As an educator you may want to measure knowledge and skills often with the focus on competence. This scoping review reports on various evidence based knowledge and skills instruments that could be utilised in clinical practice to assess healthcare professionals evidence based practice (EBP) knowledge and skills. This information could then be used to plan and implement EBP strategies in the clinical setting.
Journal Club Article
Haavisto, E., Siltanen, H., Tolvanen, A., & Holopainen, A. (2022). Instruments for assessing healthcare professionals’ knowledge and skills of evidence‐based practice: A scoping review. Journal of Clinical Nursing.
Quick Summary
- Aims:
- What instruments have been used to assess knowledge and skills of EBP in healthcare and what are the reported reliability and validity of instruments?
- What is the content of the knowledge and skills assessed in EBP?
- Scoping review across 3 databases with 39 studies included.
- 17 instruments were identified, with the Upton and Upton (2006) the most commonly used. Most instruments used self-assessment.
- [Upton, D., & Upton, P. (2006). Development of an evidence‐based practice questionnaire for nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 53(4), 454-458].
- PRISMA-P (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis Protocols) were followed for reporting
- Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was most widely used measure for internal consistency and reliability of the instrument.
- EBP knowledge/skills instruments consists of five main categories:
- EBP
- Evaluation of current practice
- Preparation for the implementation of EBP
- Implementation of evidence and
- Active participation in the development of EBP
- Conclusion: as ever there is a need for further research to develop more instruments.
However, the more varied tools used in research, then the harder it becomes to synthesise evidence as health systems themselves are so unique. Then it becomes difficult for nursing to provide large scale data as supporting evidence for change.