Evidence-based resource use by practice nurses in the Greater Auckland region of New Zealand.

AIM

To determine self-reported use of New Zealand's Guidelines Group (NZGG) and BPAC resources by practice nurses (PNs) in the Greater Auckland area of New Zealand.

METHOD

A postal survey of all PNs registered on the University of Auckland's Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care's database.

RESULTS

A total of 419 of 917 (46%) PNs working in 280 general practices returned completed questionnaires. The majority of PNs did not use either the NZGG (53%) or BPAC guidelines (57%) and 35% did not use any evidence resources. The main reason these resources were not used was lack of knowledge about them, one-third of PNs had never heard of NZGG guidelines and 42% had never heard of BPAC guidelines. Of those who knew of NZGG guidelines, 74% found them useful, (a 'fair amount' or 'very') and 94% found BPAC guidelines useful (a 'fair amount' or 'very'). When PNs knew of these resources, 74% used NZGG guidelines and 69% used BPAC guidelines for patient care.

CONCLUSION

PNs who knew of New Zealand Guidelines and BPAC found them useful in patient management. Practice nurses are not routinely on the mailing list of these two organisations. Strategies to increase PN awareness of these publicly funded evidence-based resources may increase their use and thus contribute to the reduction in health inequalities between ethnic groups in New Zealand.