Abstract

Background: Evidence-based practice plays a pivotal role in modern nursing decision-making. Healthcare organizations must ensure that nurses consistently have access to and apply the most current evidence. The journal club is a key method for evidence-based education among healthcare professionals. The study aimed to evaluate the perceived educational value of journal clubs among clinical nurses.

Methods: The study used a cross-sectional descriptive survey approach. The setting included a large tertiary hospital in the western region of Saudi Arabia. A total of 208 nurses (mean age 38.9 ± 9.1 years; 88.9% female) were randomly sampled. Participants had attended an EBP workshop and at least two journal club sessions. Perceptions were assessed using the Nursing Journal Club Perception Scale (NJPS), a 15-item Likert scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman’s Rho tests; p < 0.05 was significant.

Findings: Overall, 208 nurses completed the survey. Almost 90% of participants agreed or strongly agreed with the educational value of journal clubs, with a median score of 61.0 (IQR 60.0–68.0). Nurses with 1–5 years of experience reported significantly lower perceived journal club value with a median of 60.0 (IQR 56.0–61.0, p = 0.0402). In comparison, nurses with 6–10 years of experience reported significantly higher perceived journal club value with a median of 62.0 (IQR 60.0–72.0, p = 0.0402) and in the clinical practice support with a median of 34.0 (IQR 32–39, p = 0.0032). No differences were noted on the research support domain (p = 0.0864).

Conclusion: This study findings align with the broader literature, indicating that journal clubs promote critical appraisal skills, support integration of evidence into practice, and encourage professional development. However, the impact of journal clubs is influenced by various contextual factors. This highlights the need and importance of targeting evidence-based practice education, mentorship, and sustained institutional support to optimize the value of journal clubs for the diverse nursing workforce.

Notes

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The license is attached to this item record.

Original article citation: de Beer, J., Alsanea, E., Barrios, J. et al. Clinical nurses’ perceived educational value of nursing journal clubs. BMC Nurs 24, 1266 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03907-y

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Sigma Membership

Alpha Gamma Epsilon

Type

Article

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Cross-Sectional

Research Approach

Other

Keywords:

Evidence-Based Practice, Journal Clubs, Research Utilization, Professional Development, Saudi Arabia

Publisher

Springer Nature

Version

Publisher's Version

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Review Type

External Review: Previously Published Material

Acquisition

Indexed Previously Published Material (Per Creative Commons License)

Date of Issue

2025-12-18

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