Developing information literacy: a key to evidence-based nursing

Int Nurs Rev. 2001 Jun;48(2):86-92. doi: 10.1046/j.1466-7657.2001.00045.x.

Abstract

This report describes the evaluation of a curriculum-integrated programme designed to help students develop an awareness of the nursing literature, the skills to locate and retrieve it, and skills required in its evaluation; in other words'information literacy'. Positive changes in student performance on objective measures of information-literacy skills were revealed as well as a significant increase in the levels of confidence of the student in performing those skills. Students who had undertaken the information-literacy programme ('programme' students) performed better on a range of objective measures of information literacy, as well as reporting higher levels of confidence in these skills, than students who had not participated in the programme ('non-programme' students). Evaluation of this programme provides evidence of the potential usefulness of a curriculum-integrated approach for the development of information-literacy skills within nursing education. With these underlying skills, students will be better equipped to consolidate and extend their key information-literacy skills to include research appreciation and application. These are vital for effective lifelong learning and a prerequisite to evidence-based practice.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Education, Nursing*
  • Educational Measurement
  • Evidence-Based Medicine*
  • Humans
  • New South Wales
  • Program Evaluation
  • Self-Assessment
  • Teaching / methods