background The impact of evidence-based practice (ebp) has increased substantially in recent years. However, health care practitioners are experiencing difficulties in implementing ebp.
aim The specific task was to find out what problems are encountered by Flemish (Belgian, Dutch-speaking) health care practitioners. method In order to explore this problem, we adopted a qualitative research strategy and set up 25 focus groups, 5 of which consisted solely of psychiatrists.
results Psychiatrists shared with other health care disciplines some concerns about the characteristics of 'evidence' and about the influential role played by their 'partners' in the health care system, namely by government, commercial firms and patients. Psychiatrists perceived their discipline to be much more complex than other disciplines, particularly in areas such as research design, patients' problems, psychiatric diagnosis and therapeutic psychiatrist-patientrelationships. The literature and the preliminary results of ongoing research revealed that other disciplines too are confronted with similar complexities.
conclusion There seems to be no justification for ruling out the possibility of implementing ebp on the basis of discipline-related barriers.