Table 2 Perceived barriers to guideline use
Survey question(N = number of respondents) | Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Somewhat disagree | Strongly disagree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Resource barriers | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Treatment guidelines are hard to implement in daily practice due to lack of medical resources (investigational abilities, etc.) (N = 496) | 23 (5%) | 137 (28%) | 93 (19%) | 205 (41%) | 38 (8%) |
Treatment guidelines are hard to implement in daily practice due to a lack of resources of patients (expensive medicines, etc.) (N = 494) | 22 (4%) | 130 (26%) | 97 (20%) | 214 (43%) | 31 (6%) |
There is no time to search for information (N = 490) | 50 (10%) | 157 (32%) | 40 (8%) | 172 (35%) | 71 (14%) |
System barriers | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Treatment guidelines are not accessible (N = 488) | 7 (1%) | 69 (14%) | 55 (11%) | 202 (41%) | 155 (32%) |
Treatment guidelines are too complicated and it is difficult to find the information (N = 489) | 15 (3%) | 74 (15%) | 60 (12%) | 256 (52%) | 84 (17%) |
Attitudinal barriers | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Treatment guidelines reduce doctors’ autonomy (a ‘cookbook’) (n = 492) | 26 (5%) | 94 (19%) | 51 (10%) | 229 (47%) | 92 (19%) |
Treatment guidelines limit treatment options (N = 483) | 16 (3%) | 44 (9%) | 52 (11%) | 267 (55%) | 104 (22%) |
Treatment guidelines limit flexibility and individual approach (N = 483) | 29 (6%) | 87 (18%) | 52 (11%) | 252 (52%) | 63 (13%) |
There is no need for treatment guidelines as treatment routines exist (N = 490) | 5 (1%) | 15 (3%) | 32 (7%) | 220 (45%) | 218 (44%) |
Patient barriers | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Patients do not want doctors to conform to treatment guidelines (N = 483) | 4 (1%) | 11 (2%) | 179 (37%) | 136 (28%) | 153 (32%) |