Lisa M Garland Baird, Tess Miller Lisa M Garland Baird, Clinical Nursing Instructor, School of Nursing,Tess Miller, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Prince Edward Island, Prince Edward Island, Canada Email: lmgarland@upei.ca Factors influencing evidence-based practice for community nurses ABSTRACT Factors influencing the development of evidence-based nursing practice (EBNP) were examined in Prince Edward Island, Canada. An adapted electronic questionnaire was distributed to practicing registered nurses and nurse practitioners (n=68). An analysis of variance revealed a significant difference between nurses’ clinical practice setting and the EBNP scale. Significant differences were also found between age and education level when compared with the EBNP subscales where novice nurses were less likely to rely on experience and intuition, and expert nurses with a higher level of education reported being more skilful at synthesising and applying information from research findings into their nursing practice. KEY WORDS  Evidence-based nursing  Community health nursing  Clinical practice setting  Age  Education a literal application of knowledge and procedures that call for direct supervision, to being able to independently and competently perform skills at a professional level with efficiency (Miller and Dawson, 2014). In addition, novice nurses are commencing their careers in health-care envi- ronments where policies and procedures require rapid internalisation. Incorporating EBNP for this age group has been a challenging experience, since novice nurses experienced more barriers to implementing change and were less confident in the application of EBNP (Gerrish et al, 2007). With respect to levels of education, it was recognised that continued education for nurses positively affects practice. However, the dearth of available empirical evi- dence supporting this claim challenges the assumption that increased levels of nursing education directly affect patient care and health outcomes (Cotterill-Walker, 2012). Organisational culture has also been found to play a significant role in whether nurses apply research to their practice. Furthermore, perceptions of organisational support were shown to be the most important facilitator T he Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) broadly define evidence-based nursing practice (EBNP) as a continuous interactive process involving explicit, conscientious, and judicious consideration of the best avail- able evidence to provide care (CNA, 2010). EBNP assists nurses in making informed and evidence-based clinical decisions; increases engagement in professional develop- ment and feelings of autonomy; promotes consistency and efficiency of safe, quality care; and contributes to improved client health outcomes and a reduction in health-care system costs. EBNP is conceptualised into five domains (Gerrish et al, 2007):  Sources of knowledge used in professional practice  Barriers to finding and reviewing nursing research and practice evidence  Barriers to changing nursing practice  Facilitators to changing nursing practice  Skills in finding, reviewing, and using evidence sources. This conceptualisation of nursing practice applies to individual registered nurses (RNs) and nurse practition- ers (NPs), and extends to nursing practice in health-care organisations and clinical settings that include public health, home care, and primary care. Further, EBNP is a pivotal concept in addressing the needs of the larger Canadian health-care system in general. The five domains (i.e. dependent variables) that affect nurses’ (RNs and NPs) engagement with EBNP have been influenced by their age, level of education, position of responsibility within an organisation, and perceptions of organisational support (Milner et al, 2006; Eizenberg, 2011). In focusing on the age domain, nursing practice has become more challenging for ageing nurses owing to the frequent updates in technologies and the need to incorporate research evidence into practice (CNA, 2010). At the other end of the age spectrum, novice nurses are faced with cognitive and skill demands as they transform from a nursing student to a practicing nurse. This trans- formation involves moving from skill sets dependent on British Journal of Community Nursing May 2015 Vol 20, No 5 233 RESEARCH © 2015 MA Healthcare Ltd