Implementation of evidence-based clinical practice and its associated factors among health care workers at public hospitals in Sidama regional state, southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background Health disparities, inconsistent outcomes, and underwhelming health services continue to be problems for all nurses and doctors. Studies from a variety of nations have found that doctors and nurses have little familiarity with evidence-based practice. There is a knowledge vacuum about the degree of evidence-based nursing practice and its contributing factors in Ethiopia as well as the current study region. Objective The study’s objective was to evaluate how healthcare professionals working in government hospitals in the Sidama regional state of 2022 are implementing evidence-based clinical practice and to identify associated factors. Methods From October 1 to December 30/2022, a cross-sectional institution-based study with a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods was carried out. A total of 422 healthcare workers were randomly selected to participate in the current study from 6 randomly selected public hospitals in the region. This study included 25 key informant interviews. The Friedman test and Funk’s BARRIER scale were adapted into a semi-structured questionnaire quantitative. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the significance of the association between the dependent and independent variables. A pretest was conducted on 22 healthcare workers from Shashmane Hospital. Result This study found that more than half, 51.7%, of the participants had a total implementation of evidence-based practice score below the mean score (40.4). only Access to the internet [having smart phone] (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 3.03: 95% Confidence Interval (CI): (1.75–5.26))., favorable Attitude toward EBP of participants. (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 1.84Confidence Interval (1.12–2.70)), inadequate Self-efficacy of Evidence-based practice skills (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 0.29 Confidence interval = 0.19–0.46), and Knowledge of evidence-based practice (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 0.45 Confidence interval = 0.30–0.77)were factors significantly associated with EBP implementation. Conclusion More than half of the participants,51.7%, do not implement evidence-based practice in the care of their clients, which is unacceptable. The use of EBP has been significantly associated with access to the internet (having a smartphone), participants’ positive attitudes toward it, their level of skill efficacy in finding and accessing it, and their knowledge of it. Therefore, stakeholders ought to think about addressing these obstacles to the adoption of EBP.