Teachers' perception towards research at Nursing Institute, Rabat, Morocco

 

Ayoub Filali, Fatima Ouasmani, Bouchra Haddou Rahou, Banacer Himmi

High Institute of Nursing Professions and Health Technics,

Casa Road, Km 4.5, Hassan II Avenue, Rabat, Morocco.

 

ABSTRACT:

In Morocco, nursing education is currently undergoing a major evolution, allowing training institutes to comply with the higher education system. As a result, there is an emerging need for additional training in the form of a Master's degree and a PhD. This provides an opportunity to aspire to an academic and especially a research qualification, and gives an interesting impulse to teaching and research in nursing. This study sought to investigate teachers' perception towards research at the Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Technics of Health in Rabat. A cross-sectional survey started in Avril 15^th 2021 and completed in May10^th 2021 was used with a convenience sample of teachers from the High Institute of Nursing Professions and Technics of Health in Rabat and It’s Kenitra annex. Data analysis was performed using the software Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20. Chi Square test and value at 95% confidence level were used to measure the association between study variables and the teachers research perception. Significance was when 𝑝≤0.05. A total of 77 teachers enrolled in this study. 55.8% were aged 30 to 40 years old, 68.8% were female, 57.1% had a master diploma and 60% had more than 5 years teaching experience. Analyses showed that the most correlated variable were age respectively with research motivation (p=0.03), having research skills (p=0.04) and the fact that the research is stressful (p=0.02). The correlations are significant between the level of education, research skills (p=0.04) and research is stressful (p<0.001). Significant association was demonstrated between training in research methodology and the development of research skills. Research experience was correlated with both research skills (p=0.02) and perception of research as stressful (p<0.001). Despite positive participant’s perception towards research, their lack of skills and educational training in research may influences their involvement in research activities. These shortcomings could be reduced by additional education, support, improved communication, and opportunities to undertake research activities.

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

One of the most crucial factors in the successful evolution of any profession is the development and expansion of research. Professions must be solidly rooted in a fertile body of evidence.

 

 

 

Nursing is a developing profession and in order for it to progress, the utilization of valid research findings is essential¹.

 

Since the 1970s, researchers have recognized that nurses have a generally positive perception toward nursing research^2-3. In 1975 Charter stated that nursing care should be based on scientific principles and the possession of a body of knowledge⁴. The Briggs report (1972) recommended that nursing should become a research-based profession⁵. Sheehan (1986) indicates that the application of research findings is a major challenge to the development of nursing⁶. In 1986, Bandura used a social cognitive theory that frames human functioning as an interaction of the domains of personal, behavioral, and environmental events⁸. Further studies sought to identify factors that encouraged or were barriers to research participation. Factors identified as positively impacting research performance or use within the personal domain were having a higher level of education and having taken a research course. Within the behavioral domain factors identified were having research experience and reading nursing journals. In the environmental sphere, these factors involve having the authority to implement change, administrative support and affiliation with a teaching hospital. Regarding barriers to research participation were found mostly within the environmental domain and included being in a non-supportive environment and time according for nursing research activities being the greatest challenge. Within the personal domain, barriers consisted on lack of knowledge and confidence in research skills⁸. Clifford and Murray (2001) set up a program to improve knowledge and increase the use of research in practice, wich consisting of in two intervention groups. One group received only educational supervision, while the other group received the same educational opportunities, a one-on-one consultation from a researcher and funding, allowing them to gain time to develop their clinical research projects. Thus, members of the second group had the opportunity to develop a real sense of ownership of a research project that had personal meaning and significant financial support.

 

Despite these evidence-based interventions, there was no significant difference in attitudes and research development between the groups³.  In addition, a number of studies have recommended that the level of education has a direct impact on nurses' and allied health professionals' knowledge of and attitudes toward research.^9-10. In a study conducted in Spain in 2014 among nurse teachers which aimed to analyze the nurse’s feelings regarding research. All the respondents emphasized the need to consider research as a fundamental activity in their work as nursing academics, but also stated that research is still in its infancy. and has hardly been defined. This requires that research remains related to other professionals and epistemological spheres that do not enable nursing to move towards professional autonomy. The feelings associated with research were mainly negative, and take the form of insecurity and uncertainty or fear. This insecurity is reflected in various parameters, such as the lack of methodological tools or the lack of understanding scientific terms. In this study, difficulties involving research were linked to the general aspects of the research process, such as the organization of time, the availability of informants who comply with the profile or of sufficient economic resources to reach the end of the process¹¹. A review of the literature revealed a lack of knowledge and skills among nursing and allied health professionals to conduct and use research. However, it is likely that attitudes and perceptions about nursing research influence the use or conduct of research^12-13. The current and future challenges in the professionalization of nursing in Morocco pose the need for an educational process based on suitability, excellence and quality. This process demands the development of research to enhance knowledge in the discipline. In this context, nurse education is presently undergoing rapid and wide-ranging change. On September 30th 2013, a decree¹⁴ was published in Morocco that ordered nursing schools to comply with the Moroccan Higher Education Area. This decree enables nurses to obtain a bachelor degree, this puts aspirations towards academic and especially research qualification, and provides an interesting impulse for nursing teaching and research. As a result, a need for complementary education emerges in the form of Master’s and PhD. Nevertheless, there is a lack of studies that have focused on the analysis of research’s perception in nursing school at this time of change, and on how it is modified or built to meet the new challenges of the profession It is in the light of these changes, that this research was undertaken. The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' perception towards research at the Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Technics of Health in Rabat.

 

METHODS:

Design:

A cross-sectional survey was used with a convenience sample of teachers from the Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Technics of Health in Rabat and It’s Kenitra annex. Rabat is the capital of Morocco and Kenitra is a satellite city located 35km at the north. It is the largest and oldest institute in Morocco, It’s includes 140 full time teachers and 1400 students spread over 5 departments and 18 specialties’.

 

Participants:

All 140 teachers were invited to take part in the study. The focus of the study was on a full-time teachers involved in classroom teaching at the Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Technics of Health in Rabat and It’s Kenitra annex.

 

Sampling method:

The sampling protocol was carried out in a non-probability-based process, using a purposive sampling technique to select participants. This type of sampling assisted the researcher to select those homogeneous participants who knew most about the phenomenon under study¹⁵. All teachers who met the inclusion criteria were requested to volunteer for participation in the study.

 

Data collection:

A questionnaire was used to collect the data. This was developed following a review of published literature on teacher perception or attitude towards research, factors that promote the use of research and barriers to research.

 

The questionnaire was divided into several sections: section 1 asked for information on the academic and professional profiles of respondents (six items); section 2 consisted of related to participants’ research training (three items); section 3 included 6 items on research experience. Section 4 contained statements on perception towards research (twelve items). Questionnaire was tested to a five-teachers similar to the intended sample. Minor wording adjustments were made accordingly, to ensure the internal consistency of the survey. The survey was started in Avril 15^th and completed in May10^th 2021.  Data analysis was carried out using the software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.

 

Data analysis:

Chi Square test and value at 95% confidence level were used to measure the association between study variables and the teacher’s research perception. Significance was when 𝑝≤0.05.

 

Ethical considerations:

Institutional Review Board approval was obtained prior to conducting the study in the Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Technics of Health in Rabat and its annex in Kenitra. A cover letter explaining the purpose of the study, with instructions on how to fill in the questionnaire, accompanied the questionnaires. The letter also stated that participation was voluntary and that participants had the right to withdraw from the study anytime they wished. The cover letter also indicated that individual responses would be kept confidential and the results will be reported as an aggregate.

 

RESULTS:

Out of a total of 77 teachers included in the study, 68.8% were female, 55.8% were aged 30 to 40 years old, 57.1% had a master diploma and 60% had more than 5 years teaching experience. The majority of participants (85.7%) received an academic training in research methodology. However, more than half (53.2%) didn't receive any continuing training and didn’t have a research experience (74%). Other Characteristics of the study population are presented in (Table 1).

 

Table 1: Characteristics of the study population (𝑛 = 77).

 

Results in table 2 showed that 89.6 % of participants were motivated for conducting research activities but 45.5% of them affirmed haven't skills in this field.  Regarding the importance of research 72.2% declare that it's useful for the career. In addition, more than half of teachers in this study perceived research as stressful (50%) and environment as not favourable to carry out research projects (63.6%). 

 

Table 2: Participants' research perception (𝑛 = 77).

 

The results in table 3 display a strong correlation between several participants ‘characteristics and research perception. The most correlated variable were age respectively with research motivation (p=0.03), having research skills (p=0.04) and the fact that the research is stressful (p=0.02). The correlations were significant between the level of education and two components of the perception of research, namely research skills (p=0.04) and research is stressful (p<0.001). Results showed also a significant association between training in research methodology and the development of research skills. As for research experience, it was correlated with both research skills (p=0.02) and perception that research is stressful (p<0.001).

 

Table 3: Associations between research perception and reporting characteristics of population.

∗Significant at 𝑝 value < 0.05

 

DISCUSSION:

Studies have shown that although nurses have positive attitudes toward research, they report relatively little use of research findings^16-18. Perception of research can lead to difficulties in its implementation in the clinical setting, particularly, among teacher educators in nursing institutes.

 

The results of this study provide insight into some of the factors that influence nursing research activities in a nursing and health technician training institute.

 

In this study, young, or junior, teachers were more motivated to participate in research activities. This relationship between age and motivation has been reported in other studies¹⁹. Bohman et al. (2013) found that younger nurses perceived research as fundamental to their practice²⁰. Other parameters such as level of education or experience did not appear to significantly affect this motivation in our study.

 

The majority of participants, all specialties and profiles combined, found that the environment in their institution is not favorable to research. Lack of funding and staff dedicated to research are organizational concerns and barriers also reported in other work^21-23.

 

The usefulness of research in professional career development is generally unquestionable in a training and research institution. This is confirmed in this study for all participants and the same finding was observed in a studies conducted in Nigeria and India^24,18. The age group over 50 years old seems to be less convinced by this link with only 78.6% of affirmations. This may be explained by the fact that this age group is at the end of their career and therefore believes that research would have little short-term influence on their professional future. This result is in agreement with other studies where research and research knowledge were essential to individual progress and professional role and career²⁰.

 

The research competence parameter was closely related in this study to age (p=0.04), educational attainment (p=0.049), basic (p=0.048) and continuing education (p=0.001) in research methodology, and research experience (p=0.002).

 

These same links are reported in an Australian study where participants identified lack of prior research training as a barrier for nurses to undertake nursing research²⁵.

In a study carried out in Morocco on the perception of health personnel, their motivation and the constraints influencing their involvement in scientific research. The results underline the absence of a scientific research culture among the participants, which is mainly related to the lack of knowledge about the scientific process and low motivation²⁶.

 

Regarding the stress generated by research, this parameter seems to be closely related to the experience in research. Indeed, research appears to be stressful for those more experienced in the field or those undertaking research. Young teachers, many of whom in recent years, and because of the LMD system, are undertaking master's studies right after their recruitment, seem to find research stressful, as do their older colleagues who have extensive research experience and who also manage research teams and projects. The relationship between research stress and educational level was very strong (P <0.001 = 0.000*). The vast majority of PhDs find research stressful. This relationship between young researchers and research stress was also reported by Papanastasiou, (2005)²⁷.

 

LIMITATIONS:

The participants were restricted to one nursing institute and small sample size made difficult to generalize the findings. However, results from this study have congruence with the existing literature. To aid transferability, efforts have been made to provide information around the participants and study site so that readers are able to judge its relevance to their own setting.

 

CONCLUSION:

In summary, the present study emphasizes that despite positive participant’s perception’s towards research, their lack of skills and educational training in research may influences their involvement in research activities.  These shortcomings could be reduced by additional education, support, improved communication, and opportunities to undertake research activities.

 

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

We are grateful to the study participants who so willing shared their experiences and perceptions with us.

 

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Received on 09.01.2022         Modified on 27.01.2022

Accepted on 21.02.2022        ©A&V Publications All right reserved