French academic physicians had a poor knowledge of terms used in clinical epidemiology

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_470BC70F9243
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
French academic physicians had a poor knowledge of terms used in clinical epidemiology
Journal
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Author(s)
Estellat  Candice, Faisy  Christophe, Colombet  Isabelle, Chatellier  Gilles, Burnand  Bernard, Durieux  Pierre
ISSN
0895-4356
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2006
Volume
59
Number
9
Pages
1009-1014
Notes
SAPHIRID:58806
Abstract
Objectives: To assess academic physicians' understanding and usage of basic epidemiological terms commonly used in medical journals. Study Design and Setting: Observational study. A total of 274 physicians, working in a teaching hospital in Paris, France were asked to answer a questionnaire including four vignettes presenting the results of a therapeutic, a diagnostic, a prognostic study and a meta-analysis of clinical trials. Results: A total of 130 (47%) questionnaires were returned. We observed the highest proportion of good answers for questions about absolute risk reduction (87.7%), sensitivity (84.6%), and specificity (80%); and the lowest for the calculation and use of the likelihood ratio (16.9% and 9.2%, respectively). The global mean score was 5.0/10 (95% confidence interval54.6e5.4, range 0e9.4). Physicians got higher scores for questions related to treatment than for questions related to diagnosis: mean scores 7.1 (6.6e7.6) vs. 4.2 (3.8e4.6). Regression analysis did not reveal any significant relationship between global performance and physicians' age (r250.002, not significant [NS]). Conclusion: Physicians demonstrated only moderate knowledge and usage of clinical epidemiology terms used in major medical journals. Their capacity to interpret quantitative data from medical scientific literature may be limited. [Authors]
Keywords
Epidemiology , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Medical Staff, Hospital , Physicians
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
04/03/2008 15:58
Last modification date
20/08/2019 14:52
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