Evaluating the properties of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS) in health care.

Abstract

The Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS; Aarons, 2004) is a relatively new construct for the study of attitudes toward the adoption of innovation and evidence-based practices (EBPs) in mental health service settings. Despite widespread interest in measuring the attitudes of health care providers in conjunction with the adoption of EBPs, no prior research has used the EBPAS with medical doctors, a different population than that with which the scale was originally developed. In the present study, the factor structure, reliability, and validity of EBPAS scores were tested with a sample of 534 medical doctors working in 14 Greek hospitals. In addition, associations of health care provider characteristics (age, gender, medical specialty, information and communication technology use and knowledge) with EBPAS total scores are examined. Confirmatory factor analyses support the 4-factor structure of the EBPAS and provide convincing evidence for the validity of the scale. Implications and future directions are discussed.