Development of an evidence-based practice questionnaire for nurses

The aim of this paper is to report the development and validation of a self-report measure of knowledge, practice and attitudes towards evidence-based practice (EBP). Evidence-based practice has become increasingly important in health care since the mid-1990s as it provides a framework for clinical problem-solving. However, to date no means exist to quantify the extent to which barriers, such as lack of time in the working day, lack of appropriate skills and negative attitudes, may prevent greater uptake of EBP. Questionnaire development was based on established psychometric methods. Principal component factor analysis was used to uncover the underlying dimensions of the scale. Internal consistency of the scale was assessed by Cronbach's alpha. Finally, construct validity was assessed via convergent and discriminant validity. The final questionnaire comprised three distinct scales (EBP, attitudes towards EBP and knowledge of EBP), which had robust validity and internal reliability. This tool can be used to measure the implementation of EBP.