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Midwives’ Attitude and Barriers of Evidence Based Practice in Maternity Care
Azmoude, Elham; Aradmehr, Maryam & Dehghani, Faezeh
Abstract
Objectives: Midwives have a crucial role in providing optimal care for pregnant women.
One of the most important policies for quality improvement in maternity care is implementation of
evidence-based practice. However, the application of evidence-based practice within the maternity
health care setting faces many challenges. The purpose of this study was to describe Iranian
midwives’ attitude and perceived barriers of evidence based practice in maternity care.
Methods: In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, a census sample of 76 midwives from
two public hospitals and urban health centers in Torbat Heydariyeh, a city east of Iran were
surveyed. Data collection tools were two reliable and valid questionnaires that measure midwives'
attitudes and barriers of implementation of evidence-based practice. Data were analysed using
SPSS version 16.
Results: The mean age and years of experience were 29.30 ± 4.86 and 5.22 ± 4.21 years,
respectively. The mean score of attitude was 40.85 ± 4.84 (range = 30–60). This study also found
time constraints (2.70 ± 0.92), inadequate facilities (2.64 ± 0.72), non-compilation of literature
in one place (2.59 ± 0.92), lack of cooperation of physicians (2.48 ± 1.06) and the feeling of
inadequate authority (2.45 ± 0.88) as the top five barriers to implementing EBP.
Conclusion: Survey participants demonstrated a positive attitude toward EBP.
Organisational comprehensive strategies such as time efficiency, adequate material and human
resources, familiarity with organisations such as the Cochrane Collaboration and managerial
support for increasing professional legitimate authority are recommended to promote the use of
Evidence-Based Practice in Iran.
Keywords
evidence-based practice; attitude; barriers; midwives; maternity care
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