Effectiveness of an Evidence-Based Practice educational intervention with second-year nursing students

OBJECTIVES: to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention on the knowledge, skills and attitudes of evidence-based practice among second-year nursing students. METHOD: a quasi-experimental before-and-after study. The study population consisted of 120 students enrolled in the Nursing Care in Healthcare Processes course. The educational intervention was based on theoretical and practical classes about the evidence-based practice process and the use of the critical incident technique during the clinical clerkship. Effectiveness was measured with the Evidence-Based Practice Competence Questionnaire in three paired measures using repeated-measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: the mean scores of the Evidence-Based Practice Competence Questionnaire were 79.83 (CI 95% 78.63-81.03) for the basal measurement, 84.53 (CI 95% 83.23-85.83) for the intermediate measurement, and 84.91 (CI 95% 83.26-86.55) for the final measurement, with a statistically significant difference among the three paired measurements (p<0.001). There were statistically significant differences in Attitudes (p = 0.034) and Knowledge (p <0.001) but not in Skills (p = 0.137). CONCLUSION: this educational intervention based on theoretical and practical classes about the evidence-based practice process and the use of the critical incident technique during the clinical clerkship enhances evidence-based practice competence among second-year nursing degree students.