Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health Nurses: Nursing Experts Translating the Evidence

The public health nurse (PHN) workforce is faced with several challenges including varied educational attainment and underdeveloped workforce. Desired resources include increased grant funding for staff development and opportunities for PHNs to learn evidence-based (EB) practice. Nursing Experts: Translating the Evidence (NExT) is a continuing education workshop designed for PHNs to promote awareness of and access to EB resources. NExT educates PHNs on how to access and translate evidence into practice in order to lead in building healthy communities. Ten in-person educational workshops were collaboratively led by experienced nursing and library faculty in rural and urban areas. Participants were recruited through PHN listservs, college/university listservs, and email/phone communications with local PH departments. Participants received 3 CNE hours for their workshop attendance and participation. Pre-and post-test surveys were administered.

Preliminary results (n=17) from two of the ten workshops indicate that 88%of participants reported the workshop was a good use of their time. Participants reported developing new skills (m=3.88, SD .697) and being able to find EB literature (m=4.06, SD=.56). Participants reported an increase in their understanding of EBPH (t(16)=-4.24,p<.001), PICO (t(16)=-6.65,p<.001), critical appraisal (t(15)=-5.20,p<.001), and knowledge translation (t(15)=-4.79,p<.001). Participants reported an increase in familiarity with PubMed (t(16)=-5.21,p<.001), Guide to Community Services (t(15)=-9.67,p<.001), PH partners (t(15)=-3.34,p<.001), NGC (t(15)=-6.48,p<.001), USPSTF (t(14)=-4.56, p<.001), and NACCHO (t(14)=-3.24,p<.001). Given the preliminary success of NExT, the development of a web-based model is underway, allowing the delivery of this curriculum to reach a broader audience of PHNs.