Authors (including presenting author) :
Tsang LF(1), Law SL(1), Cheung TP(1), NG CF(1), SO KF(1), Tang SK(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Nursing Services Division, United Christian Hospital, Hospital Authority
Introduction :
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a critical component of Nurse Consultant model as well as Associated Nurse Consultant (ANC), ensuring that clinical decisions are informed by the best available evidence, clinical expertise, and patient preferences. In Hong Kong, ANC plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between frontline staff and senior management, making their competencies in EBP essential for high-quality patient care and outcomes. Recognizing the importance of EBP, a structured EBP programme was recently implemented to enhance the competency of ANCs in this critical area.
Objectives :
This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a structured EBP programme on the competency in EBP among ANC in Hong Kong. Specifically, it seeks to assess changes in their knowledge, attitudes, skills, and utilization related to EBP following the programme, and explore the relationship between EBP competency and demographic variables such as years of experience, and clinical specialties.
Methodology :
A structured EBP programme which is a part of the EXPERT model of KEC Clinical Leadership Program, included a kick-off EBP ceremony, intensive EBP workshops, project presentation periodically in EBP study group, mentorship, and EBP forum.
A pre-post intervention study design was employed to collect data from ANCs working in various clinical settings across specialties. Participants completed a validated questionnaire so-called EBP-COQ Prof© assessing EBP knowledge, attitudes, skills, and utilization both before and after the implementation of the structured EBP programme using a 5-point Likert scale (Ruzafa-Martinez et al., 2020). Self-perceived barriers were additionally explored. Descriptive statistics summarized the data, while paired t-tests was used to compare pre- and post-intervention scores. Additionally, multivariate General Linear model analysis identified correlations of EBP competency among ANCs.
Result & Outcome :
A clustering of working experience among ANCs was around the range between 15 and 30 years, with a peak at 20 years. The distribution showed that most individuals in the sample have working experience ranging between 15 and 25 years.
Skill and knowledge competencies were found in a statistical significance. For the skill competency, the mean difference in scores before and after the training programme was 0.321 (t=0.01, p<0.05, SD (mean diff.) = 0.188). For the knowledge competency, the mean difference in scores before and after the training programme was 0.26875 (t=0.02, p<0.05, SD (mean diff.) = 0.208). Using the multivariate General Linear model, the working experience significantly influenced the change in attitude (p=0.002) and knowledge competencies (p=0.046).
Overall, the structured EBP training programme significantly improved both the EBP knowledge and skills of ANCs as reflected by the decrease in p-values (both < 0.05) post-training. This suggested that such structured training programs are beneficial in enhancing the skill and knowledge competencies in EBP amongst ANCs.
