Barriers to nurses' use of research: an Australian hospital study

doi:10.1016/S0020-7489(99)00027-9

International Journal of Nursing Studies

Volume 36, Issue 4, August 1999, Pages 335-343

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7489(99)00027-9 Get rights and content

Abstract

Although research is recognised as an essential basis for nursing knowledge and practice development, there is considerable agreement that nurses do not use research as often as they could. The question is, what factors are perceived by nurses in Australia to interfere with their ability to use research in their clinical practice? Using factor analysis procedures, barriers to the use of research by 149 nurses working in an Australian hospital were grouped under three main factors, viz. the perceived usefulness of research to clinical practice; the perceived ability of the practitioner to generate change to practice based on research and the accessibility of research to the practitioner. The three most frequently cited barriers to using research were insufficient time on the job to implement research findings, insufficient time to read research and a lack of awareness of research findings. In order to improve the ability of nurses to apply research to their practice, fundamental changes need to occur within the education system, so as to improve the teaching of research to students of nursing and qualified practitioners, within the health care system where nursing research is expected to be applied and among clinical nurses.

Introduction

The desire to move beyond traditional, ritualistic practices as the rationale for nursing care led to an increase in research activity that has often been extensive, of high quality, innovative, broad in its methodological procedures and frequently original. The fundamental purpose of research in nursing is to improve the quality of care through provision of knowledge for practice (Rodgers, 1994). However, the ability to improve nursing practice by applying knowledge gained through research is compromised when little is known about factors that inhibit this process. This study which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first of its kind in Australia, sought to identify perceived barriers to research utilisation, thus providing a basis for future planning initiatives that can increase nurses' use of research.

Section snippets

Literature review

Since the mid-twentieth century, the importance of research as a basis for developing nursing knowledge and practice has been clearly articulated. By the 1980s, the importance of research to the development of nursing knowledge and practice was a central and global issue of debate within nursing. This debate focused both on the need to engage in more research and to ensure that research was applicable to, and could improve, nursing practice.

Considerable effort was expended to try and explain

Research purpose

With the foregoing discussion in mind, the purpose of this study was to identify barriers that Australian nurses working in the clinical setting believe inhibit their ability to integrate nursing research into their practice.

Data collection

A self-selecting, convenience sample of 149 Registered and Enrolled nurses who were employed at (N=600; return rate=25%) a large referral and teaching hospital in Queensland, Australia, were asked to complete a questionnaire which included the 29 item Barriers to Research Utilisation Scale (hereafter the Scale) developed by Funk et al. (1991). The questionnaire also had items that sought demographic data such as age, experience, type of nurse, work environment or ward, education background and

Data analysis procedures

Frequency and descriptive statistics were computed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) with factor analysis (Child, 1970) being used in order to explore if the considerable volume of raw data derived from the Scale could be condensed into a few underlying constructs or ‘factors’. The extent to which each item functions as a barrier was rated by participants on a Likert scale (1–5; 1=to no extent; 2=to a little extent; 3=to a moderate extent; 4=to a great extent; 5=no opinion).

Characteristics of participants

Of those RNs who completed the questionnaire, 107 (82.9%) were first year RNs, 12 (9.3%) were RNs with 2 years experience and 9 (7%) were associate charge nurses. The remaining RNs (9; 7%) functioned as clinical managers, nurse educators, nurse specialists or ‘other’ roles. Ninety nine of all participants (66.4%) indicated that they worked full time and 43 (28.9%) worked part time. In summarising the more important points from the tables it can be seen that, from Table 1, the majority of

Discussion of results

Given that this study used the same Scale, it should not be surprising that there are similarities between the 3 factor model of this study and the 4 factor model generated by Funk et al. (1991). Nevertheless, while there are similarities between those items seen as barriers by the frequency with which they occur, the factor solutions are also different. In our 3 factor model, the characteristics of the nurse are not singled out as a factor in their own right. Indeed, the nurse is a central

Conclusion

The self-selecting convenience sampling approach adopted for this study limits the extent to which generalisations beyond the group of responders can be made. Nevertheless, this factor analysis study has provided an insight into barriers that a group of Australian nurses believe interfere with their ability to use research in their practice. Further studies that use this approach to understanding nurses' perceptions of barriers to their use of research should also seek to elicit qualitative

Acknowledgements

The assistance of the staff of the Gold Coast Hospital in Southport, Queensland is acknowledged. Thanks also to Ros Van der Vooren, Coral Kearney and Heather Crabbe for their excellent work as Research Assistants.

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Barriers to nurses' use of research: an Australian hospital study

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Literature review

Research purpose

Data collection

Data analysis procedures

Characteristics of participants

Discussion of results

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

Education Today

Applied Nursing Research

Midwifery

Journal Of Professional Nursing

Accident and Emergency nursing

International Journal of Nursing Studies

Use of nursing practice research findings

Nursing Research

Factors inhibiting the use of research in practice

Professional Nurse

Understanding barriers to basing nursing practice upon research: a communication model approach

Journal Of Advanced Nursing

Why do nurses not make use of a solid research base?

Nursing Times

The Essentials of Factor Analysis

Innovation adoption behaviour among nurses

Nursing Research

Pressure sore prevention and treatment

Journal Of Advanced Nursing