The Effect of a Journal Club on Perceived Barriers to the Utilization of Nursing Research in a Practice Setting

Abstract

Professional accountability dictates that bedside nurses base their practice on the best available evidence from research findings. However, some staff nurses may be reluctant to read research and scholarly journals, suppressing their practice and self-development. Findings from this study suggest that perceptions of barriers to research utilization in practice may decrease through the use of unit-based journal clubs. The staff development educator can play a pivotal role in nursing practice progression by implementing journal clubs.

Motivation for participating in a journal club: Perceptions of the participants

“…Based on results of the exploratory factor analysis, participation in the Journal Club (1) improved the ability to address clinical issues in a scholarly manner (.777), (2) increased the desire to participate in research (.753), (3) improved the ability to link research to patient care (.704), (4) improved interactions with other interprofessional colleagues (.702), and (5) increased the desire to provide evidenced based care (.700). Using the results of the second component, participation in the Journal Club has a decreased ability to (1) develop an awareness of the steps of the research process (.582), (2) initiate unit or organizational changes in practice (.336), or (3) read / interpret research articles (.317).…”

“…O'Nan [2] identified that these barriers are associated with faster patient turnover rates, the increasing complexity of care required for patients with higher acuity conditions, the infusion of technology into plans of care, and the evolving computerized charting systems. These variables are unique to clinically based nurses, resulting in the need for journal club participation to be easily accessible, available during non-scheduled work hours, and being perceived as important for professional development.…”

The role of journal clubs in bridging the research-practice gap

“…13,14,16,19 The role for journal clubs to potentially improve patient care through reviewing and discussing research articles with nursing peers as well as on their own is significant, as the amount of time nurses spend reading research articles has been correlated with adopting changes in practice to improve patient outcomes. [14][15][16][17]19,20 Corchon et al 11 found a significant improvement in research knowledge and skills after participation in journal club (P<.017). 25 Journal clubs can be used as an educational tool to teach critical appraisal skills.…”

Journal Clubs: An Educational Approach to Advance Understanding Among Community Partners and Academic Researchers About CBPR and Cancer Health Disparities

“…In addition to increasing knowledge about a specific content area, an inherent goal is to increase critical thinking and appraisal skills. To date, the vast majority of literature published about journal clubs has been related to implementation and/or evaluation in the context of graduate/medical/nursing education and training [7–9]. …”