Perceptions and attitudes of clinicians in Spain toward clinical practice guidelines and grading systems: a protocol for a qualitative study and a national survey.
BACKGROUND
Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have become a very popular tool for decision making in healthcare. While there is some evidence that CPGs improve outcomes, there are numerous factors that influence their acceptability and use by healthcare providers. While evidence of clinicians' knowledge, perceptions and attitudes toward CPGs is extensive, results are still disperse and not conclusive. Our study will evaluate these issues in a large and representative sample of clinicians in Spain.


METHODS
A mixed-method design combining qualitative and quantitative research techniques will evaluate general practitioners (GPs) and hospital-based specialists in Spain with the objective of exploring attitudes and perceptions about CPGs and evidence grading systems. The project will consist of two phases: during the first phase, group discussions will be carried out to gain insight into perceptions and attitudes of the participants, and during the second phase, this information will be completed by means of a survey, reaching a greater number of clinicians. We will explore these issues in GPs and hospital-based practitioners, with or without previous experience in guideline development.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study will identify and gain insight into the perceived problems and barriers of Spanish practitioners in relation to guideline knowledge and use. The study will also explore beliefs and attitudes of clinicians towards CPGs and evidence grading systems used to rate the quality of the evidence and the strength of recommendations. Our results will provide guidance to healthcare researchers and healthcare decision makers to improve the use of guidelines in Spain and elsewhere.
Catalan Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Research, Barcelona, Spain.
Anna
A
Kotzeva
Ivan
I
Solà
José Miguel
JM
Carrasco
Petra
P
Díaz del Campo
Francisco Javier
FJ
Gracia
Enrique
E
Calderón
Idoia
I
de Gaminde
Maria Dolors
MD
Estrada
Flora
F
Martínez
Carola
C
Orrego
Rafael
R
Rotaeche
Flavia
F
Salcedo
Paola
P
Velázquez
Pablo
P
Alonso-Coello
D002983:Clinical Competence; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires