Assessment of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) among physiotherapists in Cameroon: A cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Background Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is reported to ease effective and adequate decision making for all works of life including health professionals. Investigating the level of implementation of EBP among physiotherapists helps to identify barriers and propose solutions for its extensive implementation. Despite available data on EBP elsewhere, it remains limited or non-existent in Cameroon. We aimed by this study to establish the current state of evidence-based practice among physiotherapists in Cameroon, by assessing knowledge, practice, and as well as barriers to its implementation. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted online among French- and English-speaking physiotherapists in Cameroon over a period of six months, between April and July 2023, using the EBP2 questionnaire. This enabled us to collect socio-demographic data from participants, as well as information on their knowledge, understanding and practice of EBP and possible barriers to EBP according to 5 domains (Confidence, Relevance, Terminology, Practice, Compatibility) scored out of 100. Data were analysed were using IBM SPSS 25.0 software and Pearson correlations (95% CI, P < 0.05). Results A total of 110 physiotherapists practising in the 10 regions of Cameroon participated in the study. The majority were male (54.5%), the median age was 34 years (min20, max50), the median year of graduation was 2019 (min2004, max2022) and 72.7% had never been trained in EBP. Physiotherapists scored below 50/100 for 3 domains (confidence, relevance, and compatibility) showing poor general knowledge and understanding of EBP, although they generally had positive attitude. The use of EBP in practice was low (26.31/100 +/- 6.53), despite that they appeared to have a good understanding of research terminology (55.43+-17.29). Level of study did not appear to significantly influence domain scores (P > 0.05). The main barriers to practice were lack of time (75.17%), workload (66.05%), cost of access to information resources like databases (60%), ease of access to computers (49.08%), and lack of resources (49.09%). Conclusion Physiotherapists in Cameroon have a poor knowledge of EBP and a low level of practice of EBP was observed, despite an overall positive attitude. These results could inform stakeholders of higher education on the need to improve training of physiotherapy students. Also, it will aide in raising the level of scientific research and promoting the implementation of EBP in Cameroon.