NExT: creating an interdisciplinary alliance to diminish informational barriers for public health nursing

Background: Public health nurses (PHNs) are challenged in obtaining opportunities to learn evidence-based practice (EBP). An interdisciplinary alliance was created between health sciences librarians and nurse educators to create a continuing education (CE) opportunity. Objective: To measure the effectiveness of CE training for PHNs on the knowledge gained about the EBP process and information resources. Methods: Ten in-person CE workshops were offered to 69 attendees in rural and urban areas. A pre-test/ post-test survey was administered immediately before and after the training that asked participants to rate their perceived knowledge and comfort levels with EBP concepts and resources. Results: Ninety-seven per cent of participants reported the training was a good use of their time. Based on a 5-point Likert scale self-assessment, participants developed new skills (m = 4.06, SD = 0.968) and were able to find evidence-based literature (m = 4.16, SD = 0.980). Participants reported increasing their understanding of EBP concepts and familiarity of information resources. All data were statistically significant at P < 0.001 (95% CI). Discussion: With the interdisciplinary collaboration capitalising on the instructors' disciplinary skill sets, the team was able to create a new effective EBP education intervention for PHNs. Conclusion: Public health nurses were able to increase knowledge of EBP concepts and information resources to utilise in practice or grant development.