Nurses' attitude to reading research articles and their perception of research utilization in clinical practice in a Nigerian city

Abstract

This descriptive study aimed at determining nurses' attitude to reading research articles and their utilization in nursing practice was conducted in University College Hospital (UCH) and Adeoyo Maternity Teaching Hospital (AMTH) both in the city of Ibadan, Nigeria. Data were collected through a 50-item-structured questionnaire using purposive sampling technique to select 240 willing participants. Results showed that majority of the respondents, 91% and 86.2%in UCH and AMTH respectively, perceived research as very important in promoting  quality nursing care. However, majority, 93(40%) of them read research articles occasionally and 99(42.5%) read monthly while only 7(3.0%) and 9 (3.9%) claimed daily and weekly reading respectively. Level of education of the nurses and years ofworking experience had an impact on their perception of research utilization (p=0.000 and 0.05) respectively while their cadre and preference for traditional method did not (p=0.850and0.619). Nurses should endeavour to update their knowledge and skills throughout their career by reading research articles.