Identification of the Gap between Research and Practice in Surgical Care

The process of applying Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) in the clinic has been slow in various departments and disciplines. In particular, according to the results of studies, EBP use is much less common in the operating room than in medical wards.This study aimed to evaluate the use of EBP in surgical care and identify barriers to its application among operating room and anesthesia nurses. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using online survey tools on 251 operating room and anesthesia nurses from Mazandaran teaching hospitals, Iran, January 2021. The EBP Implementation (EBPI) Scale and EBP BARRIERS Scale were used to assess the extent of EBP and barriers, respectively. The mean use of EBP was 27.73±8.73 (range: 0-72). The results showed that about 50% of the participants had never used EBP in the past 8 weeks. The EBP application showed an inverse relationship with age (P 0.01, r=-0.30) and work experience (P 0.01, r =-0.20). Education had a significant effect on the process of EBP (P 0.01). There was a positive correlation between the EBP BARRIER scale and EBPI Scale (r=0.34, P 0.01). The major barrier for the use of EBP was The lack of authority to change patient care procedures . The results of this study can be used along with evidence-based information to plan the organization s strategy to increase the use of EBP in daily practice.