Attitudes of Emergency Nurses to Evidence Based Practice in the Emergency Department of a Multi-Specialty Hospital

Background: Despite the growing body of evidence produced by and for nurses, moving evidence from research into practice remains challenging. These challenges can be attributed in part, to attitudes of nurses towards evidence based practice. This study examined attitudes to evidence based practice among Emergency Department nurses and factors which influenced these attitudes such as: years of experience in nursing, country of education, practice outside country of education, perception of the culture of the organisation, previous education on evidence based practice, and role in the Emergency Department.

Methods: This quantitative, descriptive study was conducted in the Emergency Department of a multi-specialty hospital in the United Arab Emirates. The study sample included 68 emergency nurses. Data was collected using the Evidence Based Practice Attitudes Scale between July and August of 2018. Data analysis was performed using independent t-tests and one way analysis of variance using SPSS from September to October 2018.

Results: A response rate of 78% indicated that overall, participants had positive attitudes to evidence based practice. Participants from Europe had significantly more favourable attitudes to evidence based practice than those from Asia and the Middle East.

Conclusions: Future research should be aimed at identifying barriers to implementation of EBP. Developing nursing competencies could provide clarity for nurses as to what is expected from them in terms of engagement in EBP and delivery of high quality patient care. The findings could be used to influence future implementation and dissemination efforts in evidence based practice.