Background: Twenty years after the degree in nursing was introduced in Spain, the subject of evidence-based nursing is still unstructured and unestablished in most faculties. Moreover, there are hardly any rigorous studies at a national level that evaluate the current state of this competence in our faculties. Understanding the starting point is essential for the curricular design to ensure that evidence-based practice is implemented among future professionals.
Aim: To design and validate an evidence-based nursing competency questionnaire for fourth-year nursing students.
Methods: A specific questionnaire was developed and validated (EBE-ST). A cross-sectional survey design with psychometric validation of an instrument. Participants were 304 senior year nursing students from eight universities in Spain (2020).
Results: The EBE-ST questionnaire is composed of 33 items that determine eight factors. It presents adequate reliability and validity (alpha = 0.882), measuring knowledge, attitudes and the practical application of evidence-based practice.
Conclusions: We have created an instrument with good psychometric properties to measure evidence-based practice competence among senior nursing students. The heterogeneity of knowledge regarding evidence-based nursing in our country suggests that further reflection is warranted on the incorporation of this topic during undergraduate training. We have designed and validated an evidence-based nursing competency questionnaire specific to nursing students.
Keywords: evidence-based nursing; evidence-based practice; nursing education research; nursing students; validity and reliability.