Assessment of Evidence Based Practice Among Physiotherapists in Kerala

Background: The physiotherapy profession worldwide has evolved from traditional methods to a more practical and functional approach grounded in evidence-based practice. Numerous studies on Evidence-based practice (EBP) are being carried out across various countries. Some of these studies indicate that healthcare professionals, including physiotherapists, dedicate minimal time to reviewing clinical research, which reflects a deficiency in knowledge, confidence, and the application of EBP in both clinical settings and educational environments.It is crucial to assess the degree to which physiotherapists in Kerala implement EBP. Objective: To find out the attitude, knowledge and behaviour of physiotherapists towards Evidence Based Practice in Kerala and to find out correlation between EBP domains,level of study ,area of practice and year of graduation. Methods: 180 physiotherapists both male and female with minimum 1 year work experience, between the age of 23 and 50 age, were done the EBP2 questionnaire Results: A total of 180 subjects who satisfied the inclusion criteria participated in this study. Among them 103 were females while 77 were males. According to the statistical analysis, there is positive correlation between Relevance and Practice,Confidence and Terminology, Relevance and Terminology and is statistically significant. There is also a negative correlation between Year of experience and Practice. Conclusion: This study shows that physiotherapist in Kerala have a general understanding of EBPis above average and describes a good knowledge and a positive attitude towards EBP, but a insufficiently implement it in practice when compared to their knowledge and which suggested a need for an improvement.