A controlled evaluation of a national continuing medical education programme designed to improve family physicians’ implementation of diabetes‐specific clinical practice guidelines
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SummaryAims New approaches to continuing medical education will facilitate the implementation of clinical practice guidelines. This study assessed the short and long‐term impact of a 7‐h, small group workshop on family physicians’ attitude, knowledge and self‐reported practice patterns regarding diabetes mellitus.Methods One hundred and seventy‐seven of 1807 family physicians who participated in this nationwide workshop, and 113 non‐participant controls completed two validated questionnaires. Participants completed one questionnaire before the workshop and a second equivalent questionnaire 1 month later. Non‐participant controls also completed the two questionnaires 1 month apart. Between 8 and 24 months later, these individuals were mailed the same questionnaire they completed on the first occasion; 143 participants and 50 controls returned this third questionnaire.Results Participants were more likely to be female (P = 0.03), not certified in family practice (P = 0.02), in a smaller centre (P = 0.0005), recent medical graduates (P = 0.001) and seeing fewer patients per month (P = 0.01) than controls. Compared to controls, participants had improved their attitude (P < 0.0001), knowledge (P = 0.04) and self‐reported practice patterns (P < 0.002) regarding diabetes after 1 month but not after 1 year.Conclusions An interactive, small group, diabetes continuing education programme effectively disseminates practice guidelines to family physicians. The impact of such a programme declines after 1 year.Keywords clinical practice guidelines, continuing medical education, diabetes mellitus, primary care
