Healthcare professionals' behavior, skills, knowledge and attitudes on evidence-based health practice: a protocol of cross-sectional study

Background In Brazil, as in most countries nowadays, there is a pursuit for healthcare quality improvement and sustainability in public and private systems. Healthcare professionals' perceptions, knowledge and attitudes determine evidence-based practice (EBP), which remain uncertain among Brazilian practitioners. A standardised national instrument whose wide use will identify gaps and flaws in establishing an EBP could contribute to an effective resources allocation from health professionals willing to use an EBP. Objectives To present a study protocol on the development and validation of an instrument to measure Brazilian healthcare professionals' behaviour, skills, self-efficacy, knowledge and attitudes towards EBP. Methods This is a validation study with Brazilian healthcare professionals to develop a valid and reliable questionnaire, including selection of domains and formulation of questions. Construct and content validity will be assess by a panel of experts, with data collection and analysis following a Delphi-like methodology. Further, a pilot survey will be accomplished with a representative sample of different healthcare professionals from all main Brazilian regions. An exploratory factor analysis and a confirmatory factor analysis will be conducted afterwards. The ratio of chi(2) and df (chi(2)/df), comparative fit index, goodness of fit index and root mean square error of approximation will be used for assessing the model fit. In addition, the reliability of the instrument will be estimated by test-retest reproducibility and Cronbach's alpha coefficient (alpha). Ethics and dissemination This study has received ethical approval from the Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty of the Sao Paulo State University (1.425.808). The use among a wide national sample is expected to promote an extensive view of evidence-based decision-making, identifying the knowledge gaps in this area. Study findings will be circulated to healthcare professionals and scientists in the field through the publication in peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations.