Clinical Nurses' Perception on Barriers to Research Utilization

Kang, Younhee; Yang, In Suk

Abstract

PURPOSE
Although previous studies reported that actual application of research findings into the clinical setting was still poor, research utilization is a major component for implementation of Evidence-based Nursing Practice (EBNP). This study was conducted to identify the barriers to research utilization in clinical nurses.
METHODS
A descriptive survey design was used. Participants were 392 clinical nurses who were interviewed using a structured questionnaire.
RESULTS
Priority factors of barriers were setting, communication, research, and nurses. Five of the top 10 barriers were related to 'setting.' The first barrier was difficulty in the comprehension of statistical analyses. Nurses who worked in secondary hospitals and regularly read research articles perceived significantly lower barriers to research utilization compared with other nurses. There were statistically differences in research utilization among the groups by level of searching skills related to research documents and degree of understanding of EBNP.
CONCLUSION
The study findings identified the top barriers to research utilization and key factors for nursing administrators and educators to consider in developing strategies to facilitate the utilization of research findings in clinical settings.