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Table 1 Rank order of barriers (n = 53 studies). The items ranked among the top ten in most studies are italicized.

From: The BARRIERS scale -- the barriers to research utilization scale: A systematic review

Subscale and Item

Range

in percentage of nurses rating the item as a moderate to great barrier

Number of studies with > 50% of nurses rating the item as a moderate to great barrier

Number of studies rating the item among the top ten of barriers

Nurse Subscale: The nurse's research values, skills and awareness

   

The nurse is unaware of the research

10-77

24

27

The nurse does not feel capable of evaluating the quality of the research

5-83

25

25

The nurse is isolated from knowledgeable colleagues with whom to discuss the research

16-89

20

16

The nurse is unwilling to change/try new ideas

3-59

6

2

The nurse sees little benefit for self

3-61

5

2

There is not a documented need to change practice

8-55

1

2

The nurse feels the benefits of changing practice will be minimal

5-57

6

1

The nurse does not see the value of research for practice

3-58

3

0

Setting Subscale: Setting barriers and limitations

   

There is insufficient time on the job to implement new ideas

16-89

38

49

The nurse does not have time to read research

8-88

38

48

The nurse does not feel she/he has enough authority to change patient care procedures

22-85

33

43

The facilities are inadequate for implementation

16-88

32

36

Other staff are not supportive of implementation

13-79

29

31

Physicians will not cooperate with implementation

11-83

26

31

The nurse feels results are not generalizable to own setting

6-79

23

24

Administration will not allow implementation

9-71

8

7

Research Subscale: Qualities of the research

   

The research has not been replicated

4-67

12

6

The literature reports conflicting results

1-72

7

5

The research has methodological inadequacies

5-67

4

5

Research reports/articles are not published fast enough

9-69

5

4

The nurse is uncertain whether to believe the results of the research

3-55

4

0

The conclusions drawn from the research are not justified

0-57

1

0

Presentation Subscale: Presentation and accessibility of the research

   

The statistical analyses are not understandable

4-90

36

40

The relevant literature is not compiled in one place

8-86

33

37

Research reports/articles are not readily available

23-94

19

18

Implications for practice are not made clear

10-82

19

17

The research is not reported clearly and readably

3-83

18

15

The research is not relevant to the nurse's practice

5-60

3

0

Items not included in any of the subscales

   

The amount of research information is overwhelming* (27 articles)

10-71

11

13

Research reports/articles are written in English** (15 articles)

18-89

6

11

  1. *Did not load on any of the four factors (subscales) in Funk et al.'s factor analysis
  2. **Additional item in 15 studies from non-English-speaking countries