Emergency nurses motivated to use research but are prevented by unit, institution-level barriers
THURSDAY, Jan. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Emergency nurses are motivated to learn more about conducting and using research to improve clinical practice, but barriers may be preventing this from occurring, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of Emergency Nursing.
Garrett K. Chan, Ph.D., A.P.R.N., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional survey of 948 members of the Emergency Nurses Association. They used a 62-item survey to assess five areas: nurses' research values, skills, experience, and awareness; nurses' understanding and comprehension of research and evidence; presentation and accessibility of research; continuing educational topics to improve knowledge of the research process; and the organizational settings' opportunities, barriers, and limitations to research. Barriers at the individual, unit, and institution levels were identified.
The researchers found that barriers at the individual level included a lack of knowledge about critiquing research studies and a lack of familiarity with the research process. At the unit level, barriers included difficulty obtaining help from administrators and staff in starting a project, or having the authority to change practice. At the institution level, barriers included a lack of support systems in the form of protected time to conduct research or implement practice changes.
"Emergency nurses are highly motivated and interested in learning more about conducting and using research to improve practice. Perceived personal, unit-based, and organizational barriers were identified through this research in an effort to highlight areas for improvement," the authors write.
Abstract
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