Knowledge, attitude, practice, and barriers of evidence-based medicine among physicians in general hospitals in Kuwait: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is renovating the field of medicine as it is being acknowledged as the standard and basis of clinical judgment. As general governmental hospitals are at the forefront of health-care in Kuwait, the practice of EBM among physicians could improve the health of the population. The aim was to assess the knowledge, attitude, practice, and barriers of EBM among physicians practicing in general governmental hospitals in Kuwait. METHODS: A cross-sectional study with self-reported questionnaires was used to survey 439 physicians in Kuwait's 6 general hospitals with a response rate of 74%. RESULTS: Respondent's knowledge of EBM was considerably low with a median knowledge score of 13 out of 20. Overall female physicians, undergraduates from Kuwait and Ireland, and those that received formal EBM training scored higher knowledge scores. Most respondents were unaware of well-known EBM resources, however more than half (69.3%) were aware of ‘Up-to-date’ and used it for clinical decisions. Most of the respondents had positive attitudes towards EBM: 88.2% either ‘strongly welcomed’ or ‘welcomed’ the promotion of EBM. Lack of investment by health-care authorities was the main perceived barrier to EBM. CONCLUSION: Overall, even though participants were not well-informed in regards to EBM, half of them claim that their practice is EBM-based and use EBM resources to support clinical decisions. Formal EBM training and integration of EBM in undergraduate programs considerably promotes EBM practice.