Investigating Barriers to Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing: A Report

This report delves into the barriers hindering the implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) in nursing. It identifies both individual and organizational obstacles. Individual barriers include a lack of research skills and a negative attitude towards EBP. Organizational barriers encompass heavy workloads, limited access to research, and a lack of support for EBP initiatives. The report highlights the importance of organizational support, including access to research resources and training programs, to empower nurses in utilizing research findings to improve patient care. References to relevant studies such as Black et al. (2015), Shifaza et al. (2014) and Williams et al. (2015) are included to support the arguments presented.

Running head: EVIDENCE BASED NURSING
Evidence based nursing
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author’s note

1EVIDENCE BASED NURSING
Barrier to implementing EBP in nursing practice:
Evidence based practice (EBP) has gained attention in the field of nursing as it favours
getting positive patient outcome by the conscientious use of best practice evidence from well-
designed studies (Black et al., 2015). However, there are several barriers to EBP implementation.
As it involved judicious use of research studies and integrating it in care plan based on patient’s
problem and preferences, individual barriers that prevent nurses from implementing EBP
includes lack of knowledge about research process, negative attitude towards and lack of critique
skills. This is understood from the research by Shifaza, Evans and Bradley (2014) which
revealed that nurses lack confidence in their research and critical appraisal skills and
unfamiliarity with the research language prevents them from implementing EBP.
Apart from individual barriers, nurses also fail to engage in EBP because of
organizational barriers like heavy workflow, lack of access to research, lack of support for EBP
and lack of training related to critical appraisal process. Hence, it can be said the organizational
support is vital because nurses can get the opportunity to use research in practice only when
organizations provide access to research and gives adequate support to nurse regarding
developing their research skills (Williams, Perillo & Brown, 2015). The involvement of
advanced practice nurse or research mentors is necessary so that nurses can easily utilize
research evidence to influence patient care and their outcomes. Training programs related to
research skills and ways to access database can also help to promote nurse’s engagement in
research.

2EVIDENCE BASED NURSING
References:
Black, A. T., Balneaves, L. G., Garossino, C., Puyat, J. H., & Qian, H. (2015). Promoting
evidence-based practice through a research training program for point-of-care
clinicians. The Journal of nursing administration, 45(1), 14.
Shifaza, F., Evans, D., & Bradley, H. (2014). Nurses’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators to
implement EBP in the Maldives. Advances in Nursing, 2014.
Williams, B., Perillo, S., & Brown, T. (2015). What are the factors of organisational culture in
health care settings that act as barriers to the implementation of evidence-based practice?
A scoping review. Nurse education today, 35(2), e34-e41.