Barriers to the Nursing Process in Iraqi Nursing Education and Practice: Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: The nursing process is an essential component of nursing practice and education, functioning as a systematic, evidence-based approach to patient care. OBJECTIVES: the main objective is to identify and compare the specific barriers faced by faculty, nursing students and nursing managers in implementing the nursing process. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study employed a descriptive and cross-sectional design to investigate the perceived barriers to the implementation of the nursing process amongst nursing faculty members, undergraduate nursing students and nurses. The study was conducted across a range of governmental and educational institutions located in nine Iraqi provinces. A structured questionnaire was used as the primary data collection tool. It consisted of two parts: (1) demographic information and (2) 15 items assessing perceived barriers to implementing the nursing process using a five-point Likert scale. The data were analysed using the SPSS version 29. RESULTS: the results show that the overall effect level of barriers as perceived by different roles as follows, majority (70%) rated the barriers as having a moderate effect, about 27%-29% considered the effect high, while only a few saw it as low. CONCLUSIONS: This study concluded that reveal that the most significant obstacles to implementing the nursing process stem from institutional and administrative short comings, such as inadequate managerial support, lack of standardised documentation systems and unclear policies. Healthcare institutions should establish clear policies, provide adequate staffing and implement standardised tools to facilitate the use of the nursing process.