Barriers and facilitators to answering clinical questions in the Americas: a cross-sectional study of surgical trauma care providers

BACKGROUND: We aimed to understand how surgical trauma providers in the Americas acquire answers to clinical questions and what barriers and facilitators they face in efforts to practice according to recommendations for common surgical cases. We hypothesized that increased English proficiency and country income improved providers’ acquisition and application of clinical knowledge. METHODS: A 23-question survey evaluated reported confidence in interpretation of evidence, perceived language fluency, and access to and application of recommendations on sepsis and appendicitis. Electronic surveys were distributed across the Americas to Pan American Trauma Society members. RESULTS: 108 participants from 21 countries completed this survey. 59% had ≥21 years of provider experience. 38% reported their English reading comprehension as less than or equal to “limited working proficiency.” 44% endorsed using Google Translate; 35% reported they did not need translation tools to evaluate medical literature. 59% felt uncertainty regarding clinical care at least weekly. 65% reported inability to answer their clinical questions at least once per month. 86% felt confident in their ability to interpret and apply evidence for their practice. To answer clinical questions, participants listed guidelines (76%), full-text peer-reviewed journal articles (61%), and meta-analyses (49%) as their most used resources. 25% answered all five clinical questions correctly, whereas 43% answered three or fewer correctly. 79% felt they had adequate access to resources to answer the five clinical questions. When controlling for individual demographic characteristics, decreased age (p<0.01) and increased country income level (p=0.03) positively impacted correct answers to questions. DISCUSSION: Uncertainties in clinical care are unavoidable. Language, age, and country income level impacted provider acquisition and application of knowledge relevant to select clinical scenarios. These findings highlight disparities in access and training and add urgency to the movement for improved dissemination and implementation approaches for evidence-based practice in surgery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.