BARRIERS TO RESEARCH PARTICIPATION AMONG NIGERIAN NURSES

            ABSTRACT

The present study assessed the barriers to research participation among nurses at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku Ozalla, Enugu. The objectives were to ascertain the personal, job-related and organizational barriers that hinder nurses from conducting research as well as  identify the organizational barriers that hinder nurses from conducting research. The study was anchored on  Everett Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation theory. The target population of the study was made up of nurses working in the various units of the hospital from which a sample size of 267 respondents was derived using the Taro Yamane formula for sample size determination. Cross-section descriptive survey research design was adopted and self-structured questionnaire consisting of close ended questions and  response items in modified four point Likert scale format used for data collection. Data was analysed descriptively indicating frequencies, percentages and mean scores and presented in tables. Results of the study revealed  that nurses not being well taught on how to carry out research during their general  nursing training (Mean=2.9), perceived lack of need for nurses to embark on research (Mean=2.6), not knowing how to embark on research (Mean=3.1),      research being very difficult to understand (Mean=2.9) and research being considered a borrowed course during general nursing training resulting in adequate attention not being given to it (Mean=3.2) were personal factors. It was also   revealed that attending to so many patients (Mean=3.0), high patient to nurses’ ratio (Mean=3.9), the complex nature of nursing duties (Mean=2.9) and non-implementation of research findings (Mean=3.0) were identified job-related factors. It was also found out that lack of encouragement from the hospital (Mean=3.0), high cost of research (Mean=2.7) not being allowed to implement     research findings (Mean=3.0), lack of encouragement from professional colleagues (Mean=2.9), fear of exposure of hospital management deficiencies (Mean=2.9), inaccessibility of research materials (Mean=3.0) and non-existence  of up-to-date libraries in clinical settings (Mean=2.9) were identified as major organizational barriers to nurses’ participation in research. Based on the above findings, the researcher recommended that practicing nurses should be encouraged to assist in the collection of research information as well as becoming co-investigators to a research project. This will not only increase their knowledge base of the research process, but will increase their professional growth and    development among others.