Faculty of Physical Therapy, Mahidol University, 999 Phuttamonthon 4 Road, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand.
BMC Med Educ. 2018 Dec 22;18(1):317. doi: 10.1186/s12909-018-1428-3.
Evidence-based practice (EBP) enhances healthcare services and keeps providers current with best practices. EBP has been adopted and spread worldwide. However, people will not apply it if they do not know, understand, or believe it. Few studies have considered EBP application in Viet Nam. This study explores whether Vietnamese physical therapists' attitude, knowledge, skills toward EBP and barriers to its use make them ready to implement its practice.
A survey questionnaire was sent directly to physical therapists in governmental healthcare organizations in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, from July to October, 2017. It consisted of 41 closed- and open-ended questions related to knowledge, attitude, behaviors, frequency of use, and barriers of EBP and the demographic characteristics of participants. Descriptive statistics and significant correlations were determined from Chi-Square statistics or odds ratios between the variables.
The return rate was 93% (421 out of 453). Eliminated were 40 responses inconsistent with inclusion criteria. The 381 eligible participants were more female (62%) than male, about 53% had vocational degrees, less than 1% had M.S. degrees. Participants reported a positive attitude toward EBP. An incongruity existed between knowledge/ skills of EBP and the frequency of using its 5 steps. English competence was the most critical barrier to applying EBP. The significant associations between attitude and knowledge, and demographical attributes indicated that younger therapists with lower educational degrees had less knowledge of EBP and they rarely employed the application and analytical steps 4 and 5.
The incongruity between knowledge and use of EBP may result from the lack of EBP in academic education. The skills of reading professional articles in the English language and understanding and applying the steps of EBP should be emphasized in academic physical therapy programs. Additionally, policy makers should consider the number of patients a day per physical therapist which impacts EBP use and the quality of healthcare service.
循证实践（EBP）可以提高医疗服务质量，使提供者跟上最佳实践的步伐。EBP 已经在全球范围内得到采用和推广。然而，如果人们不知道、不理解或不相信 EBP，他们就不会应用它。很少有研究考虑过越南的 EBP 应用情况。本研究旨在探讨越南物理治疗师对 EBP 的态度、知识、技能以及使用障碍是否使他们准备好实施 EBP 实践。
2017 年 7 月至 10 月，向胡志明市政府医疗机构的物理治疗师直接发送了一份调查问卷，共包含 41 个封闭式和开放式问题，涉及知识、态度、行为、EBP 使用频率以及使用障碍以及参与者的人口统计学特征。通过卡方检验或优势比来确定描述性统计数据和变量之间的显著相关性。
回复率为 93%（421 份中的 421 份）。剔除了 40 份与纳入标准不一致的回复。381 名合格参与者中，女性（62%）多于男性，约 53%具有职业学位，不到 1%具有硕士学位。参与者对 EBP 持积极态度。EBP 的知识/技能与使用其 5 个步骤的频率之间存在不一致。英语能力是应用 EBP 的最关键障碍。态度与知识之间以及人口统计学特征之间的显著关联表明，年轻、教育程度较低的治疗师对 EBP 的了解较少，他们很少采用应用和分析步骤 4 和 5。
EBP 的知识与使用之间的不一致可能是由于学术教育中缺乏 EBP 造成的。在物理治疗学术课程中，应强调阅读专业文章的英语技能以及理解和应用 EBP 步骤的能力。此外，政策制定者应考虑每位物理治疗师每天治疗的患者数量，这会影响 EBP 的使用和医疗服务质量。
