Evidence-Based Practice competency and associated factors among Primary Care nurses in Spain

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe the Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) competency level in Primary Care (PC) nurses in Spain and to determine the associated factors. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, national survey design, carried out between January and March 2020. SETTING: PC in Spain. PARTICIPANTS: Seven hundred eighty PC active nurses in the National Health Service with at least one year of professional experience. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: (1) Sociodemographic, professional and access to scientific information variables; (2) outcome variable: EBP competency (attitude, knowledge, skills and utilization) assessed through the EBP-COQ Prof© questionnaire. Bivariate and multiple lineal regression analyses were carried out. RESULTS: The mean score for the EBP competency of the PC nurses was 131.5 (standard deviation [SD] 17.0), according to dimensions: attitude 36.8 (SD 3.6); knowledge 38.2 (SD 8.9); skills 23.0 (SD 3.5); and utilization 33.3 (SD 6.1). The number of articles read in the last month has showed the most influence on all the EBP-COQ Prof© dimensions, followed by EBP training (more than 150h) and nursing students mentoring. The education level (master, specialist and doctorate) is associated with knowledge and skills dimensions, meanwhile belonging to a BPSO® center is associated with the EBP utilization. CONCLUSIONS: These findings can guide PC service managers to plan strategies that improve the EBP competency level of the nurses, aimed mainly at achieving real application in clinical practice. However, it is necessary to consider the possible impact of selection bias on the results.