Awareness, attitude, and practice of evidence-based medicine among primary healthcare physicians in Buraidah, Saudi Arabia

CONTEXT: Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is essential for safe and cost-effective care provision to the population. AIMS: To assess the awareness, attitude and practices and barriers among primary care physicians about EBM in Buraidah, Qassim. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Cross-sectional study in Primary Health Care centers (PHCCs) of Buraidah, Qassim. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted among physicians working in PHCCs of Buraidah. Data were collected online through Google forms. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Descriptive analysis was carried out to measure the frequencies and proportions. Chi-square test was used to compare barriers based on gender, academic degree, and experience categories. RESULTS: A total of 96 out of 144 physicians (66.7%) responded to the invitation. About 82.3% of the participants welcomed the promotion of EBM and 92% of the physicians knew about concept of EBM. About 94.8% of the physicians agreed that EBM will improve patient outcomes. The reported barriers were; patient load (87.5%), time availability (70.8%), computer availability (33.3%), internet availability (45.8%), and 56.3% stated updated clinical letters, journals, or guidelines are not available. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that there was high self-reported knowledge about the EBM concept; however, the knowledge about tools was poor. A number of barriers were found such as patient load, time, availability of clinical guidelines and journals and other resources such as internet and computers. Primary care physicians should be trained and facilitated for EBM.