Egyptian and Jordanian nurse educators' perception of barriers preventing the implementation of evidence-based practice: A cross-sectional study

Background: Studies discussing nurse educators' attitudes, knowledge/skills, practicing of evidence-based practice (EBP) and barriers encountered towards implementation is somewhat limited. Objective: The study aimed to identify the attitudes, perceived knowledge/skills, and implementation of evidence-based as perceived by nurse educators, in Egyptian and Jordanian universities, and to assess factors preventing them from adopting it in nursing program. Design/Setting/Respondents/Methods: A cross-sectional design was conducted including two groups from Egypt and Jordan. Two questionnaires: (i) The Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire (EBPQ) and (ii) The Developing Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire (DEBPQ) and a demographic data sheet were used. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 and descriptive and inferential statistics tabulated. Results: Majority of the respondents (85.5%) were females, < 40 years old (62.1%), and from medical-surgical nursing departments (49.2%). The mean score of EBPQ was 4.96 +/- standard deviation 0.91. Frequency of practicing EBP and attitudes toward EBP scores were similar between nurse educators in both countries (p > 0.05). However, the Jordanian staff had a remarkably higher perceived knowledge/skills of EBP than their Egyptian counterparts (Mean Rank = 79.98 & 57.63 respectively, at p = 0.004). There was a statistically significant positive, moderate correlation between attitudes, knowledge/skills and frequency of practicing EBP among nurse educators in both countries. The highest correlation observed for attitudes and frequency of practicing EBP was among Jordanian staff (r = 0.707, p < 0.000). Egyptian nurse educators had significantly higher perceived barriers to finding and reviewing evidence than their Jordanian counterparts (p = 0.000). However, both groups had similar perceived barriers related to changing practice and support from colleagues. Conclusions: Egyptian and Jordanian nurse educators, equally, hold positive attitudes toward adopting EBP. However, they encounter many barriers to implement it.