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. 2011 Sep;4(5):283-94.
doi: 10.1177/1756283X11412240.

The practice of evidence-based medicine (EBM) in gastroenterology: discrepancies between EBM familiarity and EBM competency

Jonathan Buscaglia  1 , Satish Nagula, Jay Yuan, Juan Carlos Bucobo, Atul Kumar, Chris E Forsmark, Peter V Draganov
Affiliations

The practice of evidence-based medicine (EBM) in gastroenterology: discrepancies between EBM familiarity and EBM competency

Jonathan Buscaglia et al. Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2011 Sep.

Abstract

Introduction: Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has become increasingly important in the practice of gastroenterology and endoscopy, and the training of future gastroenterology physicians. The objectives were to assess the attitudes/opinions of gastroenterology specialists towards EBM, and evaluate possible gaps in education for certain EBM-related concepts.

Methods: An internet-based survey was emailed to 4073 gastroenterology specialists. The main outcome measurements were physicians' endorsement of EBM, impact of EBM on clinical practice, utilization of EBM-specific resources, self-assessed understanding of EBM concepts (EBM familiarity score), and actual knowledge of EBM concepts (EBM competency score).

Results: A total of 337 gastroenterology specialists participated. On a sale of 1-10, there was widespread agreement that EBM improves patient care (median score = 9, interquartile range (IQR) = 7-10), and physicians should be familiar with techniques for critical appraisal of studies (median = 9, IQR = 8-10). Most (64.0%) utilized the EBM-related resource UpToDate™ regularly, as opposed to PubMed™ (47.1%) or Clinical Evidence™ (5.4%). The mean EBM familiarity score was 3.4 ± 0.6 on a scale of 1-4. Out of a maximum 49 points, the mean EBM competency score was 35 ± 4.9. There was poor concordance among EBM familiarity and competency scores (r = 0.161; p = 0.005). Academic practice (p < 0.001), research/teaching (p < 0.001), advanced degree (p = 0.012), and recent EBM training (p = 0.001) were all associated with improved EBM competency.

Conclusion: The attitudes and opinions of EBM are extremely favorable among gastroenterology physicians. Although gastroenterology physicians report familiarity with most EBM-related concepts, there is poor correlation with their actual knowledge of EBM. Further educational initiatives should be undertaken to address methods in which EBM skills are reinforced among all gastroenterology practitioners.

Keywords: clinical practice; evidence-based medicine; survey.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Attitudes and opinions towards evidence-based medicine.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Evidence-based medicine-related familiarity.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Awareness and usage of evidence-based medicine-related resources.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Evidence-based medicine-related competency (not all results shown).
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See this image and copyright information in PMC

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