ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The purpose of our study was to compare the characteristics of medical practitioners who prefer using the Internet as their information resource and those who prefer using printed materials.<BR>METHODS: From December 2002 to January 2003, a non-anonymous questionnaire was sent out by post to members of the Japanese Medical Association (JMA) and physicians working in hospitals. Contributing factors were examined by using logistic regression analysis.<BR>RESULTS: The response rates for the questionnaires were 18.7% (n=1868) for JMA physicians and 68.0% (n=5901) for hospital physicians. Factors associated with the preference for using the Internet were: ‘younger age’; ‘use of the Internet to solve clinical problems and uncertainties’; ‘use of personal computers at work’; and, ‘use of personal computers at home’.<BR>CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that, although some younger physicians prefer printed materials, providing medical information via the Internet is better suited for younger physicians who are making full use of computers. In contrast, older physicians prefer printed materials because they tend to be less familiar with using computers and may have limited accessibility to the Internet. Therefore, using both the Internet and printed materials to provide medical information is necessary to meet the needs of the larger physician population.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: physicians' awareness regarding evidence-based medicine (EBM), clinical practice guidelines, and clinical information resources were rarely examined in Japan. We need to know them prior to the initiation of the Medical Information Network Distribution Service (Minds) by the Japan Council for Quality Health Care (JCQHC) .<BR>METHODS: A total of 10, 000 directors/owners of private clinics (CDs: clinic physicians) affiliated with the Japan Medical Association (JMA) and 8682 physicians working for hospitals certified by the JCQHC (HDs: hospital physicians) were randomly selected and surveyed by a mailed questionnaire.<BR>RESULTS: The response rate to the questionnaire was 18.7% (n=1865) among CDs and 67.8% (n=5885) among HDs. The percentage of respondents who uses internet was 39.9% among CDs and 69.3% among HDs. The information resource most commonly used by all respondents was medical journals, followed by textbooks. The percentage of respondents who used medical literature database was 10.8% among CDs and 49.7% among HDs, respectively. Approximately 80% of all respondents approved implementing EBM in daily practice. Fifty percent of all respondents indicated to have used clinical practice guidelines, and 90% of all the guideline users replied that clinical practice guidelines are useful tools for clinical decision-making. Over half of HDs required to access to the abstracts of the literature cited in the guidelines.<BR>CONCLUSIONS: Many physicians who responded to the survey acknowledged that EBM will contribute to improving the quality of medical services. They are positive in using clinical practice guidelines that include a series of recommendations proposed by specialists in the relevant field (s) in accordance to the reviewed evidence.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of class walking on lifestyle activity. The subjects were recruited from the community around the university, and volunteered to eight weeks intervention. The intervention groups were 2 different walking program groups that included a class-walking group (A : n=32) and a voluntary walking group (B : n=31) ; and the control was a blood-pressure monitor group (C : n=22) . Only A group participated in a walking class with group instruction. Physical activity was measured by pedometer counts before the start of the intervention, during the 8-week intervention and again as follow up four months afterwards. In A group, the number of pedometer counts, during the group walking activity of the 5 th and 6 th weeks, was measured in order to evaluate the number of voluntary steps on the class-walking day. Although there was no significant difference among the three groups in daily activity before the intervention, the activity of A group (12367±3290) and B group (9988±3461) was significantly increased during the intervention. Also, there were significant differences between A and B, A and C. As for A group, the number of steps due to group walking (9025±584 steps) enhanced the daily activity on the class-walking days (16191±3988 steps), but significantly attenuated the voluntary steps on the class-walking days (7166±3988 steps), which did not significantly differ from the baseline of the daily activity. The number of steps on the non-class walking days (i. e. steps other than those taken on the class-walking day ; 11719±3454 steps) was not significantly different than that of B. There was significant enhancement of daily activity 4 months after the intervention for A (11487±4057) and B (9564±2545 steps), but not for C (9070±3485 steps), compared to the baseline. There was not a significant difference between the daily activity of A and B after the intervention. These data suggest that the instruction given and the steps taken in class walking enhance daily activity during the intervention period, and that voluntary steps play a more important role in whether or not one remains active and adheres to regular exercise.