Undergraduate nursing students’ attitudes and use of research and evidence‐based practice – an integrative literature review

Abstract

Aims and objectives. This integrative review of the literature addresses undergraduate nursing students' attitudes towards and use of research and evidence-based practice, and factors influencing this. Current use of research and evidence within practice, and the influences and perceptions of students in using these tools in the clinical setting are explored. Background. Evidence-based practice is an increasingly critical aspect of quality health care delivery, with nurses requiring skills in sourcing relevant information to guide the care they provide. Yet, barriers to engaging in evidence-based practice remain. To increase nurses' use of evidence-based practice within healthcare settings, the concepts and skills required must be introduced early in their career. To date, however, there is little evidence to show if and how this inclusion makes a difference. Design. Integrative literature review.Methods. ProQuest, Summon, Science Direct, Ovid, CIAP, Google scholar and SAGE databases were searched, and Snowball search strategies used. One hundred and eighty-one articles were reviewed. Articles were then discarded for irrelevance. Nine articles discussed student attitudes and utilisation of research and evidence-based practice. Results. Factors surrounding the attitudes and use of research and evidence-based practice were identified, and included the students' capability beliefs, the students' attitudes, and the attitudes and support capabilities of wards/preceptors. Conclusions. Undergraduate nursing students are generally positive toward using research for evidence-based practice, but experience a lack of support and opportunity. These students face cultural and attitudinal disadvantage, and lack confidence to practice independently. Further research and collaboration between educational facilities and clinical settings may improve utilisation. Relevance to clinical practice. This paper adds further discussion to the topic from the perspective of and including influences surrounding undergraduate students and new graduate nurses.What does this paper contribute to the wider global clinical community?• An understanding of the attitudes toward and use of research and evidence-based practice by student nurses in the clinical setting.• The contributing factors that may influence these attitudes and utilisation.This integrative review of the literature addresses undergraduate nursing students' attitudes and use of research and evidence-based practice, and the influencing factors surrounding this. Current and traditional use of research and evidence within practice, and the influences and perceptions of students in using these tools in the clinical setting are explored.

Evidence‐based practice integration in hospital wards—The complexities and challenges in achieving evidence‐based practice in clinical nursing

“…In a ward culture characterized by engagement in EBP and quality improvement, leadership and clinicians may to a greater extent succeed in changing practice (Saunders & Vehviläinen-Julkunen, 2017). A ward culture characterized by rigid completion of practical tasks rather than engagement in EBP may not easily facilitate opportunities for research use or for changing practice (Henderson, Cooke, Creedy, & Walker, 2012;Ryan, 2016). Furthermore, promoting research use in an environment characterized by work overload among nurses and lack of teamwork structure that facilitate research use, may be demanding (Solomons & Spross, 2011).…”

“The more you did, the more it made sense”: Problem‐based learning to improve early evidence‐based practice in an undergraduate physiotherapy professional programme

“…Although the problems/triggers developed in this study recognized prior learning in EBP and information literacy skills, students identified the critical appraisal of research as difficult and may require additional scaffolded learning in this zone of proximal development (Harland, ; Wass, Harland, & Mercer, ). Parallels exist in the nursing literature (Ryan, ). Nickerson and Thurkettle () postulate that college‐aged students may not have the cognitive maturity to be able to effectively enquire, select, judge research, and follow this through to clinical practice.…”

“…Health care educational literature identifies one of the main determinates of future use of EBP as the students' belief in their capability to successfully utilize research and implement EBP through research inquiry and clinical decision making ability (Brown et al, 2010;Florin, Ehrenberg, Wallin, & Gustavsson, 2012;Forsman, Rudman, Gustavsson, Ehrenberg, & Wallin, 2012). The need for further research on how to enhance this capability belief was more recently highlighted (Ryan, 2016). This study using a mixed method approach identifies PBL as a method, which results in favourable outcomes in self-efficacy in EBP and additional studies are now required to confirm these findings.…”

Práctica basada en evidencia en estudiantes de enfermería colombianos

“…Son escasos los estudios realizados en estudiantes de enfermería que demuestran el nivel alcanzado de formación en práctica basada en la evidencia (15). Se han desarrollado algunos instrumentos específicos para medir este concepto (16-19) y la eficacia de los cursos de PBE (20).…”