Dataset - Exploring Readiness for Implementing Best Practices: A Mixed Methods Study
This data supports a study exploring the readiness for evidence-based practice on nurses in Bolivia that is in preparation for publication. This is a collaborative work between the Seattle University College of Nursing, the Higher University of Saint Andrés (UMSA) Nursing School of La Paz, and the Bolivian Nurses Association (BNA). Excel File: Quantitative data set collected for the study on Exploring EBP readiness in Bolivian nurses on summer 2017. City of La Paz, Bolivia. PDF File: Transcripts of focus group dialogues complete on Summer 2017 in La Paz, Bolivia. The transcripts are in Spanish, the native language of the research participates. In this manner, data interpretation avoided to miss meaning translation, which enhanced the final interpretation of results. After defining/inferred the themes, then we translated into English for reporting purposes.
Abstract
Rationale: Evidence-based practice (EBP) can improve health care in underprivileged countries. Bolivia’s EBP movement is nascent and the factors contributing to better implementation in nursing are unknown.
Aim: To explore Bolivian nurses’ readiness to engage in EBP while highlighting the facilitators and barriers for pursuing EBP.
Method: The study used a sequential explanatory mixed methods study. First, general trends were disclosed via a survey of 170 nurses in La Paz, Bolivia, holding at least a baccalaureate regarding their perceived beliefs about EBP. The survey identified facilitators and barriers for implementing EBP in acute and ambulatory settings. Second, qualitative data was gathered via a focus group of nine nurses with the purpose of enhancing the survey results.
Results: The survey results showed that nurses believe that engaging in EBP can improve their clinical practice. However, the nurses’ research behaviors were found to be infrequent. Lack of support from the nurses’ clinics and hospitals and from non-nursing professionals were identified as barriers for engaging in EBP. The qualitative results revealed underlying limitations to nurses’ clinical practice, including “feeling undervalued.”
Conclusions: There is a dearth of EBP knowledge among Bolivian nurses stemming from a lack of preparation in EBP environments, including EBP training opportunities. This situation affects nurses’ professional dimensions of relational work, power, and collaboration. Collaborative research among educators, professional nursing societies, and local and international organizations could provide initiatives for implementing EBP, based on local health profiles.