Objective:

To analyze the perception of renal nurses in Spain regarding the organizational environment for evidence-based clinical practice (EBCP), and to determine what professional and context factors influence such perception.

Material and Method:

A cross-sectional observational multicenter study was carried out in 15 nephrology services from different Spanish hospitals and 2 dialysis centers. The Practice Environment Scale of Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) and Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire (EBPQ) tools were used. A descriptive, bivariate statistical analysis (ANOVA, Kruskall-Wallis) and logistic regression were performed with the EBPQ total score as the dependent variable.

Results:

A total of 397 surveys were received (participation rate: 84.28%), and after processing the surveys 382 were valid (81.1% of the population): 82.7% were women, with a mean age of 42 years, a mean of 18.2 years of professional experience as a nurse (12.2 years in nephrology), 94.8% were clinical nurses, and 81.9% worked in hemodialysis. The average PES-NWI score was 62.35±15.10 (95% CI:60.78-48.06). Nurses in centers with more than 500 nurses, those who worked in hemodialysis, and those with more than 11 years of professional experience had lower scores on some PES-NWI factors. Nurse managers had higher scores in all PES-NWI factors. The average EBPQ score was 81.05±21.92 (95% CI:78.70-83.4). Nurses with less professional experience the better PES-NWI scores; also, postgraduate nurses had higher scores on several EBPQ factors.

Conclusions:

Factors that most influence the perception of Spanish renal nurses are professional experience, role within the organization, a favorable context, and postgraduate education.