Evidence-based Practice Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice of Online Graduate Nursing Students

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate changes in evidence-based practice (EBP) knowledge, attitudes, and practice of nursing students before and after completing an online, graduate level, introductory research/EBP course.

Design: A prospective one-group pretest-posttest design.

Settings: A private university in the Midwestern, USA.

Participants: Sixty-three online nurse practitioner students in Master's program.

Methods: A convenient sample of online graduate nursing students who enrolled in the research/EBP course was invited to participate in the study. Study outcomes were measured using the Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire (EBPQ) before and after completing the course. Descriptive statistics and paired-Samples t-test was used to assess the mean differences between pre-and post-test scores.

Results: Overall, students' post-test EBP scores were significantly improved over pre-test scores, t(63)=-9.034, p<0.001). Statistically significant differences were found for practice of EBP mean scores t(63)=-12.78, p=0.001). No significant differences were found between pre and post-tests on knowledge and attitudes toward EBP scores. Most frequently cited barriers to EBP were lack of understanding of statistics, interpretation of findings, lack of time, and lack of library resources.