Physician attitudes towards evidence-based medicine in eastern Saudi Arabia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Because of the growing awareness of the limitations of traditional information on clinical decisions, there is a shift in medical practice towards evidence-based medicine (EBM). METHODS: We assessed physician attitudes towards evidence-based medicine (EBM) in a cross-sectional study of a random sample of physicians in primary health care centers (PHCCs) and general hospitals in the Dammam area of eastern Saudi Arabia. A random sample of 409 physicians was drawn from the population of doctors. The tool of data collection was a self-administered questionnaire. Only physicians who said they had heard about EBM were included in the study. RESULTS: Only 108 (39.6%) physicians out of those who responded had heard about EBM. Of those, 71 (65.7%) were in favor of EBM and 89 (90.8%) had a positive attitude towards EBM, as they scored above the cut-off point in the questionnaire. Using multiple linear regression, it was found that critical appraisal knowledge and EBM knowledge scores were the only significant predictor variables of EBM attitude score. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: There was an overall positive attitude among physicians towards EBM. There was a proportional relation between the knowledge of EBM and attitude towards it. Dissemination of the EBM concept and practice among physicians is highly recommended.