Knowledge, attitudes, and barriers towards evidence-based practice among physiotherapists in Malaysia.
Hannah C Yahui, Narasimman Swaminathan
PMID 30931041WHAT IT FOUND
95.1% of surveyed Malaysian physiotherapists saw evidence-based practice as helpful, but insufficient time was the top barrier. 72.5% were confident in search skills, while access and applying evidence were also reported as problems.
Key findings
0195.1% perceived that EBP is helpful in clinical decision making, and 66.7% expressed interest in using evidence in practice.
0272.5% were confident with search skills, and 57.8% were confident about appraisal.
03Insufficient time was the top barrier, followed by limited access to search engines; number of articles read monthly was associated with qualifications, specialization, and work experience.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample was recruited from an annual meeting and a Facebook group, so it may not represent all Malaysian physiotherapists. The authors state the respondent population was not big enough to generalize to the whole country. Findings are self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and barriers, not measured changes in patient care or clinical outcomes. The text reports content validation by three experts but does not report reliability or pre-registration.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest and said the work received no financial or material support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that Malaysian physiotherapists already use evidence effectively in patient care. The study measured self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and barriers, not observed clinical decisions or patient outcomes.