In the era of clinical evidence-based practice, research is crucial to advancing the medical field to provide the best possible care to patients (1).
Research studies aimed at effectively transferring evidence into practice are becoming increasingly common, despite the apparent differences between the goals of nursing research and evidence-based nursing practice. To attain meaningful results, research evidence undoubtedly needs to be supported by efficient implementation and a supportive environment (2).
Nursing constitutes the backbone of the global healthcare system, and to ensure high-quality patient care, nursing practice must be grounded in evidence. Medical errors and unsafe care are persistent problems that occasionally pose challenges to healthcare organizations. Low use of EBP is a major factor in the subpar delivery of the service and can result in variations in implementation that reduce its effectiveness, efficiency, and equity. This leads to poorly informed decision-making (3)(4)(5).
Health care professionals are embracing novel interventional techniques that have been reinforced by reliable research. The evidence-based approach has placed a strong emphasis on integrating research results into therapeutic practice (6).
Due to their extensive coursework, limited experience in the research process, and lack of time, undergraduates at medical colleges have participated in research to a lesser extent (7).
It has been claimed that involving medical students in research activities will help them develop their research skills, which will enhance patient care. Therefore, developing an adequate degree of knowledge and reasoning abilities as well as a positive outlook are essential for carrying out research (8).
Healthcare professionals, including nurses, face a variety of work-related issues in their line of work. Biological dangers are more likely to be encountered by hospital staff members (9)(10).
Studies indicate that nurses and other health care workers are especially vulnerable to occupational dangers. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), millions of healthcare workers have illnesses and accidents related to their jobs, and many of them are exposed to occupational dangers (11).
It is well acknowledged that nursing research serves as a vital foundation for the ongoing advancement of scientific nursing knowledge and practice. Engaging in diverse research endeavours enhances nurses' enthusiasm for becoming active and contributing uniquely to the clinical sector.
Nursing students may approach research with a variety of attitudes depending on their level of understanding in the field. The rapid development of technology in the healthcare field has created a significant challenge for nurses (12).
S, Hanibernia Ms. (2018) carried out a study to evaluate BSc nursing students' knowledge, attitudes, and barriers regarding nursing research. According to the study data, the majority of the nursing students (26)46% had good understanding, and (6)11% had outstanding knowledge of nursing research. With regard to attitudes regarding nursing research, (24) 43% had positive attitudes, and (32) 57% had negative attitudes (12).
Breimaier HE et al. (2011) carried out a study to evaluate Austrian graduate nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and perceived barriers to putting research findings into practice. The results of the study showed that lack of time (69.9%), lack of knowledge or information (45.4%), and lack of interest (25.9%) were the top three barriers to the use of research (13).
A number of challenges and threats have been identified as impeding nursing research in earlier studies, including the lack of institutional support, the care burden, inadequate training, a lack of a research culture, the perception that conducting research requires time outside of normal working hours, and a lack of financial incentives.
De G et al. (2023) studied the attitudes and perceived barriers of primary health service nurses. The results showed that the two most common perceived barriers were "not sufficient time at work for executing new ideas at work; nursing does not have time to read research" (mean = 2.55/SD = 1.11) (14).
It is essential to learn about staff nurses' views regarding research and the challenges they encounter while trying to perform it. To step in and perform the appropriate action to overcome these barriers by becoming aware of them in the coming days, the current study was undertaken with the purpose of assessing attitudes toward and perceived barriers to clinical nursing research among the staff nurses working in the selected hospitals of Assam.
Objectives
The objectives of the study are as follows:
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To assess attitudes toward clinical nursing research among staff nurses working in selected hospitals in Assam
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To assess the perceived barriers to clinical nursing research among staff nurses working in selected hospitals of Assam
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To determine the associations between attitudes toward clinical nursing research and selected demographic variables
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To determine the associations between selected demographic variables and perceived barriers to clinical nursing research