Perceptions of Nurses and Nursing Students Regarding Evidence‐Based Nursing: A Qualitative Systematic Review

ABSTRACT

Aim

To consolidate and synthesise the literature reporting perceptions of nurses and nursing students regarding evidence-based nursing.

Design

Qualitative systematic review.

Data Sources

Seven electronic databases (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science) were searched from their respective inception dates to January 2025.

Methods

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines guided this review. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool, and data were synthesised thematically using Sandelowski and Barroso's two-step approach.

Results

Thematic analysis of the 19 included studies, published from 2007 to 2025, identified three key themes: (1) Advancing nursing through evidence, (2) Personal, structural and systemic challenges and (3) Promoting a new evidence-based nursing culture.

Conclusion

Evidence-based nursing can elevate nursing care standards and enhance patient outcomes. Numerous factors that encourage and hinder the implementation of evidence-based nursing among nurses and nursing students were reported.

Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care

This review suggests the need to incentivise nurses to champion evidence-based nursing initiatives, provide nurses and nursing students with continuing education, and develop updated evidence-based nursing guidelines. These strategies could help in cultivating a supportive evidence-based nursing workplace culture and improving the implementation of evidence-based nursing.

Impact

Valuable insights into the facilitators and barriers associated with the implementation of evidence-based nursing were reported by nurses and nursing students—the key personnel responsible for practising evidence-based nursing. Future research could be undertaken to explore the perceptions of nurses and nursing students across varied cultural settings and in underrepresented regions.

Reporting Method

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines.

No Patient or Public Involvement

This study did not include patient or public involvement in its design, conduct, or reporting.