The Effect of Nursing Students' Critical Thinking Disposition on Evidence-Based Practice Competence: The Mediating Effect of Nursing Information literacy Competency

Objectives This study aimed to examine the mediating effect of nursing information literacy competency in the relationship between critical thinking disposition and evidence-based practice competence among nursing students. Methods A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 209 nursing students enrolled in a four-year nursing program at universities located in G- Metropolitan City and J-do, using a convenience sampling method. The mediating effect was analyzed using SPSS PROCESS Macro model 4, and its statistical significance was verified through bootstrapping with a 95% confidence interval. Results Critical thinking disposition showed a statistically significant positive correlation with both nursing information utilization competency (r=0.877, p<.001) and EBP competency (r=0.751, p<.001). Additionally, nursing information utilization competency was significantly positively correlated with EBP competency (r=0.722, p<.001). Mediation analysis confirmed that nursing information literacy competency partially mediated the relationship between critical thinking disposition and EBP competency (B=0.775, p<.001, 95% CI=0.159-0.520). Conclusions Based on these findings, efforts to enhance nursing information literacy competency should be considered when developing educational programs to improve the EBP competency of nursing students.