Dental hygienists' research utilization: influence of context and attitudes.

BACKGROUND: Research use is a core component of evidence-based practice (EBP), contributing to improved patient outcomes; however, we know little about factors influencing research use among dental hygienists. The purpose of this study is to examine whether individual's attitudes and organizational context influence dental hygienists' research use. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design was used to study research use among a geographically stratified probability sample of 1100 Canadian dental hygienists. A translated French-language version was provided for Francophone dental hygienists. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using SPSS. RESULTS: Mean responses were highest for conceptual research use (RU) (4.1), followed by overall RU (3.7), direct RU (3.3), and persuasive RU (3.3), on a five-point Likert scale. Internal consistency reliability for attitude and context scales was high (Cronbach's alpha 0.86 and 0.83, respectively). Repeated measures t-tests found significant differences between willingness to implement research and frequency of actually implementing research (P < 0.001 for paired comparisons), and ratings of importance of supportive practice characteristics were significantly higher than their actual presence (P < 0.001 for paired comparisons). A multiple linear regression model found the variables attitude, context, and years of practice explained 19.0% of the variation in responses. DISCUSSION: Significant differences between willingness to implement research and actual implementation, and between perceived importance of supportive practice characteristics and their presence, require exploration of these differences. CONCLUSION: These findings support the importance of the practice context and individual attitudes for research uptake by dental hygienists. Knowledge translation theories can inform further research and contribute greater explanatory power to this preliminary model.

A pilot study of research utilization practices and critical thinking dispositions of Alberta dental hygienists.

UNLABELLED: In order to test interventions for increasing uptake of research findings into dental hygiene practice, we must first identify factors that influence research use. There has been little work on this topic in dental hygiene, but much in other disciplines that can provide exemplars of how others have approached the study of this phenomenon. OBJECTIVES: A pilot study was conducted to determine if protocols used to study research utilization (RU) behaviours and critical thinking dispositions (CTD) in nursing could also be applied to dental hygiene. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design was used with a random sample of 640 practicing dental hygienists in Alberta, Canada. Three questionnaires were included: one to capture measures of RU including direct, indirect and symbolic RU; the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI) and a demographics questionnaire. RESULTS: Mean responses for the three types of RU were highest for indirect at 3.52 (SD 0.720), followed by direct at 3.13 (SD 0.903) and symbolic 2.86 (SD 0.959). The majority (74.8%) scored between 280 and 350 on the CCTDI (maximum 420). Cronbach's alpha reliability for the RU measures and four of the seven sub-scales were over .7, indicating internal consistency reliability. CONCLUSIONS: The instruments proved reliable for this population, but other challenges, including a low response rate, were identified during the process of using the RU questionnaire in the context of dental hygiene practice. Pilot testing identified the need for improvements to the presentation of scales to reduce cognitive load and improve the response rate.

Warrantable evidence in nursing science.

Consensus among nurse scholars has not been reached regarding suitable qualities for accepting or rejecting the evidence arising from various world views. The authors' purpose in writing the paper is to describe the qualities or warrants for evaluating scientific findings (the 'evidence') of different research perspectives. The warrantable evidence pertinent to post-positivist, interpretivist, critical social theorist, and feminist perspectives are described and common warrants are suggested. Three warrants common to these scientific perspectives are proposed: (a) scrutiny and critique of methodological rigor and findings by the scientific community; (b) corroboration and intersubjectivity; and (c) scope of the evidence. The identification of common warrantable evidence will assist nurses in developing some core values regarding the constituents of good science or good scholarship even in the face of pluralism in nursing science approaches.

A model for critical thinking within the context of curriculum as praxis.

The curriculum may be informed by a technical, practical, or emancipatory interest. Curricula informed by these three interests are referred to as curriculum as product, curriculum as practice, and curriculum as praxis (Grundy, 1989) respectively. When curricula are viewed from different perspectives, it is plausible to suggest that each perspective requires a different conceptualization of critical thinking. The literature search revealed that critical thinking has been equated with problem solving, which is congruent with a curriculum-as-product orientation. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of a conceptual model for critical thinking that is congruent with an orientation to the curriculum as praxis. The model is derived from the work of Freire (1972), Habermas (1972), and Grundy (1989). The key concepts of the model are knowledge, critical reflection, and action. There is a reciprocal relationship between knowledge and action, which is mediated by critical reflection.

Innovation through collaboration.

In light of the Canadian Nurses Association's position that the baccalaureate degree would be the requirement for entry to practice by the year 2000, plus evidence of a rapidly changing health care system, changing client characteristics, and on-going economic constraints, administrators of nursing programs in Edmonton recognized the need for a more process-oriented curriculum to prepare nurses to be more capable of facing future challenges. Not surprisingly, limited funds and differing human and material resources meant they could not complete a major curriculum change individually. Collaboration proved to be the key that increased access to baccalaureate nursing education in Alberta.