2015 Volume 25 Issue 2 Pages 29-40
〔Objectives〕To explore the personal attributes related to research utilization competency of hospital nurses in Japan.
〔Methods〕Two instruments, ‘Scale on Research Utilization Competency for Clinical Nurses' and 'Nurses Attributes Questionnaire’, were used. The instrument packets were distributed to 860 hospital nurses in Japan, and the answers were returned by mail and analyzed statistically.
〔Results〕Four-hundred and forty seven （52.0%） nurses responded and 403 valid data were analyzed. The results showed that it was not easy for nurses to conduct the important behaviors for research utilization, and that they didn’t have enough research utilization competencies. Nurses self-evaluated that they couldn't decide whether some research findings should be used or not in nursing practice based on the discussion from different perspectives. They were also unsure about promoting and spreading new nursing methods in the way that their superiors approved, though they could solve problems arising from changes in nursing practice. The results of the multiple regression analysis showed that“frequency of the research utilization experience” and “knowledge on nursing research” were related with research utilization competency.
〔Implementation〕It is necessary to develop programs for nurses, in which the nurses learn research utilization systematically and progressively, to improve their research utilization competency.
