Barriers to research utilization among nurses at the Public Hospitals in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Aim: The study examines the nurses working at the public hospitals in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) towards the perceived barriers to research utilization (RU).

Method: The sample of this descriptive study was 407 nurses working at TRNC hospitals. A questionniare including demographic and work charachteristic of nurses and “Research Utilizaiton Barriers Scale” have been used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.

Results: The item that the participants perceived as the most often barrier to RU is “there is no central unit including a body of knowledge about the field of nursing” (78.1 %); the second most often barrier is the fact that “studies are published in a foreign language” (74.5 %). Six, two and one of the top ten barrier items are in the subscale of setting, nurse and presentation, respectively.

Conclusion: The results of the study reveal that (1) institutional factors are primary barriers to nurses’ RU; (2) administrators should create a research culture by making necessary institutional arrangements, provide nurses with support and educational opportunities and develop strategies for RU.