PERCEPTION OF UNDERGRADUATE NURSING STUDENTS REGARDING RESEARCH

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Nursing-research is a crucial part of undergraduate nursing curricula that improves best possible care for patients through evidence-based-practice (EBP). It helps nursing students think critically and utilize the result of research finding in clinical settings to achieve positive patient outcomes. Nursing research on undergraduate level has been considered the neglected part in Pakistan. Therefore, this study was conducted to find out the perception of nursing- students regarding research.

Material & Methods: A quantitative based, cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among undergraduate nursing students (n= 131) at two colleges. The convenient sampling technique was adopted with a margin of 5% error and a 95% of confidence-interval. Data was collected by distributing a questionnaire in the participants with their own consent.

Results: It was revealed from the findings of the study that majority of the nursing students responded that research is useful to their profession and they had an overall positive perception towards research. While the response of the participants towards research anxiety domain was that most of them (n=88, 67.2) expressed that research is a complex subject, stressful and difficulty to understand arithmetic research.

Conclusion: The majority of the participants agreed that-research at this level is valuable and it may have a good impact on evidence-based-practice. It is recommended to the nursing administrator and educators to implement research-related workshops from the first year of undergraduate degree, as it is beneficial for future nursing students and it improves evidence-based practice.

Key Words: Nursing students, Nursing research, Perception.