Research competencies of nurses, Nakornping Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Research competence is important for improving research. To develop professionalism, supports expertise, develops the skills and knowledge needed for effective nursing practice.

Objective: To explore the research competencies of nurses and explore methods for enhancing research competencies.

Research methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study conducted between January to May 2023. The sample consisted of 285 nurses from Nakornping Hospital. For the interview component, 20 participants were followed by simple random sampling without replacement. The inclusive criteria were professional nurses with 1 year or more experience who were currently on educational leave. The research instruments included a personal information questionnaire, a nursing research competency assessment tool, and an interview guideline for developing research competence. The questionnaire had a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.98. The analysis was performed using descriptive statistics.

Results: The average age of participating nurses was 35.65 ± 8.73 years, 94.39% bachelor's degree, 56.84% operational level, 95.08% never been a research project leader, 77.54% never participated in the project, 19.29% had ever written a research project, 19.65% had reviewed literature, 8.77% had written a research article, 35.44% had collected research data, 16.14% had applied research findings in practice, and 85.61% had never received research training. Overall, only 40 nurses (14%) were assessed as having research competency, while 245 nurses (86%) lacked such competency. When analyzed by specific domains, 32 nurses (11.23%) demonstrated technical competency, 119 nurses (41.75%) showed competency in attitudes and behaviors; 39 nurses (13.68%) exhibited evaluative skills and 27 nurses (20%) demonstrated foreign language proficiency. From the 20 interview participants, several suggestions were provided for improving research competency. These included setting clear research-related policies (50–60%), organizing activities to support and strengthen research skills (50–60%), establishing a mentorship system (75–85%), and promoting the development of foreign language skills (40–75%).

Conclusion: The results show that most nurses at Nakornping Hospital were found to have low research competence. The highest competence scores in each area were in attitude and behavior, and the lowest were in technical areas. Guidelines for developing research competence include setting research policies, organizing activities to promote research competence, providing a mentoring system, and promoting foreign language skills.