Investigating attitudes to research in primary health care teams

Abstract

Despite top-down professional body and government agency pressure to increase the research base of clinical practice, there remains a considerable body of evidence which suggests that many ineffective, and even dangerous, health care interventions continue to be practised in areas where there are significant contradictory findings. While numerous explanations have been put forward which implicate the role of structural, organizational and informational barriers to integrating research with practice, less attention has been focused on the individual and psychological contributions. The study reported here forms part of a larger scale project aimed at developing a diagnostic instrument for identifying research training needs, in the widest sense, within primary health care groups. To provide the instrument with content validity, following formal psychometric guidelines, opaque and transparent techniques of data collection were employed at the development stage. This yielded some interesting and unexpected results from the respondents, which suggested that despite overt statements to the contrary, the majority of the primary health care professionals studied perceived research as being unimportant and peripheral to their jobs, and the responsibility of other health care professionals. Moreover, the subjects' understanding of research and its methodologies was discordant both within and across professional groups. The implications of these results from this pilot phase suggest that fundamental and deep-seated attitudes which are resistant to research may be a contributory factor to the persistence of ritualistic, non-evidence-based care.

The problem of dissemination: evidence and ideology

“… 26 In a study of primary care teams, Hicks et al found that despite statements to the contrary, nurses saw research as peripheral to their jobs and unimportant. 27 In a similar vein, McSherry found minimal understanding of research among 300 nurses surveyed. 28 Other research highlights the constraints of lack of autonomy in practice, particularly when final decisions about care are taken by others, possibly not even in the profession.…”

Attitude towards Evidence‐Based Nursing Questionnaire: development and psychometric testing in Spanish community nurses

“…Authors such as Champion & Leach [11], Hicks et al . [12] and Kuuppelomäki & Tuomi [13] state that a favourable attitude is highly correlated with the use of research, compared to other factors such as the competence to apply research results and the support of colleagues. The lack of motivation, interest, safety, as well as personal beliefs about the value of research, makes it difficult for its use in clinical nursing practice.…”

Från hälsokontroll till hälso-inseende — integrering av vårdvetenskapliga forskningsresultat inom skolhälsovården

“…I internationella studier har attityder till forskning kartlagts bl.a. inom primärhälsovården (12,13,14). Forskningarna visar att majoriteten av primärhälsovårdens representanter ser forskningsresultat som oviktiga och perifera.…”