Sammanfattning
Background: Norwegian health authorities expect the health service to be evidence-based. In order to meet this expectation, Molde University College established a postgraduate study programme in EBP in 2009.
Objective: To examine whether postgraduate study in EBP helped nurses to change their attitudes and behaviour in relation to EBP.
Method: A cross-sectional study with a pretest-posttest design. Nurses (n = 62) answered the Norwegian versions of the Evidence-Based Practice Beliefs Scale and Evidence-Based Practice Implementation Scale at the start (n = 56) and end (n = 55) of a postgraduate study programme in EBP.
Results: The response rate was 90.3 at pretesting and 88.7 at posttesting. The distribution of responses to both scales showed good internal consistency. That is, the nurses did not use the scales in a random or unreliable way. The change between pretest and posttest was statistically significant for 5 of 16 items in the EBP Beliefs Scale and for 10 of 18 items in the EBP Implementation Scale.
Conclusion: The results indicate that postgraduate study strengthened nurses’ positive attitude towards EBP. In conclusion, the nurses reported increased activity in connection with the first four steps in EBP. However, it was beyond the scope of this investigation to assess whether this change actually resulted in more and improved evidence-based practice.