Skills and barriers in the use of the Evidence Based Practice by Primary Healthcare Professionals

Abstract

Introduction: Health professionals need to provide safe and effective treatments and Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is an alternative to acting with greater responsibility and assertiveness. Despite the advantages provided by this method, its use is incipient among health professionals in Brazil. Objective: The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge of primary care health professionals about EBP and identify the main barriers that prevent its adoption. Methodology: Health professionals who work in Basic Health Units (UBS) in a municipality in Minas Gerais were invited to the research. Knowledge about EBP was assessed using the QECPBE-20 questionnaire and the main barriers were assessed using a structured form. The statistics were descriptive, and the Shapiro-Wilk test was used to assess the distribution of continuous variables. Results: Eleven professionals participated in the study. In the QECPBE, professionals obtained a score of 3.89±1.79 in “Day-to-day practices” and 4.23±1.35 in “Knowledge, Skills and Abilities”. In the “Attitudes” domain, the median score was 6.00 (5.00-7.00). Conclusion: The barriers most indicated by professionals were lack of time (72.7%), difficulty in analyzing methodological quality (54.5%) and reading in foreign languages ​​(45.5%). In addition, they know the model, have positive attitudes about EBP, but have average skills and little use it daily.