The Institute of Medicine has stated a goal that 90% of practice be evidence-based by 2020. According to HealthyPeople.gov, the United States is currently at approximately 15%. Barriers that Might Hold Nursing Practice From Achieving Goals Barriers that Might Hold Nursing Practice From Achieving Goals Discuss two barriers that might prevent nursing practice from achieving this goal and suggest ways in which identified barriers may be addressed.
Barriers that Might Hold Nursing Practice From Achieving Goals
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is essential in the provision of quality and safe patient care (Albarqouni et al., 2018). EBP also improves the quality of nursing practice and the decision-making process and supports the provision of cost-effective care while enhancing the patient’s confidence in healthcare services (Melnyk et al., 2019). The Institute of Medicine (IOM) had targeted a 90% implementation of EBP in the US by 2020. However, the 90% projection for the nursing practice based on evidence has not been achieved due to various barriers that need to be addressed.
Two major barriers to the achievement of the EBP goal include the lack of review of current evidence and literature and the lack of sufficient training and education on EBP and implementation processes. EBP requires integrating and utilizing the current and latest evidence with healthcare expertise to optimize healthcare services and delivery. Therefore, the lack of review of current evidence means that nurses and other healthcare professionals lack the required awareness of new evidence-based practices.
In addition, the lack of sufficient training and education on EBP and implementation processes is another leading barrier to the IOM goal. According to Skela-Savič et al. (2020), there is a wide gap in the teaching of EBP in nursing education due to differences in nursing faculties and program designs across universities, leading to a lack of the basic skills and knowledge to utilize EBP in nursing practice. Both the lack of awareness of new practices and EBP skills and knowledge lead to negative attitudes toward EBP implementation.
These two major barriers can be confronted by adopting a unified approach toward teaching the nursing curricula to mandate a focus on teaching EBP and EBP processes. Integrating EBP teaching sufficiently within nursing education curricula can equip graduates and in-practice nurses with the necessary skills and knowledge to implement EBP in nursing practice.
References
Albarqouni, L., Hoffmann, T., Straus, S., Olsen, N. R., Young, T., Ilic, D., Shaneyfelt, T., Haynes, R. B., Guyatt, G., & Glasziou, P. (2018). Core Competencies in Evidence-Based Practice for Health Professionals: Consensus Statement Based on a Systematic Review and Delphi Survey. JAMA Network Open, 1(2), e180281–e180281. https://doi.org/10.1001/JAMANETWORKOPEN.2018.0281
Melnyk,B.M., Overholt, E. F. (2019). Evidence-based practice in nursing and healthcare: A guide to best practice: fourth edition. 66, 37–39.