Knowledge, perceptions, attitude and educational needs of physicians to evidence based medicine in South-Western Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE

To define the knowledge, perception, attitude, educational needs, and barriers in practicing Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) among physicians in Abha city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study using a self-administered validated questionnaire distributed to 290 physicians between 1st July to 30th July 2008. This study took place in the Family and Community Medicine Department, King Khalid University, College of Medicine, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

RESULTS

Completed questionnaires were received from 210 (72.4%) of 290 physicians. Most physicians had a positive attitude towards EBM (median score=8/10). Half of them support the shift from daily based practice to evidence based decision. They showed acceptable level of knowledge on the terminologies used in EBM and critical appraisal. The consultants and specialists had a better knowledge toward EBM compared with residents. The main barriers facing the respondents in practicing EBM as indicated by the physicians were lack of resources and time.

CONCLUSION

The physicians showed acceptable level of knowledge on EBM. There was a gap between their knowledge and practice. This gap could be attributed to what was addressed by the physicians, namely, inadequacy of time and unavailability of access to internet in their working place. The better knowledge of the trained than the untrained physicians could draw the attention towards the importance of training courses relevant to EBM.