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 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 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 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 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 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 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 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Patients do not want doctors to conform to treatment guidelines (N = 483) | 4 (1%) | 11 (2%) | 179 (37%) | 136 (28%) | 153 (32%) |