Utilization of evidence-based practice and associated factors among nurses working in public hospitals of jimma zone, southwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Evidence-Based Practice is the application of the best scientific evidence for clinical decision-making in professional patient care. It gives equal emphasis to the patient’s values and preferences, best available evidence, and the clinical expertise. Most of the time, Nursing care practice in Ethiopia is based on experience, tradition, intuition, common sense and untested theories. Moreover there is lack of information on the level of utilization of evidence based practice by nurses in Ethiopia. Objective: To assess Utilization of Evidence Based Practice and associated factors among Nurses working in Public Hospitals of Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia, from March 10 to April 1, 2018 G.C Methods: An institutional based cross sectional study design using quantitative supplemented by qualitative data collection method was employed. Stratified random sampling was deployed to select 270 respondents, and then randomly selected. Twelve key informants were involved using purposive sampling. Pretest was done on 5% of total sample size at Bedele hospital. Data was collected using structured self-administered questionnaire and in-depth interview guide. Descriptive statistics was computed to summarize the data. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were done to see the association between the outcome variable and predictors. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% C.I was used to measure the strength of association between dependent and independent variables. P value < 0.05 was used to determine level of statistical significance. Results: This study showed that, more than half 131(51.8%) of respondents used evidence-based practice. Further the study indicated that, being head nurse was 5.2 times (AOR=5.227) [95%CI= [1.252, 21.819] more likely used EBP than staff nurses. And also the study revealed that being knowledgeable about EBP was 2.1 times (AOR=2.084) [95%CI= [1.118, 3.886] more likely used EBP than those not knowledgeable about EBP. Conclusion & Recommendation: The prevalence of utilization of EBP among nurses working in public hospitals of Jimma zone was 51.8%. Nevertheless, only 16.5% of respondents often utilized EBP in their clinical practice. Therefore, hospital management should encourage and involve nurses to utilize evidence-based practice research findings.