How nurses perceive the gap between knowledge and practice

Background

Identifying nurses’ perceptions of the knowledge–practice gap is a critical step toward developing evidence-based practice. Currently, multiple factors contribute to the gap between nursing education and actual practice. Addressing this gap requires a new perspective, not yet adequately represented in the literature, that includes nurses’ perceptions.

Aim

This study aims to describe nurses’ perceptions of the knowledge–practice gap in the domains of knowledge, practice, environment, and learning. And it analyzes how nurses’ professional characteristics are associated with their perceptions of the gap in each of these domains as well as the relationships between the domains themselves.

Methods

The study used a cross-sectional descriptive correlational design. A sample of 513 staff nurses recruited through a convenience sampling technique provided information on professional variables such as education and experience and completed a Likert-scale survey about their perceptions of the knowledge–practice gap.

Results

Their answers were found to vary with educational level and history of workshop attendance. Items from the knowledge domain were positively and significantly correlated with items from the environment and learning domains, which were also positively and significantly correlated with each other. However, the knowledge and practice domains were not significantly correlated. In addition to showing correlations among the major domains (or aspects) of the knowledge–practice gap, the study highlights how nurses’ professional characteristics contribute to differences in their perceptions of this gap.

Conclusion

These findings can guide hospital-specific measures for bridging the gap. In addition, the scale can be employed by leaders as a tool for the purpose of conducting assessments.