Nursing and midwifery students’ attitudes towards research: A descriptive study Amoo Tumilara Busayo1,**, Gbadamosi Oluwatosin2,* 1Ph.D. Student, University of Connecticut School of Nursing, Storrs, Connecticut, USA 2Registered Nurse, Downtown Specialist Hospital, Sango Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria *Corresponding Author Email: oluwatosinabiola7@gmail.com
**amootumilara@yahoo.com
Online published on 4 September, 2021. Abstract Background Some studies found that nurses are not actively involved in research. To address this issue, it is important to investigate the structure of training that nurses got while at school of nursing. To promote evidence-based practice, nursing and midwifery students must be actively involved in research. Several studies have reported on the attitude of nursing students towards research in different countries. However, no study has assessed attitude of both nursing and midwifery students towards research in Nigeria, using a valid and reliable measure- attitude towards research scale. Purpose The aim of this study was to assess diploma nursing and midwifery students’ attitude towards research, and their participation in research-related activities. Methods Descriptive cross-sectional design was used to conduct the study, where 91 nursing and midwifery students who were purposively selected, provided data for the study. Students in graduating classes were included in the study. Papanastasiou’s (2005) Attitude Towards Research scale questionnaire was adopted and used to collect data from participants. Ethical approvals were received from research ethics committee at School of Nursing Ilaro and research ethics committees at other participating institutions. Results Majority of participants were females, and nursing students. Most participants agreed that research was useful in their career. However, they perceived research to be stressful, complicated, difficult and a complex subject. About 63% of participants had positive attitude towards research while 37% have negative attitude. Nonetheless, only 39% participated in research-related activities. Conclusions Students’ participation in research-related activities was low. Nursing and midwifery faculties should adopt measures including research workshops, seminars, and conferences to improve student participation in research. Top Keywords Attitude, Nursing, Midwifery, Research, Students. Top |