Characteristics of participants
| Characteristics of doctors | Without OS , n=281 (%) | With OS, n=286 (%) | Total, n=567(%) |
| Male | 241 (85.8) | 243 (85.0) | 484 (85.4) |
| Years of practice | Median 15.0 IQR 11–24 | Median 16.0 IQR 11–24 | Median 16.0 IQR 11–24 |
| Workplace | |||
| Hospitals (public and private) | 131 (46.6) | 165 (57.7) | 296 (52.2) |
| Clinics | 97 (34.5) | 80 (28.0) | 177 (31.2) |
| University hospitals | 46 (16.4) | 40 (14.0) | 86 (15.2) |
| Nursing homes | 2 (0.7) | 0 (0) | 2 (0.4) |
| Others | 5 (1.8) | 1 (0.3) | 6 (1.1) |
| Certification/degree* | |||
| Primary care physician | 216 (76.9) | 218 (76.2) | 434 (76.5) |
| PhD | 88 (31.3) | 93 (32.5) | 181 (31.9) |
| Other certification | 167 (59.4) | 180 (62.9) | 347 (61.2) |
| Clinical background* | |||
| Internal medicine | 123 (43.8) | 135 (47.2) | 258 (45.5) |
| Surgery | 26 (9.3) | 26 (9.1) | 52 (9.2) |
| Emergency medicine | 15 (5.3) | 14 (4.9) | 29 (5.1) |
| Paediatrics | 6 (2.1) | 5 (1.7) | 11 (1.9) |
| Others | 21 (7.5) | 22 (7.7) | 43 (7.6) |
| Source of information* | |||
| Brochures/lectures sponsored by pharmaceutical companies | 153 (54.4) | 165 (57.7) | 318 (56.1) |
| Journal club | 81 (28.8) | 83 (29.0) | 164 (28.9) |
| Searching evidence/medical journals | 187 (66.5) | 193 (67.5) | 380 (67.0) |
| Secondary information | 191 (68.0) | 199 (69.6) | 390 (68.8) |
| Others | 21 (7.5) | 9 (3.1) | 30 (5.3) |
| Ever attended an EBM workshop | 181 (64.4) | 186 (65.0) | 367 (64.7) |
| Experience of PI | 94 (33.5) | 106 (37.1) | 200 (35.3) |
| The first section to read when studying abstracts | |||
| Background | 108 (38.4) | 105 (36.7) | 213 (37.6) |
| Methods | 24 (8.5) | 25 (8.7) | 49 (8.6) |
| Results | 35 (12.5) | 30 (10.5) | 65 (11.5) |
| Conclusion | 114 (40.6) | 126 (44.1) | 240 (42.3) |
| The number of abstract read in the last month | |||
| 0 | 22 (7.8) | 26 (9.1) | 48 (8.5) |
| 1 | 23 (8.2) | 31 (10.8) | 54 (9.5) |
| 2–4 | 107 (38.1) | 117 (40.9) | 224 (39.5) |
| Five or more | 129 (45.9) | 112 (39.2) | 241 (42.5) |
Clinical background data were available with participants who have subspecialty certifications.
*Multiple answers allowed.
EBM, evidence-based medicine; OS, overstatement; PI, principle investigator.