title: Neurologists' and neurology residents' knowledge of issues related to pregnancy for women with epilepsy.
abstract: We aimed to assess physician knowledge for 2009 guidelines established by the American Academy of Neurology and American Epilepsy Society regarding issues related to pregnancy for women with epilepsy. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to all neurologists and neurology residents practicing in a large Canadian health region serving a population of 1.4 million. Descriptive statistics were obtained and percentage of correct responses was calculated. Forty-five physicians completed the survey (response rate = 83.3%), with a median correct score of 50%. Residents were more likely (93.3%) to state that this information was important to their practice than staff physicians (40.0%). Overall knowledge of outcomes associated with specific AEDs was poor; less than half of the physicians correctly indicated which AEDs were associated with adverse outcomes for the majority of drug-related questions. We recommend multifaceted, interactive implementation strategies for increasing knowledge of guideline contents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
authors.forename: Jodie I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Metcalfe
authors.forename: Fatema
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abdulla
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wiebe
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Federico
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jetté
mesh_terms: D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002170:Canada; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D009462:Neurology; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014930:Women
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants