Research utilization barriers for emergency medical technicians in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Introduction

Translation of research findings into clinical practice has potential to improve health care procedures, increase patient safety, and improve patient outcomes. However, low levels of evidence utilization in clinical practice have been widely reported. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this is also the case for emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to examine the barriers to the utilization of research findings within this cohort.

Methods

The BARRIERS scale was used to gather data from a convenience sample of EMTs in Saudi Arabia.

Results

The barriers most commonly rated as “great” or “moderate” were “Implications for practice are not made clear”, “The relevant literature is not compiled in one place”, and “The EMT feels the benefits of changing practice will be minimal”. However, when responses were examined at a subscale level, reliability, as measured by Cronbach’s α, was suboptimal (range 0.20–0.62).

Discussion

No similar study has been conducted within paramedicine to enable direct comparison of our results; however, the top barriers identified in the present study are also highly rated in some previous studies of nurse cohorts. The low reliability measures of the subscales may demonstrate the importance of context specificity when utilizing this scale and that further research is required to develop a reliable and valid tool for use within this cohort.

Conclusion

The top 2 barriers identified indicate that there may be a need for improvement regarding communication of research evidence to Saudi EMTs. For future studies, translation of the BARRIERS scale may be useful. However, as these EMT courses are taught in English, careful consideration of cultural suitability and more subtle interpretation issues could also be appropriate. Once context-specific barriers are identified and examined, they may inform the development of effective strategies to increase the uptake of research evidence into Saudi EMT practice.

Keywords:

• emergency medical technician
• paramedic
• Saudi Arabia
• research utilization
• evidence-based practice

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for funding this work through Research Group Project Number RG-1438-050. We are also grateful to the Vice-Deanship of Postgraduate Studies and Research at the King Saud University (KSU) and the KSU Prince Sultan College of Emergency Medical Services for the support provided to the authors of this study. The authors also appreciate the contributions of Mr Raeed Alotaibi and Mr Nawaf Albaqami to this study.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.