A simple heuristic for Internet-based evidence search in primary care: a randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Evidence-Based Practice
• General Practice

Background:

• General practitioners (GPs) frequently encounter clinical questions lacking immediate answers.
• Effective information retrieval and appraisal are crucial for evidence-based patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a learning program (LP) designed to enhance GPs' search and appraisal competence (SAC).
• To assess the effectiveness of a simple three-step heuristic workshop in improving GPs' ability to find evidence-based answers.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted to evaluate the LP.
• Participants (intervention group [IG] and control group [CG]) completed pre- and post-tests assessing SAC.
• Knowledge, acceptance, and satisfaction were measured, controlling for prior knowledge.

Main Results:

• Both groups showed significant pre-post improvements in correctness and confidence regarding evidence-based answers (P=0.00).
• The RCT did not reveal a statistically significant difference in SAC between the intervention and control groups.
• Workshop participants reported high satisfaction with learning atmosphere, skills acquired, and relevance to practice.

Conclusions:

• While the learning program demonstrated high acceptance and learning effects, it did not significantly improve SAC compared to the control group in the RCT.
• Established GPs generally possess good search and appraisal competence.
• The simple decision heuristic employed in the learning program warrants further investigation for its potential utility.