A Global Approach to Promoting Evidence‐Based Practice Knowledge: Validating the Translated Version of the Evidence‐Based Practice Knowledge Assessment in Nursing Into Spanish

BACKGROUND Government and professional organizations have issued a call for evidence-based practice (EBP), prompting the development of competencies and expectations for knowledge, skills, and attitudes. However, EBP is still inconsistently implemented. To advance the science of nursing globally, educators and leaders need to use consistent, rigorous evaluation methods to assess the EBP knowledge of students and clinicians. AIMS This study sought to translate the Evidence-based Practice Knowledge Assessment in Nursing (EKAN) instrument into Spanish, evaluate the psychometric performance of the newly translated instrument, and establish a baseline measure of EBP knowledge of baccalaureate nursing (BSN) students for future program improvement. METHODS This study utilized a cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational design. A total of 139 BSN students were recruited from a single study site in the Dominican Republic. Subjects completed the 20-item EKAN-Spanish, which was translated and back-translated to promote semantic accuracy. RESULTS AND FINDINGS Infit and outfit statistics for the sample centered around 1.0 (weighted mean square = 0.978; unweighted mean square = 0.988), indicating strong evidence of validity. The individual items on the EKAN-Spanish showed item reliability of 0.94. The mean EBP knowledge score was 6.52 (SD = 2.03) with scores ranging from 2 to 12 points (20 points maximum). Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis supported translational accuracy. DISCUSSION This study provides validation support for an objective assessment of EBP knowledge in the Spanish language and will be useful for future studies of EBP in over 21 Spanish-speaking countries. LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION While EBP is a global nursing concept, there has been no instrument to objectively measure EBP knowledge across levels of education in academe and practice in Spanish-speaking countries until just recently. The availability of a validated instrument will promote global consistency in assessing EBP knowledge. Further, this will promote a collaborative approach in teaching EBP to nursing students and practicing nurses.