Utilizing Competency-Based Education to Evaluate the Research Skills of Nursing Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Exploring and implementing competency-based education approaches to assess research skills are necessary to close the gap between research and practice, promote lifelong learning among future nurses, and improve research literacy. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of competency-based education in improving the assessment of research skills among nursing students. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes and Study (PICOS) eligibility criteria were used to select original studies published between 2017 and 2023. As a first step in the data-handling process, titles and abstracts of all articles retrieved by the search strategy were screened for relevance, and the irrelevant articles were discarded. The screening process was conducted by two authors independently, and the final decisions were made together. A meta-analysis was performed to assess the effectiveness of competency-based education in improving the assessment of research skills among nursing students. Five quantitative studies were appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist. The effect size was 0.69 ± 0.35 (P = 0.05), which indicates a high effect on research competency among nursing students who attend courses or training in research matters, after transforming data to correlation coefficient resulting in r = 0.5. The study encourages research literacy among nursing students. Through competency-based learning, students are exposed to a variety of research methodologies, ethical issues, and scientific writing conventions. This exposure enhances their capacity to understand, assess, and apply research evidence, empowering them to become knowledgeable consumers and field contributors. While making evidence-based decisions, nurses with research competencies can actively incorporate the most recent research findings into their clinical practice. Furthermore, nurses with strong research abilities can influence health policy and practice.