Survey of GPs' Attitudes Towards Elective Surgical Referral Guidelines
Author Information
Author(s): Naomi Blundell, Sian Taylor-Phillips, David Spitzer, Steven Martin, Ian Forde, Aileen Clarke
Primary Institution: University of Warwick
Hypothesis
To what extent are referral guidelines used and what influences this?
Conclusion
GPs support referral guidelines but use them primarily for educational purposes rather than in most referral decisions.
Supporting Evidence
- Over 50% of GPs wanted good access to electronic guidelines.
- Nearly 90% of GPs agreed that sharing decision making with patients is important.
- Female GPs were more likely to agree with shared decision making than male GPs.
Takeaway
Doctors in England think referral guidelines are helpful, but many don't use them when deciding to send patients for surgery.
Methodology
A questionnaire was developed and distributed to a stratified random sample of GPs in ten English health districts.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to low response rate and self-selection of participants.
Limitations
The response rate was only 41.6%, which may not represent all GPs in England.
Participant Demographics
Most respondents were male, over 45 years old, and a quarter had less than ten years of experience.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.021
Confidence Interval
95%CI = 0.29-0.90
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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