Enhancing beliefs and implementation of evidence-based practice among undergraduate nurses using a multi-component educational programme: a pre-post study.

BACKGROUND

Using evidence-based practice (EBP) is one of the core skills that students should have acquired by the end of their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). However, little is known about how their beliefs about EBP and their frequency of implementation relate to multi-component educational programmes on this topic. This study aims to investigate the impact of a multi-component educational programme on nursing students' beliefs about EBP and their frequency of implementation at the School of Health Sciences, HES-SO Valais.

METHODS

This quantitative, pre-post-design study compared undergraduate nursing students' beliefs about EBP and their frequency of implementation before and after completing a multi-component educational programme on EBP. The programme included integrative workshops based on the steps of EBP held during their clinical internships throughout their three-year curriculum. The study occurred between September 2017 and June 2020: the start and end of their studies. The programme's impact was measured using Melnyk et al.'s self-reported EBP Beliefs and Implementation Scales. Descriptive, comparative, correlational and regression statistics were computed to evaluate nurses' responses and scores.

RESULTS

Ninety-five eligible first-year undergraduate nursing students were invited to participate in this EBP study and 81 completed the pre- and post-test questionnaires. Mean EBP scores improved significantly versus baseline on both the Beliefs (49.1 vs. 53.3; p < 0.001) and Implementation (1.7 vs. 9.0; p < 0.001) scales. Cronbach alphas for the EBP Beliefs scale were 0.799 pre-test (95% CI: 0.729, 0.858) and 0.869 post-test (95% CI: 0.823, 0.907). Cronbach's alphas for the EBP Implementation scale were 0.804 pre-test (95% CI: 0.736, 0.861) and 0.939 post-test (95% CI: 0.918, 0.957). There were significant correlations between EBP Beliefs and Implementation scores (p < 0.001). Linear regression analysis showed that the programme's theory-based component contributed significantly more than clinical internships to raising EBP Beliefs and Implementation scores.

CONCLUSIONS

The multi-component educational programme on EBP improved undergraduate nursing students' EBP Beliefs and Implementation scores. Future research should investigate means of optimally integrating EBP into undergraduate nursing curricula and explore nursing students' intentions to implement EBP in clinical practice.