Survey on knowledge, attitude and prescribing of benzodiazepines among general practitioners / 中华全科医师杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To survey on the knowledge, attitude and prescribing of benzodiazepines (BZDs) among general practitioners.Methods:A questionnaire survey was conducted in November 2018 among 396 clinicians who participated in the general practice training in Henan Province, including 131 general practitioners (GP group) and 265 non-GPs (non-GP group). The questionnaire included basic information of clinicians, BZDs prescription and training, subjective attitude and knowledge of BZDs.Results:The results of 396 valid questionnaires showed that 55 (13.9%) clinicians had participated in BZDs related training, and 331 (83.6%) clinicians had prescribed BZDs. There was no significant difference in the duration of BZDs continuous use between the GP group and the non-GP group (χ 2= 8.37, P>0.05). The overall score of subjective attitude towards BZDs was low [4(2,6) - 5(3,9)], and the score of BZDs training needs was high [10(8,10)]. Compared to non-GP group, the GP group had lower confidence in BZDs indication [4(2,6) vs. 5(3,6), Z=-2.66, P<0.05 ], the lower ability of judging BZDs addiction [5(2,6) vs. 5(3,7), Z=-2.52, P<0.05], and less understanding of BZDs use guidelines [4(1,5) vs. 4(3,6), Z=-3.05, P<0.05]. In terms of prescription tendency, the GP group was less inclined to prescribe BZDs according to experience [5(2,7) vs. 6(4,8), Z=-3.50, P<0.05]. In the knowledge of BZDs, the total score of GP group was lower than that of non-GP group, the [11(8,12) vs. 11(9,13), Z=-2.06, P<0.05]. The proportion of GPs with drug addiction recognition[66.4%(87/131) vs.77.7%(206/265),χ 2=5.84] and pharmacology knowledge [59.5%(78/131) vs.72.1%(191/265),χ 2=6.32] were all lower than that of non-GPs( P<0.05). Conclusions:General practitioners are lack of knowledge about BZDs and confidence in prescribing BZDs. It is necessary to carry out training on BZDs, especially for addiction and drug effects.