Key considerations for selecting instruments when evaluating healthcare professionals’ evidence‐based practice competencies: A discussion paper

Saunders, Hannele; Vehviläinen‐Julkunen, Katri

doi:10.1111/jan.13802

Cited by 21 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(159 reference statements)

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“…Despite knowledge of such benefits, competency gaps and low implementation rates in EIDM persist among nurses across diverse practice settings [8][9][10]. A barrier to EIDM implementation has been the lack of clarity and understanding about what nurses should be accountable for with respect to EIDM as well as how it can be best measured [11,12]. As such, considerable effort has occurred in the development of EIDM competence measures as a strategy to support EIDM implementation in nursing practice [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measures of evidence-informed decision-making competence attributes: a psychometric systematic review

et al. 2020

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Background: The current state of evidence regarding measures that assess evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM) competence attributes (i.e., knowledge, skills, attitudes/beliefs, behaviours) among nurses is unknown. This systematic review provides a narrative synthesis of the psychometric properties and general characteristics of EIDM competence attribute measures in nursing. Methods: The search strategy included online databases, hand searches, grey literature, and content experts. To align with the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews, psychometric outcome data (i.e., acceptability, reliability, validity) were extracted in duplicate, while all remaining data (i.e., study and measure characteristics) were extracted by one team member and checked by a second member for accuracy. Acceptability data was defined as measure completion time and overall rate of missing data. The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing was used as the guiding framework to define reliability, and validity evidence, identified as a unified concept comprised of four validity sources: content, response process, internal structure and relationships to other variables. A narrative synthesis of measure and study characteristics, and psychometric outcomes is presented across measures and settings. Results: A total of 5883 citations were screened with 103 studies and 35 unique measures included in the review. Measures were used or tested in acute care (n = 31 measures), public health (n = 4 measures), home health (n = 4 measures), and long-term care (n = 1 measure). Half of the measures assessed a single competence attribute (n = 19; 54.3%). Three measures (9%) assessed four competence attributes of knowledge, skills, attitudes/beliefs and behaviours. Regarding acceptability, overall missing data ranged from 1.6-25.6% across 11 measures and completion times ranged from 5 to 25 min (n = 4 measures). Internal consistency reliability was commonly reported (21 measures), with Cronbach's alphas ranging from 0.45-0.98. Two measures reported four sources of validity evidence, and over half (n = 19; 54%) reported one source of validity evidence.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measures of evidence-informed decision-making competence attributes: a psychometric systematic review

et al. 2020

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“…In order to rely on professionals who are competent in EBP, health organisations must understand and apply standards and competency frameworks that include all the EBP steps (Doležel et al., 2021; Melnyk et al., 2014), and must also have available validated and reliable instruments that can be used to measure the level of EBP competency of the nurses (Saunders & Vehviläinen‐Julkunen, 2018). If these instruments were accompanied by national reference scales of EBP competency of nurses, this would help the national health services with the interpretation of the results obtained for their particular sample (Kendall et al., 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence‐based practice nurses' competency: Spanish national survey and establishment of a scale of the EBP‐COQ‐Prof©

et al. 2020

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Aims To discover the level of evidence‐based practice competency of Spanish nurses, to develop a scale of the EBP‐COQ‐Prof© and to analyse the influence of different variables on the level of competency. Background The evidence‐based practice competency has previously been assessed using a wide variety of instruments, although these have methodological limitations and lack associated scales that allow for the interpretation of the score obtained. Method Observational, cross‐sectional, national study. Using an online questionnaire, data were obtained between January and March 2020 from nurses working in the National Health System. An ANOVA was performed along with multiple regression analyses. The T‐score and percentiles were calculated to obtain the scale of the EBP‐COQ‐Prof©. Results 2,942 nurses participated. The score for the evidence‐based practice competency was 130.29 (standard deviation 17.55). The multiple regression analysis showed a model comprised of 8 variables that explained 33% of the variance. Conclusions The Spanish nurses have a moderate level of evidence‐based practice competency. The scale classifies the subjects into 3 levels: low, moderate and high competency. Implications for Nursing Management The scale proposed for the EBP‐COQ‐Prof© could be utilized to facilitate the diagnosis of evidence‐based practice competency, and to monitor and plan individual and collective strategies to improve this competency.

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“…Confirmatory and exploratory factorial analyses demonstrated the adequate fit of the four-factor model and confirmed the internal structure of the four dimensions of the competency construct. Hence, this questionnaire combines in a single instrument the dimensions of EBP attitudes, knowledge, skills, and also utilization, which is considered especially important (Saunders & Vehviläinen-Julkunen, 2018) but is not usually included in EBP measurement instruments (Leung et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It encompasses a wide range of observable knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior patterns, which together constitute the capacity to provide a specific professional service (Neary, 2002). We therefore consider that the development of competency in EBP requires nurses to advance their abilities in all domains of EBP competence required to implement the steps of the EBP process (i.e., knowledge, skills, attitudes/beliefs) and EBP implementation/behaviors (Saunders & Vehviläinen‐Julkunen, 2018).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Questionnaire to Evaluate the Competency in Evidence‐Based Practice of Registered Nurses (EBP‐COQ Prof©): Development and Psychometric Validation

Ruzafa‐Martínez

Fernández‐Salazar

Costa

et al. 2020

Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing

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Background: The availability of valid and reliable instruments, based on current competency frameworks, is essential to respond to the need for accurate measurement of the competency of registered nurses in evidence-based practice (EBP). Aims: To develop and validate a questionnaire capable of measuring EBP competencies in registered nurses following the competency framework developed by Melynk et al. (2014). Methods: The study was developed in two stages: (a) creation of the questionnaire based on an operational definition of the construct, its face, and content validation by 10 experts, and cognitive piloting; (b) psychometric evaluation of the questionnaire by a cross-sectional, and multicenter study between February and November 2018. Analyses were conducted of the questionnaire's reliability and construct validity (exploratory [EFA] and confirmatory [CFA] factor analyses). Results: First phase: The initial version of EBP-COQ© Prof contained 50 items grouped into four dimensions (attitudes, knowledge, skills, and utilization). After two expert validation rounds, a 35-item version was obtained with content validity index of 0.86. Second phase: The questionnaire was completed by 579 nurses; EFA with PROMAX rotation revealed that the fourfactor model had the best fit (χ 2 = 311.32; p = .001, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.000, 90% confidence interval [CI] = 0.000-0.010; comparative fit index [CFI] = 1), and it showed a good CFA fit index: CFI = 0.932, and RMSEA = 0.093 (90% CI = 0.097 − 0.108). Cronbach's α for each factor ranged from 0.817 (factor III) to 0.948 (factor II). Linking Evidence to Action: EBP-COQ Prof© is a valid, reliable, and easily administered questionnaire that measures the self-perceived competency of registered nurses in EBP based on an updated and specific competency framework. It permits the independent evaluation of attitudes, knowledge, and skills related to EBP and of its utilization in hospital and primary care settings, allowing the monitoring of compliance with EBP.

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Key considerations for selecting instruments when evaluating healthcare professionals’ evidence‐based practice competencies: A discussion paper

Cited by 21 publications

References 51 publications

Measures of evidence-informed decision-making competence attributes: a psychometric systematic review

Measures of evidence-informed decision-making competence attributes: a psychometric systematic review

Evidence‐based practice nurses' competency: Spanish national survey and establishment of a scale of the EBP‐COQ‐Prof©

Questionnaire to Evaluate the Competency in Evidence‐Based Practice of Registered Nurses (EBP‐COQ Prof©): Development and Psychometric Validation

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