Clinical nurse educators as agents for change: increasing research utilization

doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2004.11.006

International Journal of Nursing Studies

Volume 42, Issue 8, November 2005, Pages 899-914

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2004.11.006 Get rights and content

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the determinants of research utilization among clinical nurse educators. The primary goal for clinical nurse educators is the facilitation of professional development of practicing nurses. Responsibilities include promoting best practice by mentoring others, acting as an information source, and assisting in the development of policies and procedures based on available research evidence. Using Rogers’ (Diffusion of Innovations, 4th edn., The Free Press, New York) diffusion of innovations theory as a theoretical foundation, we conducted a secondary analysis to test a predictive model of research utilization using linear regression. Results show that educators report significantly higher research use than staff nurses and managers. Predictors of research utilization include attitude toward research, awareness of information based on research, and involvement in research activities. Localite communication predicted conceptual research use and mass media predicted symbolic use, lending support to the idea that overall, instrumental, conceptual, and symbolic research utilization are conceptually different from one another. Our findings show that the research utilization behaviors of clinical nurse educators position them to facilitate evidence-based nursing practice in organizations. We discuss the theoretical, conceptual, and nursing role implications of our findings for nursing practice, education, and research. Suggestions for future research includes studying actual use of research findings of clinical nurse educators and designing intervention studies that assesses the effectiveness of clinical nurse educators as facilitators of research utilization in organizations.

Section snippets

Review

We conducted a review to assess the state of knowledge on research utilization and “intermediaries” working in clinical nursing roles. Intermediaries include clinical nurse educators, staff development educators, clinical nurse specialists, and practice developers. We found few studies that assessed research utilization and nurse educators. Most of the research conducted to date has studied academic nurse educators rather than educators working in clinical roles. Some studies report the

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between characteristics of clinical nurse educators and research utilization. The study objectives were:

(1)
to describe the demographic and professional characteristics of clinical nurse educators and compare research utilization scores between educators, staff nurses, and managers,
(2)
to model the determinants of research utilization among nurses by role and level of education, and
(3)
to explore the differences between overall, instrumental,

Theoretical framework

We used Rogers’ (1995) diffusion of innovation theory as a framework for the study. It provided guidance for the literature review, the selection of study variables, and the analyses. Many authors have used this theory to study research utilization in nursing (Brett, 1987; Winter, 1990; Michel and Sneed, 1995; Rodgers, 2000). The fifth phase of the innovation development process frames our study. Each of the variables included in our predictive model of research utilization are latent concepts

Design

The findings reported here are a result of analyses conducted on the Alberta Nurse Survey (Estabrooks et al., 2003a). This survey is an extension of a national study on the utilization of health research results in Canada (Landry et al., 2001). The Alberta extension received ethical clearance from following bodies: University of Alberta Health Research Ethics Board, University of Calgary Conjoint Ethics Board, Community Health Research Ethics Review Board, and the Chinook Health Region. The

Results

There were 82 clinical nurse educators in the total sample. Of these, 60 were instructors of staff or patients; nine were clinical nurse specialists, and the remaining 13 were employed in research, advanced nursing, or consultant roles where teaching others consumed a major portion (>50%) of their time. We report the findings of this study by the objectives outlined in the purpose.

Objective #1: To describe the demographic and professional characteristics of clinical nurse educators and compare

Discussion

Awareness, attitude, and involvement consistently predicated overall, instrumental, and symbolic research utilization. Being a manager or staff nurse detracted from all predicted research utilization scores, indicating their lower levels of research use as compared to those of educators. Although the variables encompassing communication (localite, cosmopolite, and mass media) did not predict overall research utilization in the first model (Table 5), the correlations show corresponding

Conclusion

Clinical nurse educators and other intermediaries exhibit research utilization behaviors that are important for the facilitation of evidence-based practice. Clinical nurse educators and other intermediaries in nursing may be an untapped resource in organizations that want to foster a culture of evidence-based nursing practice. The Canadian Health Services Research Foundation's knowledge brokering initiative is one indication of the importance placed on intermediaries as links to enhance the

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Clinical nurse educators as agents for change: increasing research utilization

Abstract

Section snippets

Review

Purpose

Theoretical framework

Design

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Journal of Professional Nursing

Accident & Emergency Nursing

Research Policy

Nursing Outlook

Journal of Professional Nursing

Nursing Outlook

The impact of a diabetes nurse educator on nurses’ knowledge of diabetes and nursing interventions in a home care setting

Diabetes Educator

Swedish midwives’ awareness of, attitudes to and use of selected research findings

Journal of Advanced Nursing

Closing the gap between research and practicean overview of systematic reviews of interventions to promote implementation of research findings

British Medical Journal

The utilization processa conceptual framework and synthesis of empirical findings

Administrative Science Quarterly

Use of nursing practice research findings

Nursing Research

Nursing education and nursing research utilizationis there a connection in clinical settings?

Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing

Knowledge and organizationa social-practice perspective

Organization Science

Valuing research in clinical practicea basis for developing a strategic plan for nursing research

Canadian Journal of Nursing Research

The two-communities theory and knowledge utilization

American Behavioral Scientist

Barriers and facilitators to the utilization of nursing research

Clinical Nurse Specialist

Variables related to research utilization in nursingan empirical investigation

Journal of Advanced Nursing

Practice developmentambiguity in research and practice

Journal of Advanced Nursing

Champions for evidence-based practicea critical role for advanced practice nurses

AACN Clinical Issues

The two-communities metaphor and models of knowledge use

KnowledgeCreation, Diffusion, Utilization

The conceptual structure of research utilization

Research in Nursing & Health

Mapping the research utilization field in nursing

Canadian Journal of Nursing Research

Effectiveness and efficiency of guideline dissemination and implementation strategies

Health Technology Assessment