Utilizing Competency-Based Education to Evaluate the Research Skills of Nursing Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Exploring and implementing competency-based education approaches to assess research skills are necessary to close the gap between research and practice, promote lifelong learning among future nurses, and improve research literacy. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of competency-based education in improving the assessment of research skills among nursing students. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes and Study (PICOS) eligibility criteria were used to select original studies published between 2017 and 2023. As a first step in the data-handling process, titles and abstracts of all articles retrieved by the search strategy were screened for relevance, and the irrelevant articles were discarded. The screening process was conducted by two authors independently, and the final decisions were made together. A meta-analysis was performed to assess the effectiveness of competency-based education in improving the assessment of research skills among nursing students. Five quantitative studies were appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist. The effect size was 0.69 ± 0.35 (P = 0.05), which indicates a high effect on research competency among nursing students who attend courses or training in research matters, after transforming data to correlation coefficient resulting in r = 0.5. The study encourages research literacy among nursing students. Through competency-based learning, students are exposed to a variety of research methodologies, ethical issues, and scientific writing conventions. This exposure enhances their capacity to understand, assess, and apply research evidence, empowering them to become knowledgeable consumers and field contributors. While making evidence-based decisions, nurses with research competencies can actively incorporate the most recent research findings into their clinical practice. Furthermore, nurses with strong research abilities can influence health policy and practice.

Barriers to Implementing Evidence-Based Practice among Primary Healthcare Nurses in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Several studies have been conducted to investigate the barriers to implementing evidence-based practice (EBP) worldwide. In Saudi Arabia, a few studies were conducted in hospital and mental health settings, and no study has explored the topic in primary healthcare settings. This study aimed to examine the barriers perceived by primary healthcare nurses in implementing EBP. This study employed a correlational and cross-sectional design. A total of 284 nurses were surveyed using the BARRIERS scale. Regression analysis was performed to identify the effects of predictor variables on the four subscales. The overall raw score on the BARRIERS scale was 86.21 (standard deviation = 16.15). The highest mean score was reported in the organizational subscale, followed by the innovation and communication subscales, whereas the lowest mean score was reported in the adopter subscale. The findings showed that the three top-ranked barriers were: (1) results of the studies are not generalizable to nurses' setting, (2) facilities are inadequate, and (3) physicians do not cooperate with the implementation. Findings showed that nurses encounter organizational-related barriers to a moderate extent and EBP implementation varies depending on gender, level of education, and job position. There is a need to create and implement educational interventions and programs to overcome the barriers to effective EBP implementation among primary healthcare nurses.

The Prevalence and The Relationship of Workplace Bullying and Nurses Turnover Intentions: A Cross Sectional Study.

Introduction: Sustaining a healthy work environment is a major challenge for health care organizations worldwide. Nursing professionals are often exposed to workplace bullying, which imposes serious challenges to nursing retention. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of workplace bullying and turnover intention among nurses, and to investigate the relationship between workplace bullying and nurse turnover. Methods: A cross-sectional correlational design. Convenience sampling was applied, whereby 347 nurses working in a tertiary medical city in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were recruited. Data were collected using the Negative Acts Questionnaire and the Anticipated Turnover Scale. Results: The rate of workplace bullying was high, bullying occurred at a cumulative rate of 33.4% (n = 116). Work related bullying behaviors formed the most common bullying acts with (34.5%) followed by personal bullying with (31.1%) meanwhile physical intimidating accounted by (25.6%). Among the participants, 31.7% exhibited a high turnover intention. The demographic variable age was revealing an inverse correlation with workplace bullying. There was a positive significant correlation between workplace bullying and turnover intentions (r = .24, p < 0.01). Conclusion: The alarming prevalence of both bullying and turnover intention among participants confirms that when nurses are exposed to workplace bullying, they are more likely to demonstrate an increased intention for turnover. Managers are urged to use proper enforcement of anti-bullying policies along with education and training to create a healthy environment and mitigate workplace bullying.

Impact of work environment perceptions and communication satisfaction on the intention to quit: an empirical analysis of nurses in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE: In consideration of the current nursing shortage in Saudi Arabia, we aimed to investigate the association among perceptions of work environment, communication satisfaction, and intentions to quit nursing profession among nurses. In addition, we aimed to investigate the mediating effect of communication satisfaction on the association between nurses' perception of work environment and their intentions to quit nursing profession. METHODS: This predictive correlational study was conducted at one of the major hospitals in Saudi Arabia from January 2020 to March 2020. It included a convenience sample of 367 full-time registered nurses who completed three types of close-ended questionnaires. We used IBM SPSS version 24.0 to analyze the collected data. Regression analyses were used to test the study's hypotheses. All regression assumptions were assessed and confirmed. Significance for all tests was set at p ≤ .05. RESULTS: The findings indicated an affirmative association between work environment perception and communication satisfaction (b = .764, p < .05) among nurses. In addition, findings showed that work environment perception (b = -.187, p < .05) and communication satisfaction (b = -.226, p < .05) have negative impacts on the nurses' intentions to quit; indicating that as work environment perception or communication satisfaction increases, the intention to quit decreases among nurses. Further, a mediation effect of communication satisfaction on the relationship between work environment perception and intention to quit was confirmed. CONCLUSION: This study presents a novel conceptual framework developed based on the literature about the predisposing factors for nurses' intentions to quit nursing profession. Our results suggest that work environment perception and communication satisfaction among the most contributing factors for nurses resignation. Effective communication was established as a crucial factor for establishing attractive and healthy working environment. Nursing managers can benefit by applying these findings to develop appropriate strategies to inhibit the shortage of nurses in Saudi Arabia.

Determining the effects of traditional learning approach and interactive learning activities on personal and professional factors among Saudi intern nurses.

Aim: This study determines the impact of traditional and interactive learning activities on personal and professional development among Saudi intern nurses. Design: A comparative research design was adopted by recruiting 48 intern nurses, who were divided into two equal groups. Methods: Data were collected through the clinical assessment tool for nursing education. Results: Enthusiasm (p < .0001), initiative (p < .0001), realistic self-confidence (p < .0001), competent cooperation with staff (p < .0001) and competent cooperation with patients (p < .0001) were significantly higher among the interactive learning activity group compared with traditional group. The interactive learning activity showed better attitude of Saudi intern nurses in terms of caring, respect and sensitivity towards the needs and well-being of their patients, while considering personal factors.

Predictors of narghile (water-pipe) smoking in a sample of American Arab Yemeni adolescents.

To explore the predictors of water-pipe smoking among American Arab Yemeni adolescents, a descriptive correlational design was used, and regression models representing the proposed relationships in the study were tested from a convenience sample of 297 adolescents who attended a teen health clinic and two high schools. The participants completed five measures. Fourteen hypotheses were tested. Experimentation with tobacco was found to be significant in predicting narghile smoking. Tobacco use prevention and cessation interventions for this population can be focused on targeting the family and peer units, from which their identity is likely derived.