Nurses' Perceived Barriers to and Facilitators of Research Utilization in Mainland China: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

Despite the drive towards evidence-based practice, the extent to which research evidence is being implemented in nursing practice is unclear, particularly in developing countries. This study was to assess the levels of perceived barriers to and facilitators of research utilization in practice among Chinese nurses and inter-relationships between these barriers and facilitators and their socio-demographic characteristics. A cross-sectional, descriptive survey was conducted in 2011 with 743 registered nurses randomly selected from four general hospitals in China. They completed the Barriers to Research Utilization and Facilitators of Research Utilization scales. Correlation tests were used to test the relationships between the nurses’ perceived barriers and facilitators, their demographic characteristics and research training and involvement. The Chinese nurses’ level of perceived barriers was moderate on average and lower than that in previous research. Among the 10 top-ranked items, six were from the subscale ‘Organizational Characteristics’. Their perceived barriers were correlated positively with age and post-registration experience and negatively with research training undertaken. Junior diplomatic nurses reported a significantly higher degree of barriers than those senior ones with postgraduate education. Higher and more diverse barriers to research utilization in practice are perceived by Chinese nurses than those in Western countries and they are associated with a few socio-demographic factors. Future research on these barriers/facilitators and their relationships with occupational and socio-cultural factors in Chinese and other Asian nurses is recommended.

Factors influencing the implementation of evidence in Chinese nursing practice

“…Meanwhile, constructivist grounded theory also emphasising on revealing patterns and connections rather than to linear reasoning and emphasises understanding rather than explanation (Charmaz, ). In this study, we found the factors ranging from the evidence level, nurses level, patient level, system level and outside system level, which were generally consistent with the literature from other countries (Ploeg, Davies, Edwards, Gifford, & Miller, ; Solomons & Spross, ; Yagasaki & Komatsu, ), as well as the previous published Chinese surveys (Chien et al., ; Wang et al., ; Zhou et al., ). However, this study also extended the results of previous studies by further exploring the blurred boundaries between facilitators and barriers, influences from Chinese cultural impact and project leaders' roles, as well as an emphasis on the importance of point of care in evidence‐based nursing.…”

“…In Chien et al. ()'s study, six of the top 10‐ranking barriers listed by 743 registered nurses from four general hospitals came from the subscale “organisational characteristics.” And these barriers were associated with a few socio‐demographic factors (age, education, postregistration experience and research training undertaken). Wang et al.…”

Barriers to using electronic evidence based literature in nursing practice: a systematised review

“…Different studies revealed different barriers proposing the problem as a multi‐faceted issue. The most cited barrier that almost 86% of the reviewed studies have addressed included lack of enough time to perform a search …”

“…Findings of this study showed that not having enough time to conduct a search was a major barrier noted by almost 81% (n = 17) of the reviewed studies. 4,20,27,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48] Jones et al interviewed clinical nurses and in his paper argued that nurses do not have the required time to perform a search for patients' educational needs especially if the patients are waiting and the search takes too long, it will be abandoned. 35 Others mainly focused on the limited time nurses have at work to search and read evidence based content.…”

Stories and Music for Adolescent/Young Adult Resilience During Transplant Partnerships

“…Other identified barriers in the literature include: (a) lack of confidence in their ability to participate in a research study, (b) lack of understanding of nursing research design and methods, (c) perceived role conflict as both a researcher and clinical nurse, (d) challenges of gaining the cooperation of clinical nursing staff to comply with clinical trial protocols, (e) difficulties in maintaining clinical research team motivation, (f) lack of relevant, clinically focused research findings to implement (i.e., results are viewed as not useful for their practice), and (g) limited mentorship opportunities with a nurse scientist who has release time from other academic responsibilities. 8,12,14,15,16 …”