Innovation Characteristics of Nurses and Their Attitudes Toward Evidence-Based Nursing

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this descriptive study was to determine the innovation characteristics of nurses and their attitudes toward evidence-based nursing.
METHODS: The study was conducted with 237 nurses who worked at a university hospital and volunteered to participate in the study between January and March 2018. Data were collected with the “Personal Information Form,” “Individual Innovativeness Scale,” and “Evidence-Based Nursing Attitude Questionnaire.” Number, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used as descriptive statistical methods in the evaluation of the data. The distribution of the data was evaluated with the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis test, and Spearman’s correlation analysis were used to evaluate non-parametric data.
RESULTS: The mean age of the nurses was 34.31 ± 7.08 years. It was found that 86.9% were females, 63.7% were married, 55.7% had a child, and 67.1% had a bachelor degree. According to their innovation characteristics, 43% of the nurses were found as early majority. The mean score of Individual Innovativeness Scale total was 65.85 ± 7.56 and Evidence-Based Nursing Attitude Questionnaire total was 59.00 ± 9.49. A positive correlation was found between the total scores of Individual Innovativeness Scale and Evidence-Based Nursing Attitude Questionnaire. Nurses who did a scientific research, wrote a manuscript, and participated scientific conferences had higher total scores of Individual Innovativeness Scale and Evidence-Based Nursing Attitude Questionnaire than those who did not carry out these
activities (P <.05). The total score of Individual Innovativeness Scale were higher in nurses who were satisfied with their job (P <.05). No difference was found between job satisfaction and Evidence-Based Nursing Attitude Questionnaire total score.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This study revealed that nurses who participated in scientific activities had better innovation characteristics and attitudes toward evidence-based nursing. Nurses whose individual innovativeness was higher also had positive attitudes toward evidence-based nursing. It was determined that as the individual innovativeness of nurses increased, their attitudes toward evidence-based nursing also increased positively.