Creation and validation of the evidence-based practice confidence scale for health care professionals.

RATIONALE: Self-efficacy beliefs may provide a means to influence health care professionals' (HCPs) engagement in evidence-based practice (EBP) but no standardized measure of this construct exists.
OBJECTIVES: To create and evaluate the validity and comprehensibility of a scale measuring belief in ability to implement EBP, known as EBP self-efficacy, among HCPs.
METHODS: Items describing the steps of EBP outlined in the literature were generated. Fourteen content experts reviewed the scale for face and content validity. A purposive sample of 10 HCPs from medicine, nursing, physical and occupational therapy and speech language pathology provided feedback on the clarity and meaning of scale wording in telephone interviews.
RESULTS: Progressive refinement yielded an 11-item self-report scale. Each item describes an activity that is part of the process of implementing EBP, such as formulating a question to guide a literature search and asking your patient or client about his/her needs, values and treatment preferences. To complete the scale, HCPs rate their level of confidence on an 11-point scale ranging from 0% (no confidence) to 100% (completely confident) in their ability to perform each activity. Item-level responses are averaged to obtain a summary score that can range from 0% to 100%.
CONCLUSION: The newly created scale, named the EPIC (evidence-based practice confidence) scale, provides an opportunity to evaluate HCPs' beliefs in their ability to implement EBP and the effects of interventions on these beliefs. Psychometric evaluation of the test-retest reliability and construct validity of the scale is necessary prior to its widespread use.