Perceptions, knowledge, and perceived barriers to practicing evidence-based medicine among pharmacists in Japanese community hospitals: A cross-sectional multicenter survey

IntroductionEvidence-based medicine (EBM) skills are required for pharmacists. However, the current status of EBM skills and its education in Japanese pharmacists remains unknown.ObjectivesWe investigated the perceptions, knowledge, and barriers for EBM in Japanese pharmacists.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of pharmacists employed by four community hospitals in Japan. A questionnaire including 55 questions to evaluate pharmacists' perceptions, knowledge, exposure, access, terminology, and barriers for EBM was developed based on our previous research.ResultsThe questionnaire was provided to 70 pharmacists and the response rate was 90% (n = 63). Regarding the 5As (Ask, Acquire, Appraise, Apply, Assess) skills, only 30.2% of pharmacists were confident in their skills for Ask, 17.5% for Acquire, 19.0% for Appraise, 34.9% for Apply, and 25.4% for Assess. Additionally, although less than 20% of pharmacists felt comfortable teaching EBM to pharmacy residents and were confident to explain to others any EBM-related terms, more than 90% of the pharmacists recognized the importance of EBM education for patient care. Furthermore, they reported many barriers to EBM, such as skills, statistical knowledge, training, English, and opportunities to practice EBM.ConclusionAlthough most Japanese pharmacists in this study were not confident in their EBM skills and in teaching them, they acknowledged the importance of EBM. Our study suggests that providing EBM training, and the clinical roles and responsibilities could address the identified barriers, such as, lack of skills, knowledge, and opportunities to practice EBM, and pharmacists could better embrace EBM in their practice to optimize patient care.