Table 2 Descriptive statistics on participating clinicians’ individual characteristics, working context, and views about and use of research evidence
Factor | All (n = 438) | China (n = 115) | Kazakhstan (n = 110) | Laos (n = 105) | Mexico (n = 108) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Individual characteristics | |||||
Age, yr, mean | 41.8 | 39.8 | 38.8 | 41.2 | 47.8 |
Sex, female | 80.6 | 93.9 | 99.1 | 84.8 | 42.3 |
Type of health professional | |||||
General practitioner | 63.6 | 1.7 | 97.3 | 78.1 | 81.7 |
Specialist physician | 26.0 | 83.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 15.4 |
Nurse | 5.3 | 6.1 | 0.9 | 14.3 | 0.0 |
Health worker | 1.6 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Other | 3.5 | 6.1 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 1.9 |
Allocation of time, % of timeb | |||||
Clinical practice | 75.7 | 80.9 | 83.4 | 68.0 | 68.9 |
Research | 5.1 | 6.0 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 4.0 |
Teaching | 7.1 | 6.5 | 1.3 | 11.7 | 9.8 |
Administration | 9.1 | 6.3 | 6.8 | 12.2 | 11.7 |
Masters or doctorate degree | 4.3 | 2.6 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 10.6 |
Training since completed last degree | |||||
Acquiring systematic reviews through the Cochrane Library | 4.5 | 2.6 | 8.0 | 2.9 | 7.0 |
Critically appraising systematic reviews | 10.7 | 8.8 | 7.7 | 2.9 | 23.3 |
Care of women seeking contraception | 62.9 | 64.9 | 76.9 | 55.8 | 58.5 |
Easy access to personal computer with CD ROM (v. less easy, not easy, no access or not sure) | 23.4 | 35.1 | 13.4 | 8.6 | 34.8 |
Easy access to Internet (v. less easy, not easy, no access or not sure) | 16.1 | 20.2 | 12.2 | 1.9 | 31.1 |
Able to read and write English well or very well (v. little or no ability) | 25.5 | 34.8 | 10.9 | 20.4 | 35.6 |
Practicea | |||||
Operating authority of facility or practice | |||||
Government | 95.4 | 99.1 | 96.3 | 100 | 85.6 |
Nongovernmental organization | 4.6 | 0.0 | 4.6 | 0.0 | 14.4 |
For-profit organization | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 3.8 |
Type of facility or practice | |||||
Solo or individual practice | 11.3 | 0.0 | 4.5 | 13.3 | 29.4 |
Group practice | 18.8 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 50.5 | 24.5 |
Hospital | 50.0 | 85.2 | 7.3 | 96.2 | 8.8 |
Community health centre | 44.2 | 0.0 | 92.7 | 22.9 | 63.7 |
Location of facility or practice | |||||
Urban | 68.0 | 45.2 | 87.9 | 54.3 | 86.5 |
Rural | 2.1 | 2.6 | 0.0 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
Mixed | 30.2 | 52.2 | 12.1 | 42.9 | 11.5 |
Facility had intrauterine devices (IUD) available | 78.0 | 100 | 24.8 | 91.4 | 96.1 |
Views and activities related to improving clinical practice | |||||
Research performed in their own country is of above average or excellent quality | 57.3 | 84.3 | 55.8 | 19.4 | 67.0 |
Trust somewhat or completely a systematic review of randomized controlled double-blind trials | 58.6 | 78.1 | 48.8 | 35.6 | 68.4 |
Working with researchers or research groups to improve clinical practice or the quality of working life | 29.6 | 30.7 | 36.6 | 35.9 | 15.7 |
Higher quality of available research is important or very important to improve their work | 92.1 | 86.7 | 97.0 | 92.2 | 93.1 |
Used or read particular sources of evidence | |||||
Clinical practice guidelines, protocols or decision-support tools | 68.8 | 81.4 | 91.1 | 42.6 | 62.5 |
Cochrane Library | 4.5 | 5.3 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 6.9 |
Scientific journals from high-income countries | 25.9 | 18.6 | 32.2 | 12.9 | 46.5 |
Scientific journals from own country | 79.7 | 92.2 | 98.0 | 57.0 | 69.5 |
Summaries of articles, reports, and reviews from public and not-for-profit health organizations | 46.6 | 34.5 | 60.8 | 37.0 | 60.2 |