Application of a Q Method Study to Understanding Nurses' Perspective of Adopting Evidence-Based Nursing

Abstract

This study applied the Q method to identify and describe the various types of nurse perceptions that are crucially associated with their engagement in evidence-based nursing (EBN). The study participants were nurses at a medical center and a regional teaching hospital. A series of Q sorts was performed by nurses to subjectively rank the Q statements. Q statements were constructed based on the literature related to EBN adoption by nurses and face-to-face interviews. A total of 60 participants were invited to rank 44 Q statements related to EBN. Factor analysis was conducted on the rankings of the Q statements. The following are the five prominent shared perspectives: (1) emphasized the obstacles to evidence searching and reading ability; (2) emphasized the organizational promotive strategies; (3) emphasized the available supportive resources; (4) emphasized the significance of EBN; and (5) emphasized the evidence-searching ability and external incentives. The five identified groups of perspectives can enhance hospital administrators to acknowledge the barriers and incentives associated with EBN practices. The exploration of clustering nurses' perceptions may facilitate the development of customized strategies to enable more appropriate training.