre–post cohort design [ 48 ], four were RCTs [ 8 , 65 , 66 ], and ten used quasi-experimental designs [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 60 , 61 ]. Twelve studies were conducted in primary-care settings, one took place in a Portuguese nursing school [ 62 ], one in the nursing education institution of an Indian university [ 64 ], and one in Jaume University in Spain [ 53 ].…”

“…The 1509 female and 108 male participants were aged between 19 and 65 years old. Seven studies did not report on their sample’s gender [ 50 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 61 , 64 , 66 ], and only nine studies provided information about their sample’s age distribution [ 48 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 64 , 66 ]. Table 1 describes the studies retained.…”

“…The methodological quality of the cohort study was poor (four stars) [ 48 ] ( Table 2 ). The different domains of evaluation used in the quasi-experimental interventional studies also scored as moderate [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 60 , 61 ] ( Table 3 ). Finally, the RCT studies were scored as “of some concern” regarding their methodological risk of bias [ 8 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ] ( Table 4 ).…”

“…The studies retained had each developed a tailored educational intervention focusing on their sample’s specific needs. Those interventions were divided into three categories: (i) multifaceted educational strategies incorporating mentoring and tutoring [ 8 , 52 , 54 , 57 , 60 , 66 , 69 ], (ii) single educational strategies [ 55 , 58 , 59 , 61 ], and (iii) multifaceted educational strategies using the five steps (five As) of EBP [ 56 , 68 , 70 ].…”