Evaluation of physician’s knowledge in Jordan about the ACC/AHA blood cholesterol guidelines

Abstract

Background Elevated levels of blood lipids are considered a major modifiable risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases. The optimal management of dyslipidaemia remains inadequate worldwide. Accordingly, there is an increasing need to evaluate the basis that health care providers are using to control dyslipidaemia. Aim To evaluate the awareness of Jordanian physicians about the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines for dyslipidaemia management. Method A written questionnaire was distributed to 250 physicians from different areas of Jordan during 7 months period (from February 2018 until the end of August 2018). The target population is composed of the following categories: juniors, residents, fellows and consultants who were recruited from private, government and military practice settings. The validated developed questionnaire was distributed by trained medical personnel. Results A total of 207 physicians filled and handed back the questionnaire. The response rate was 82.8%. Generally, there was a difference in the level of knowledge between physicians (juniors/ residents/ consultants) while there was no difference between genders or practice settings (private or government). The current study showed that the awareness of physicians in different areas of Jordan regarding the 2013 (ACC/AHA) dyslipidaemia guidelines is suboptimal. Conclusion Results indicated low levels of knowledge of 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemia among physicians in Jordan. Hence, multiple interventions are needed to be implemented in order to increase the level of awareness among Jordanian physicians.

Risk assessment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases before statin therapy initiation: Knowledge, attitude, and practice of physicians in Yemen

“…This is similar to a finding from Singapore in which authors found a higher familiarity with 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines among cardiologists than endocrinologists/nephrologists or the GPs [ 16 ]. Also, findings from Jordan found that physicians’ rank can play an essential role in clinicians’ knowledge [ 15 ]. Similarly, Mosca et al found that cardiologists and primary care physicians were substantially more aware of and incorporated CVD recommendations into practice than other specialties [ 25 ].…”

“…The current study’s target population consisted of 1732 physicians, according to the last annual health report of the number of physicians in Sana’a [ 17 ]. The total sample size was calculated to be 214 based on the following formula N = 4 Z α 2 S 2 ÷W 2 [ 18 ], assuming a 95% confidence interval, Z α of 1.96, W/S ratio of 0.3 [ 15 ], and 20% for non-responses or in case of incomplete questionnaires. A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed.…”

Physicians and pharmacists’ clinical knowledge of statin therapy and monitoring parameters, and the barriers to guideline implementation in clinical practice

“…The gap of knowledge regarding statin intensities has been shown in previous work from Suadi Arabia, where the questions about statin monitoring and the highintensity statin group had the lowest percentage of correct answers with 9.1% and 28.6%, respectively [10]. In Jordan, more than half of the physicians were able to define the moderateand high-intensity statin groups and gave correct examples for each of them [11].…”

“…Their answers were either they do not need a statin or should receive a low-intensity dose. Rababa'h et al (2020) found that only 45.4% of participating Jordanian physicians recommended the right therapeutic statin plan for diabetic patients aged 40-75 years old [11]. Although several studies worldwide have reported the underutilization of statins among patients with DM aged 40-75 years old, in our study, we confirm the lack of knowledge among Yemeni physicians and pharmacists regarding statin use in DM patients as a potential reason for the underutilization of statins among patients for primary prevention in Yemen, particularly diabetic patients aged 40-75 years old.…”

“…However, healthcare providers' lack of knowledge about up-to-date guideline recommendations is one of the most common barriers to guideline implementation in clinical practice [9]. Previous studies have reported knowledge gaps among physicians and/or pharmacists regarding cholesterol management guidelines and/or CVD risk assessment before statin therapy initiation [10][11][12][13]. For example, two studies from the USA that were done among healthcare providers [14] and clinical pharmacists [15] reported several knowledge gaps about guidelines, particularly those related to ASCVD risk assessment and statin therapy clinical indications.…”