Abstract:
Background: Evidence based practice (EBP) is an interdisciplinary approach to decision-making in clinical practice that includes the best available evidence, the care context, client values and preferences, and the professional judgment of the health professional. There is a persistent gap between the generation of new knowledge and its translation into routine clinical practice. By addressing the factors that specifically determine evidence-based practice among physicians, we will reduce variations in practice, enhance the quality of care and improve patient outcomes.
Objectives: to assess the proportion of evidence-based practice on decision making among
Physicians & its associated factors in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted on physicians who work in selected private health facilities in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Electronic survey was distributed to participants through direct invitations via telegram. The collected data was exported from Google Forms to an Excel file. This data is then imported into SPSS 27.0.1 for analysis.
Results: In total, 265 participants were valid for the analysis making a response rate of 98.4%. More than half, 69.8% (185) of study participants have good EBP utilization. EBP utilization was significantly associated with patients age [AOR: 0.071, 95% CI= (0.02-0.27)], patients’ insurance status [AOR: 0.23, 95%CI = (0.09-0.61)], Insurance effect on quality of care hours [AOR 0.20, 95%CI (0.06-0.77)] and Working hours [AOR 5.31, 95%CI (1.17-24.1)].
Conclusion & recommendation: Despite 69.8% EBP utilization in private Addis Ababa hospitals, improvement is possible by enhancing EBP education and training, ensuring guideline access and systemic integration with dedicated resources and leadership, and strategically allocating resources to address the impact of patient age, working hours, and insurance status.