Research amongst physical therapists in the state of Kuwait: participation, perception, attitude and barriers.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this descriptive study were to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of physical therapists regarding research, the intention to engage in research and the barriers to participating in research amongst physical therapists in the State of Kuwait. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A previously validated questionnaire was distributed to 200 non-randomly selected physical therapists. The questionnaire gathered demographic data as well as information regarding research-related activities. Descriptive statistics, frequency and χ(2) analyses were used in this study. RESULTS: Of the 200 questionnaires distributed to physical therapists 122 (61%) were completed and returned. The physical therapists had a positive attitude towards reading these findings in order to update their knowledge. However, only 16 (17%) of the physical therapists participated in clinical research. The common reasons given were: minimal role and reduced ability, intention and level of engagement in initiating research, probably due to work overload, time constraints and limited access to resources. CONCLUSIONS: Physical therapists in Kuwait had a positive attitude towards the application of research findings to their practice. However, they were not confident in initiating research due to work overload and lack of time as well as limited access to library resources. Therefore, we recommend stimulation to engage in research activities to be a requirement and to develop a system to improve the skills and knowledge of doing research.

Factors influencing patient satisfaction in primary healthcare clinics in Kuwait.

PURPOSE: To measure the quality of health care services patient satisfaction is used as one of the most important indicators. The study aims to identify factors affecting patient's satisfaction at primary health care clinics. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The data was collected during January 2007 and May 2007 through a randomly-distributed questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed in primary healthcare clinics that represent all heath care regions in Kuwait. A total of 426 completed questionnaires, out of 500, were returned resulting in a response rate of 85.2 percent. FINDINGS: The majority (87 percent) of the patients responded that the time for communication between physician and patient was not enough. Seventy-nine-percent of the surveyed patients said they would go to the emergency room of the hospital in future if needed instead of going to the primary care clinic. Regarding the quality of the communication relationship between physician and patients most of the patients responded negatively. Exploratory factor analysis identified six factors and reliability of overall scale was found to be 0.61. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: One limitation to this study was the exclusion of the private sector. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The authors hope that this study identifies areas of dissatisfaction that can be quickly remedied and ensures enhancement in the areas of satisfaction with ongoing attention and emphasis.

Factors influencing nurses' attitudes towards the use of computerized health information systems in Kuwaiti hospitals.

AIM: This paper reports a survey of nurses' attitudes towards computerized health information systems, the characteristics that influence these attitudes and the level of nurses' skills in computer use. BACKGROUND: The use of such systems in developed countries and in some developing countries has already become a reality. However, nurses as a group of care providers have been found to resist computerization, seeing computerized health information systems as dehumanizing, confusing and uncaring. Nurses with more computer experience tend to have more positive views; education and training positively influence attitudes; and younger and less experienced nurses may have more positive attitudes. METHODS: A structured questionnaire was used to measure the attitudes of nurses working in Kuwait towards computerization. A random sample of 574 nurses working in Ministry of Health hospitals were sent a questionnaire, and 530 replies were received (response rate 92.3%). The data were collected from November 2002 to January 2003. FINDINGS: Respondents generally had positive attitudes toward computerized health information systems. Analysis of variance revealed statistically significant differences in attitudes in relation to nationality, level of education, previous experience in computer use, and computer skills (P < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis showed that gender, nationality, education levels, and duration of computer use were statistically significant predictors of attitudes toward computerized health information systems (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: With adequate computerized health information system training, the implementation of computerized health information systems could be effective for nurses in providing quality health care, as found in other studies.