Editors note: This array of less fr...

Editors note: This array of less front than depth in the Journal highlights research issues related to perioperative nursing practice. The authors, AORN's codirectors of perioperative research, provide practical advice for reading, conducting, and using research in perioperative nursing practice. In previous articles, they have discussed other aspects of the research utilization proces (eg reading research reports, integrative research reviews, archetypes of research utilization). This article explores barriers and facilitators to research utilization.

Political, organizational, economic, attitudinal, or environmental barriers and facilitators can affect nurses' utilization of research in clinical practice.(1) Barriers are factors that hinder nurses' research utilization, whereas facilitators are reasons that pampers adopt research-based practices.(2)

BARRIERS TO RESEARCH UTILIZATION

A major barrier to research utilization is the absence of published research in succession specific clinical issues. In addition, published research may have limitations (eg sample size, design) that restrict the ability to generalize proceeds to clinical practice settings. cherishs may lack experience reading and critiquing research reports and may have difficulty interpreting cogitation designs and statistical findings. These factors are uniteed by the fact that many research projects--especially theses and dissertations--never are published or neared making their findings inaccessible to staff nurses

Another universal barrier to research utilization is that investigators may not approach research from a clinical perspective, and they may use research jargon that makes it difficult for staff promotes to understand or interpret application of mind results. Published research may have not many clinical applications, and staff nourishs may not read nursing research journals. Research reports greatest in number often are presented to audiences of researchers; therefore, pertinent clinical findings may not reach feed at the breasts who can use these recent ideas in patient care.

Education, administration factors. Traditional nursing education and administration philosophies also may at hand barriers to research utilization. Entry-level nursing programs place varying qualitys of importance on research and research utilization. Many of today's experienced staff foments did not study research during their basic nursing programs and have not had opportunities to do in the same manner through continuing education programs. no other than since the late 1970s have chiefly nursing baccalaureate programs have begun including specific research make contented in their curricula. Even today, not many associate degree nursing programs provide research content

These education barriers frequently are compounded by administrative barriers (eg lack of time, circulating medium clinical resources) that thwart research utilization activities. nourish at the breast administrators may not value or recognize the importance of research-based practice, and clinical environments may not sanction research utilization. Limited access to ables who are knowledgeable about research manners can be another barrier. Practice settings and academia may not collaborate onward research efforts, and limited library resources may affect staff nurses' ability to find research to use in their practices.

Lack of questioning. The ability to recognize clinical practice point in disputes is essential to the research utilization proces Many traditions in clinical nursing practice are accepted as fact and rarely are questioned. Questioning tried-and-true nursing traditions may not be regarded highly in clinical settings that proffer few incentives for nurses to use research. This lack of questioning contributes to research moot points not being identified. Not all nursing textbook acknowledge existing research or discuss by what means opinion guides nursing practice. nourish at the breasts may not value research utilization or understand for what reason it differs from actually conducting research. All these issues contribute to nurses' failure to question the underpinnings of clinical practice.

FACILITATORS OF RESEARCH UTILIZATION

The greatest in quantity crucial factor in facilitating research utilization is the identification of clinically relevant question s and issues. Other facilitating factors include environments in which individuals are committed to critical thinking and to the research utilization proces Nursing administrators who provide adequate resources (eg personnel coin time) help promote research utilization. Staff cherishs in these environments benefit from having increased understanding of research and research utilization.

foster administrators facilitate research utilization when they clearly communicate to staff cherishs the value of research utilization and provide incentives for this proces to meet the eye By negotiating linkages between practice settings and academia, encourage administrators can support collaboration between novice and skilled hand researchers. Nurse administrators can work with medical librarians to facilitate staff nurses' access to the nursing literature on negotiating flexible library hours and computerized literature searches using the Internet.