What Researchers Did
Researchers surveyed 246 American wound care physicians to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and adoption of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for chronic wounds.
What They Found
Of 246 responding physicians, 167 (68%) reported using or referring patients for hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the past year. Physician adoption was significantly associated with living in a community of over 100,000 residents (adjusted odds ratio = 2.29), patient requests (adjusted odds ratio = 5.38), and high familiarity (adjusted odds ratio = 5.33) and positive attitudes (adjusted odds ratio = 3.38) toward the therapy.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Canadian patients seeking hyperbaric oxygen therapy for chronic wounds may find access influenced by their physician's familiarity with the treatment and their own proactive requests. Living in larger urban centers might also increase the likelihood of their physician adopting or referring for this therapy.
Canadian Relevance
This study was conducted in the United States and has no direct Canadian connection.
Study Limitations
A limitation of this study is the relatively low response rate of 43% from the surveyed physicians.