Meeting Abstract

JL521. Oncology Nurse Practitioners’ Beliefs About Evidence-Based Practice and Barriers to Research Utilization

Rita M. Jakubowski, DNP, ANP-BC, BMTCN, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, New York

ABSTRACT

Abstracts From  JADPRO Live at APSHO 2017
Marriott Marquis, Houston, Texas • November 2–5, 2017

The posters for the abstracts below can be found at:
eventscribe.com/2017/posters/JADPROLIVE/home.asp

Purpose/Objectives: To determine the relationship between nurse practitioners’ (NP) beliefs about evidence-based practice (EBP) and perceived barriers to research utilization within their practice. Four categories of barriers: characteristics of the adopter, organizational structure, quality of research and communication, and accessibility of research, as it relates to NP beliefs about research utilization were explored.

Design: Demographic and validated surveys for EBP and research utilization were converted to web-based format using Survey Monkey. Results are presented descriptively.

Setting: 1,171-bed tertiary and quarternary care Magnet-designated urban, teaching hospital with NCI cancer center designation and FACT accredited stem cell transplant program.

Sample: A convenience sample of 27 NPs was recruited from inpatient and outpatient practices (Hematology, Medical Oncology, and Bone Marrow Transplant) during February 2017.

Methods: A correlational quantitative survey including area of practice, professional background, years in practice, certification, previous experience in EBP, and knowledge of a practice mentor were summarized using descriptive statistics. Surveys utilized: Funk, Champagne, Weise, and Tornquist’s Barriers to Research Utilization Survey and Melnyk, Fineout-Overholt, and Mays’ EBP Belief Survey.

Findings: NPs value EBP; however, barriers exist to its implementation. Although EBP and research utilization may have been a focus in their education, only ~1/3 reported participation in an EBP project within 1 year. There was no statistically significant relationship between NP beliefs about EBP and barriers to research utilization as reflected in 4 categories: adopter, organization, research, accessibility and communication. However, primary barriers to research utilization were identified. While > 50% reported feeling confident in implementing EBP, are clear about the steps in EBP and ability to implement it in a time-efficient way, only ~25% reported they knew how to implement EBP sufficiently to change practice. The top five barriers to research utilization included: “the nurse…” “…does not feel she/he has the authority to change patient care procedures,” “… does not have time to read research,” “…does not feel capable of evaluating the quality of the research;” “there is insufficient time on the job to implement new ideas,” the relevant literature is not compiled in one place.”

Conclusions: NPs value EBP; however, dedicated time for NPs to participate in EBP projects needs to be acknowledged and supported, and NPs need to feel empowered by the organization to utilize research and EBP to change clinical practice. Mentorship may assist in efficient collection and interpretation of research results and in guiding the integration of these results into their practice.

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