Unit culture and research-based nursing practice in acute care.
The purpose of this multiple-case study of research utilization (RU) was to examine whether and how nursing practices in acute-care units are built on research and to identify potential explanations for the observed patterns. Open-ended data were collected from staff nurses and nursing leaders on 8 acute-care units through interviews and observation. RU varied within and across units, but unit culture emerged as the principal factor linked to patterns of RU. Unit-culture themes that formed the links were harmony of research perspective, motivation to learn, goal orientation, creativity, critical inquiry, mutual respect, and maximization of resources. The findings provide a rich description that could serve as a basis for self-assessment of unit culture in inpatient and outpatient acute-care units.
Pepler
Carolyn J
CJ
School of Nursing, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Edgar
Linda
L
Frisch
Sara
S
Rennick
Janet
J
Swidzinski
Marika
M
White
Carole
C
Brown
Thomas G
TG
Gross
Julie
J
D000208:Acute Disease / Q000451:nursing*; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research / Q000639:trends*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation