KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICES REGARDING EVIDENCE BASE PRACTICES OF NURSES: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN A PRIVATE HOSPITAL, PESHAWAR

Abstract

Background: Evidence-based practices are considered the most important element to improve health services and achieve positive patient outcomes (1). Evidence-based practices help the nurse to find effective treatment techniques and also greatly influence the nursing skill, making better decisions, informing action that has the desired impact. Objective: The objective of the study is to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practices of nurses towards evidence-based practice in NWGH and NWTH. Methods: The nonprobability convenience sampling technique is utilized to select participants due to its feasibility, allowing for to choice of participants based on ease and accessibility. Data was collected from 184 samples of nurses working in Northwest General and Northwest Teaching Hospital, through adopted and pre-structured questionnaires. Incorporating a dichotomous scale (YES and NO). This consists of 27 closed-ended questions. Results: The result of this study revealed that knowledge regarding EBP had the highest mean score (1.2038), followed by practice (1.385875), then attitude (1.10446). And also that (63.0%) of the nurses had a good knowledge, and (37.0%) had a bad knowledge regarding Evidence-based practice. Moreover, (70.1%) had a good attitude and (29.9%) had a bad attitude towards Evidence-based practice. And in the area of practice, 63.6% had a good practice and 36.4% had a bad practice in Evidence-based practice. Conclusion: The current study provides the hospital managers and educators with essential information on how to improve and enhance the nurses’ application and performance in EBP among nurses. The finding suggested that knowledge in EBP ranked the highest mean score, followed by practice, and then attitude. We also conclude that nurses’ attitude toward EBP is affected by workload and the shortage of time. Moreover, regardless of having an abundance of knowledge regarding EBP, there is a need for enhancement of their capacity to retrieve information on EBP, and nurses face difficulty in practicing EBP.