ABSTRACT
The relationship between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry has ethical implications for patient care. This study examined knowledge and attitudes towards the pharmaceutical industry, and associations with actual behaviour, among physicians working in Saudi Arabia. In a cross-sectional study in 2012, a 100-point score was created from 17 5-point Likert-scale questions to assess knowledge and attitudes. The overall score of 659 participants was 63.1 (SD 8.5), with a majority holding a generally positive attitude. Higher (i.e. better) scores were significantly associated with a lack of interactions with the pharmaceutical industry and with refusal of gifts but not with education about ethics. In multivariate analysis, refusing gifts, additional income and Saudi nationality remained independently associated with higher scores. Overall, there was suboptimal knowledge and a generally positive attitude towards the pharmaceutical industry among the sample of physicians in Saudi Arabia.
Subject(s)
Drug Industry , Interprofessional Relations , Physicians/psychology , Adult , Attitude of Health Personnel , Conflict of Interest , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Interprofessional Relations/ethics , Male , Middle Aged , Professional Practice/ethics , Saudi Arabia , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young AdultABSTRACT
The relationship between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry has ethical implications for patient care. This study examined knowledge and attitudes towards the pharmaceutical industry,and associations with actual behaviour, among physicians working in Saudi Arabia. In a cross-sectional study in 2012, a 100-point score was created from 17 5-point Likert-scale questions to assess knowledge and attitudes. The overall score of 659 participants was 63.1 [SD 8.5], with a majority holding a generally positive attitude. Higher [i.e.better] scores were significantly associated with a lack of interactions with the pharmaceutical industry and with refusal of gifts but not with education about ethics. In multivariate analysis, refusing gifts, additional income and Saudi nationality remained independently associated with higher scores. Overall,there was suboptimal knowledge and a generally positive attitude towards the pharmaceutical industry among the sample of physicians in Saudi Arabia
Les relations entre les médecins et l'industrie pharmaceutique ont des implications éthiques pour les soins aux patients. La présente étude a examiné les connaissances et les attitudes envers l'industrie pharmaceutique, ainsi que les associations avec les comportements réels chez des médecins exerçant en Arabie saoudite. Dans une étude transversale menée en 2012, un score sur 100 a été créé à partir de 17 questions sur une échelle de Likert en 5 points visant à évaluer les connaissances et les attitudes. Le score global des 659 participants était de 63,1 [ET 8,5], la majorité ayant généralement une attitude positive. Les scores les plus élevés [c'est-à-dire les meilleurs scores] étaient nettement associés à une absence d'interactions avec l'industrie pharmaceutique et le refus de cadeaux,mais n'étaient pas liés à une formation sur l’éthique.E l'analyse multivariée, le refus de cadeaux,des revenus supplémentaires ainsi que la nationalité saoudienne étaient des facteurs indépendamment associés à des scores plus élevés.Globalement, les connaissances étaient sous-optimales et l'attitude envers l'industrie pharmaceutique était généralement positive au sein de l'échantillon de médecins répondeurs en Arabie saoudite
