Abstract
BackgroundSeveral studies have been performed to understand the way family physicians apply knowledge from medical research in practice. However, very little is known concerning family physicians in Switzerland. In an environment in which information constantly accumulates, it is crucial to identify the major sources of scientific information that are used by family physicians to keep their medical knowledge up to date and barriers to use these sources. Our main objective was to examine medical knowledge translation (KT) practices of Swiss family physicians.MethodsThe population consisted of French- and German-speaking private practice physicians specialised in family medicine. We conducted four interviews and three focus groups (n = 25). The interview guides of the semi-structured interviews and focus groups focused on (a) ways and means used by physicians to keep updated with information relevant to clinical practice; (b) how they consider their role in translating knowledge into practice; (c) potential barriers to KT; (d) solutions proposed by physicians for effective KT.ResultsFamily physicians find themselves rather ambivalent about the translation of knowledge based on scientific literature, but generally express much interest in KT. They often feel overwhelmed by “information floods” and perceive clinical practice guidelines and other supports to be of limited usefulness for their practice. They often combine various formal and informal information sources to keep their knowledge up to date. Swiss family physicians report considering themselves as artisans, caring for patients with complex needs.ConclusionImproved performance of KT initiatives in family medicine should be tailored to actual needs and based on high quality evidence-based sources.
Highlights
Several studies have been performed to understand the way family physicians apply knowledge from medical research in practice
In an environment in which possible sources of information constantly accumulate, it is crucial to understand and identify the major sources of scientific information that are used by physicians to keep their medical knowledge up to date, and how they concretely take in and use these sources
The complex profile of family physicians makes it even more difficult to know how they integrate new scientific knowledge into their daily practice, how they combine various information sources, and how they adapt this information to patients presenting with different health conditions [2]
Summary
Several studies have been performed to understand the way family physicians apply knowledge from medical research in practice. In an environment in which information constantly accumulates, it is crucial to identify the major sources of scientific information that are used by family physicians to keep their medical knowledge up to date and barriers to use these sources. Several qualitative and quantitative studies have been carried out to understand the way medical doctors apply knowledge from medical research to practice [2, 3]. In an environment in which possible sources of information constantly accumulate, it is crucial to understand and identify the major sources of scientific information that are used by physicians to keep their medical knowledge up to date, and how they concretely take in and use these sources. Filling this gap would allow researchers to better understand the way family physicians work and to be able to better adapt KT to their needs
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