Background and objective: Undoubtedly, there are some factors acting as barriers or facilitator in spreading and employing the research findings. The present study aimed at determining nurses' opinions regarding barriers and facilitators of clinical application of research results in hospitals at Gonabad.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, 147 nurses working in educational hospitals of Gonabad were studied. For gathering data, a three- part questionnaire (whose reliability and validity had already been confirmed) including demographic data, barriers and facilitators of application of clinical research was used. Data analysis was performed by SPSS 16 software using descriptive statistics, independent T-test and Variance Analysis, and pearson correlation coefficient formula.
Results: Major barriers acknowledged by nurses were: shortage of facilities to use research results (81.1%), lack of collaboration and participation of physicians in applying nursing research (80.5%), lack of autonomy and authority to change therapeutic and care practices for patients by nurses (79.1%) and lack of nurses’ involvement in research (79.1%). Conducting in-service training courses on new research findings (95.1%), increasing managerial support (93%) and equipping hospital’s library with various academic journals and Internet access (90.9%) were considered the most important facilitators. There was a statistically significant difference between the total score of barriers and age, experience and nurse's shift work (P<0.05).
Conclusion: According to the results of the study, it appears that providing necessary facilities, giving more authority to change the care strategies and creating a supportive environment may be a prerequisite for implementing research- based practice in nursing.