. Shruti Prabhakaran Nair; . Vrushali Prashant Panhale; . Nithin Nair
Volume 11, Issue 1 , January 2021, , Pages 1-6
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Evidence‑based practice (EBP) is the integration of clinical expertise, patientvalues, and best research evidence into the decision‑making process for patient care. ...
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BACKGROUND: Evidence‑based practice (EBP) is the integration of clinical expertise, patientvalues, and best research evidence into the decision‑making process for patient care. Identificationof barriers that refutes the use of EBP in day‑to‑day practice will go a long way in designing programsfor inculcating EBP among physiotherapy students. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identifyperceived barriers to EBP among physiotherapy students.METHODS: A convenience sample of 429 participants were recruited from physiotherapy collegesaffiliated to a State Health Science University as per the inclusion criteria. Participants were asked tofill the self‑reported questionnaire that was developed by researchers based on possible items frompreviously developed surveys. Data collected were tabulated and analyzed by descriptive statistics.Response frequencies for the survey questions were determined and displayed in graphical formats.RESULTS: The study comprised of 182 final year students, 112 interns, and 135 postgraduatestudents having a mean age of 21.29 (0.85), 22.30 (0.77), and 24.34 (1.45) years, respectively.Majority of participants reported insufficient time, poor understanding of statistical analysis, lack ofresearch skills, lack of formal training, lack of access to paid article, poor ability to critically appraisearticles, and inadequate infrastructure facilities as barriers towards practicing EBP.CONCLUSION: Physiotherapy students perceived various organizational, training‑related, andpersonal barriers toward the use of EBP. Effective education could prove to be the most powerfultool to overcome these barriers toward the use of EBP.
