Clinical practice guidelines: Their utility, dissemination and monitoring at Colonial War Memorial Hospital: A mixed methods study from Fiji

Background: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) improve patient care by standardizing medical practice. However, little is known about their applicability in low resource settings. Since 2010, Fiji has introduced guidelines to increase the application of evidence-based practice.
Aims: We describe the dissemination, utility and monitoring of guideline implementation in Fiji, a low-resource setting in the Pacific.
Methods: A mixed-methods design included a survey and focus groups. All 178 doctors in five departments at Fiji’s largest tertiary hospital were invited to participate.
Subsequently, two focus group interviews explored clinicians’ perspectives in more detail. Analysis included data description, multi-variable logistic, multinomial regression and manifest content analyses.
Results: The response rate was 74%. Most doctors agreed that CPGs were good for patient management (100%), doctors continuing medical education (CME) (96%), patient education (73%), supported by systematic reviews (91%) and consistent with
existing norms/values (83%). Ninety-five per cent stated that CPGs increased the quality of care, and 80% stated that CPGs increased physician satisfaction. Approximately
two-thirds stated that CPGs decreased medical-legal problems (63%) and malpractice suits (68%). Sixty to 90% of doctors disagreed that CPGs were oversimplified/cookbook medicine (60%), too rigid to apply individually (65%), challenged physician autonomy (60%) or were ambiguous/unclear (86%) or not practical (89%). The preferred method of dissemination was CME, and quick reference guides were best for implementation. No formal CPG monitoring existed in any department.
Conclusion: Most physicians found CPGs to be valuable for improving the consistency of care. In low-resource settings, dissemination of guidelines should be paired with CME to improve their uptake. Increased monitoring of guideline use appears necessary.