Effectiveness of an evidence-based practice (EBP) course on the EBPcompetence of undergraduate nursing students: Aquasi-experimental study

Abstract

Background:International nursing institutions and experts recommend evidence-based practice (EBP) as a corecomponent of the curriculum for nurses. However, the impact of EBP training on the competence of undergrad-uate nursing students remains unclear.Objectives:To evaluate the effectiveness of an EBP course on theEBP competence undergraduate nursing students'.Method:Design: Quasi-experimental study carried out in non-randomized intervention and control groups.Settings: The study was conducted in a Spanish public university in 2010.Participants: Out of 420 second- and third-year nursingstudents, 75 were enrolled in the EBP course, forming theintervention group, and 73 were not enrolled in this course were recruited as controls.Procedure: The educational intervention was a 15-week course designed to teach EBP competence. The EBP Com-petence Questionnaire (EBP-COQ) was administered before and after the intervention. Repeated-measure ANOVAwas used to compare intervention and control group scores before and at two months after the 15-week interven-tion period.Results:At 2 months after the EBP course, mean EBP-COQ scores of the intervention group were significantly im-proved versus baseline in attitude (4.28 vs. 3.33), knowledge (3.92 vs. 2.82)and skills (4.01 vs. 2.75) dimensions,whereas little change was observed in control group scores over the same time period. Repeated-measuresANOVA revealed a significant effect of Time × Group interaction on global competence and all three EBP-COQ di-mensions.Discussions:Undergraduate nursing students experience positive changes in EBP competence, knowledge, skills, andattitude as the result of a 15-week educational intervention on EBP. This EBP course may provide nursing school ed-ucators and policymakers with a useful model for integrating EBP teaching within the nursing curriculum