Evidence-based practice (EBP) competence refers to the comprehensive ability of nursing professionals to acquire, appraise, and apply evidence-based knowledge to clinical decision-making and problem-solving in specific healthcare contexts (Huo et al., 2024). EBP in nursing helps bridge the gap between research evidence and clinical practice, playing a crucial role in improving healthcare quality, standardizing nursing procedures, enhancing patient outcomes, and reducing healthcare costs. Promoting EBP is considered a central focus for the future development of the nursing profession (Sampson et al., 2024; Vaajoki et al., 2023). As the largest group of healthcare service providers, nurses are expected to deliver high-quality primary care based on scientific evidence. This requires them to possess the competencies and skills necessary to make informed clinical decisions by critically appraising nursing interventions (Azami et al., 2020). Unfortunately, studies have shown that the EBP competence of clinical nurses in China remains at a relatively low level, which may hinder the advancement of the nursing discipline (Li et al., 2024). A lack of confidence in critical appraisal skills and insufficient knowledge are significant barriers nurses face in implementing EBP effectively. One foundational requirement for critical thinking and the successful implementation of evidence-based approaches in clinical settings is information literacy (Halili et al., 2025; Mudallal et al., 2025).

Information literacy is defined as the ability to recognize information needs, retrieve and evaluate information, and effectively apply relevant information. It enables nurses to access reliable evidence sources (Mudallal et al., 2025; Shu, 2009). Existing research has confirmed that information literacy significantly enhances nurses' evidence-based practice competence (Azami et al., 2020; Mudallal et al., 2025). Educational interventions, such as blended learning courses, have been shown to significantly improve nurses' information retrieval skills and EBP readiness (Farokhzadian et al., 2021). Furthermore, information literacy supports the efficient extraction, evaluation, and utilization of information, thereby fostering innovative thinking and behavior.

Innovation behavior in nursing refers to proactive efforts by nurses to explore new technologies, methods, and work processes aimed at disease prevention, health promotion, and improving nursing quality. With organizational support, these efforts are translated into clinical practice (Bao et al., 2012). Research has demonstrated that nurses' innovation behavior is positively associated with both information literacy and EBP competence (Jiang et al., 2023). Moreover, information literacy has been shown to enhance nurses' innovation-related attitudes and skills (Mahdy Shalby & AlThubaity, 2022), exerting a positive influence on innovative behavior (Lin et al., 2023). However, the pathways and mediating mechanisms through which information literacy and innovation behavior influence EBP competence remain unclear.

The Knowledge-to-Action (KTA) Framework was proposed by Graham et al. (2006). This theory serves as a widely adopted theoretical framework in current knowledge translation research, guiding clinical researchers in delivering sustainable, evidence-based interventions (Boscart et al., 2022; Kossinna et al., 2025). We believe this framework highly valuable for understanding the mechanisms influencing nurses' EBP competence.

The KTA framework depicts a dynamic and iterative cycle from knowledge to practice, comprising two major components: knowledge creation and knowledge action (Graham et al., 2006). Knowledge creation phases may impact on the action phases. The knowledge creation phase includes three steps—knowledge inquiry, knowledge synthesis, and knowledge product development (Graham et al., 2006). This process emphasizes filtering retrieved information, extracting essential elements, and synthesizing them into useful knowledge. The action cycle represents the process of implementing knowledge into practice and includes seven steps: identifying the problem and selecting relevant knowledge, adapting knowledge to the local context, assessing barriers to knowledge use, monitoring knowledge application, evaluating outcomes, and sustaining ongoing knowledge use (Graham et al., 2006).

From the perspective of the KTA framework, the relationships among the three variables examined in this study can be understood as follows: Information literacy reflects an individual's capacity to engage in the initial stages of knowledge creation, particularly in retrieving and appraising knowledge. Innovation behavior represents the production of knowledge, such as developing new techniques or methods. After generating useful knowledge, individuals enter the knowledge action stage, demonstrating EBP competence. This manifests when nurses identify problems in clinical settings and apply the generated knowledge to specific contexts. Based on the KTA framework and prior empirical evidence on the correlations among these constructs (Graham et al., 2006), we propose the following hypothesis (Fig. 1): information literacy and innovation behavior exert direct positive effects on EBP competence, and innovation behavior partially mediates the relationship between information literacy and EBP competence.

This study aimed to explore the relationships among clinical nurses' innovation behavior, information literacy, and EBP competence, in order to provide empirical evidence for strategies aimed at enhancing EBP capabilities among clinical nursing staff.