Profile of evidence-based practice among respiratory therapists in Taiwan

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based practice (EBP) has been proposed as a core competence to improve healthcare quality. The profile of EBP among respiratory therapists (RTs) has not been explored yet.

OBJECTIVE: The current study was to investigate how RTs perceived the implementation of EBP.

METHODS: A postal questionnaire survey was conducted for the RTs in Taiwan’s regional hospitals during a four-month period in 2011.

RESULTS: A majority of RTs were aware of EBP (88.0%). Although most RTs hold a favorable impression of EBP, their knowledge of and skill in EBP implementation were deficient. Only half of RTs have implemented EBP for clinical service. Insufficient convenient kits (59.1%), deficient designated personnel (50.0%), and lack of time (45.5%) were major barriers to implementing EBP. RTs rated MEDLINE as the most commonly used evidence-based retrieval database, followed by UpToDate, the Cochrane Library, MD Consult, ProQuest, CINAHL, DynaMed, and Micromedex. Multivariate regression analyses demonstrated sufficient skill in EBP and usage of online database as favorable factors for implementing EBP. In contrast, barriers of time constraint and insufficient knowledge were unfavorable factors for the implementation of EBP.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that EBP is not widespread among RTs. We have identified important factors in relation to the implementation of EBP. The data provide valuable evidence in plotting strategies for disseminating EBP implementation.