۱- Background

۲- Methods

۳- Results

۴- Discussion

۵- Conclusions

References

Background

The quantity of scientific research is increasing at an ever-faster rate (Hickman et al., 2018; Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt, 2015). However, the uptake of the current findings into practice does not parallel the speed of publication (Al Khalaileh et al., 2016; Hickman et al., 2018; Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt, 2015). So, the gap between research and practice is obvious. Various approaches and frameworks have been designed and tested to increase the uptake of research findings into practice. One approach is to base healthcare providers’ practices on the best available research evidence rather than on expired policy or tradition (Al Khalaileh et al., 2016; Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt, 2015). Nurses have crucial role in developing and implementing research evidence, for which knowledge of evidence-based practice (EBP) principles is a prerequisite (Al Khalaileh et al., 2016; Melnyk and FineoutOverholt, 2015). It is argued that underpinning clinical practice with research evidence could improve patients’ clinical outcomes, reduce care cost and enhance the quality of care. Previous studies have focused on working nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, skills and the barriers to EBP (AbuRuz et al., 2017; Al Khalaileh et al., 2016; Almalki, 2017; Heydari et al., 2014; Hickman et al., 2018; Sherriff et al., 2007). For example, one study evaluated nurses’ and midwives’ (n=240) knowledge, attitude, and practice of EBP in Iran (Heydari et al., 2014). The result showed that nurses and midwives had a low level of knowledge and practice of EBP, although they reported positive attitudes towards EBP. Another study that explored the barriers to utilization of research findings found that nurses reported a high level of barriers, mostly related to the setting in which they worked (Al Khalaileh et al., 2016). For example, most nurses said that they lacked the authority to implement new research results in their practice, as they had no access or time to read research reports. More than the half of the nurses (56%) reported that published research reports were not easy to read and they found themselves unable to critically appraise the evidence (Al Khalaileh et al., 2016). A recent review confirmed that nurses tend to have low to moderate knowledge and practice of EBP, admitting their inability to critically appraise and judge the quality of research articles (Patelarou et al., 2017). This has brought the issue of improving nurses’ knowledge of EBP to the surface. Without knowledge of the EBP approach, research uptake into practice will not be as it should be. Knowledge could improve practice, skills and attitudes (Allen et al., 2015; Hickman et al., 2018). Thus, many studies have been conducted to test different educational interventions to improve nurses’ knowledge and willingness to use EBP in their clinical practice (Allen et al., 2015; Hickman et al., 2018; Means et al., 2009). Assessing undergraduate nurses’ knowledge might be a preliminary step to improving knowledge regarding EBP.