Preparing for evidence-based practice: revisiting information literacy.

The study by Tanner and colteagues examined nurses' readiness for evidence-based practice, . specifically, their information literacy knowledge and competency and their access to research information (1), Approximately 3,000 surveys were mailed to nurses with a 37 percent response rate. The results of the study were an eye-opener. The following synopsis of the results is reported according to the five components of information literacy established by the Association of Colleges and Research Libraries (ACRL) (2): • Acknowledge awareness of a need for information About 64 percent of respondents stated that they needed information to support their nursing role regularly or often, • Identify and retrieve information A large percentage (42,9 percent) reported that their information resources were totally inadequate; their most frequent source of information was consultation with a peer or colleague. Seventyfive percent stated that they did not search CINAHL, but 59 percent reported success in searching the Internet, As summarized by the authors, "Although there is an awareness, a large proportion is not seeking and using research or evidence to drive decisions" (1, p, 939), • Evaluate Information for relevance Sixty-six percent of respondents stated that they never evaluate research reports. Ten percent reported reading research at least three or more times a year, • Integrate information into practice Over half of the sample never used research in their practice, • Evaluate the effect of the information on the problem or issue Almost half of the sample was not familiar with EBP, The authors conclude that the "value of research among individual nurses and organizations must first be established in order to promote EBP," They go on to say, "Data-driven informatics models developed to provide information and knowledge will be ineffective if nurses do not identify a need for information, have the resources to access the information, demonstrate knowledge and skills to retrieve and evaluate information and have the wisdom to integrate research findings to support their practice" (1, p, 939),