Knowledge, attitudes and practices of primary health care physicians towards evidence-based medicine in Doha, Qatar

Abstract

Physicians worldwide are being encouraged to apply evidence-based medicine (EBM) to improve their clinical care. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was carried to determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding EBM among 182 primary care physicians in Doha, Qatar. The current promotion of EBM was welcomed by most physicians (98.4%). While 92.2% had access to the Internet, this was mostly at home. The major perceived barriers to practising EBM in primary care were lack of free personal time (75.3%), limited resources and facilities (62.6%), no library in the locality (61.0%) and lack of training workshops and courses (61.0%). There was a statistically significant association between years since graduation and welcoming the EBM concept as well as with frequency of reading journals.