Failure to discount for conflict of interest when evaluating medical literature: a randomised trial of physicians.

Context: Physicians are regularly confronted with research that is funded or presented by industry.

Objective: To assess whether physicians discount for conflicts of interest when weighing evidence for prescribing a new drug.

Design And Setting: Participants were presented with an abstract from a single clinical trial finding positive results for a fictitious new drug.

Factors associated with physicians' reliance on pharmaceutical sales representatives.

Purpose: To examine relationships between pharmaceutical representatives and obstetrician-gynecologists and identify factors associated with self-reported reliance on representatives when making prescribing decisions.

Method: In 2006-2007, questionnaires were mailed to 515 randomly selected physicians in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Collaborative Ambulatory Research Network. Participants were asked about the information sources used when deciding to prescribe a new drug, interactions with sales representatives, views of representatives' value, and guidelines they had read on appropriate industry interactions.

Cesarean delivery on maternal request: obstetrician-gynecologists' knowledge, perception, and practice patterns.

Objective: To examine obstetrician-gynecologists' knowledge, opinions, and practice patterns related to cesarean delivery on maternal request.

Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to 1,031 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Fellows in February 2006, with a response rate of 68%. The questionnaire queried respondents' demographic characteristics, practices and attitudes surrounding vaginal and cesarean deliveries, knowledge and beliefs regarding the risks and benefits of elective and nonelective cesarean delivery, and counseling practices and department policies for cesarean delivery on maternal request.

Assessment and management of obesity.

Unlabelled: Obesity is a serious medical condition that significantly impacts the health of pregnant and nonpregnant women. Although obstetrician-gynecologists have reported that they are knowledgeable of the health risks associated with obesity, they have also reported that their knowledge of weight assessment and management is inadequate. The purpose of this article is to review the proper procedures for assessing and managing obesity.

What obstetrician-gynecologists think of preconception care.

Objectives: To describe obstetrician-gynecologists' opinions of preconception care (PCC) and ascertain patient uptake for this service.

Methods: A questionnaire was mailed to 1105 ACOG members in August 2004.

Results: There was a 60% response rate.

A survey of obstetrician-gynecologists concerning practice patterns and attitudes toward hormone therapy.

Objective: To examine the knowledge and prescribing practices of obstetrician-gynecologists regarding hormone therapy in light of the published evidence from the Women's Health Initiative study on combined estrogen + progestin.

Design: A survey questionnaire was sent to 2,500 randomly selected Fellows of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in November of 2003; 705 surveys were returned. Of those, 644 reported their specialty as obstetrics and/or gynecology and those responses are reported.

Clinical approach to mental health issues among obstetrician-gynecologists: a review.

Unlabelled: In recent years, obstetrician-gynecologists have taken on a greater role in the provision of primary care. Mental health has been a topic worthy of further exploration as a result of the high prevalence rates of women presenting in gynecologic settings with depressive, anxiety, or eating-disordered symptoms. The detrimental effects of psychopathology have been well documented in the literature, especially if present during pregnancy.

Impact of self-reported familiarity with guidelines for cystic fibrosis carrier screening.

Objective: To assess the impact of self-reported familiarity with published guidelines on knowledge, implementation, and opinions of obstetrician-gynecologists regarding carrier screening for cystic fibrosis.

Methods: A questionnaire pertaining to cystic fibrosis screening guidelines was mailed to 1,165 members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Results: Sixty-four percent of questionnaires were returned.

Vaginal birth after cesarean delivery: practice patterns of obstetrician-gynecologists.

Objective: To assess obstetrician-gynecologists' current practice patterns and opinions regarding vaginal birth after cesarean delivery (VBAC).

Study Design: Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 1,200 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) fellows in July 2003. Information was gathered on percentage of cesarean and VBAC deliveries performed, factors influencing changes in these rates in the past 5 years, hospital protocol regarding VBAC and factors influencing the recommendation of VBAC.

Neonatal encephalopathy and cerebral palsy revisited: the current state of knowledge and the impact of american college of obstetricians and gynecologists task force report.

Objectives: To re-assess obstetrician-gynecologists' knowledge of neonatal encephalopathy and cerebral palsy after publication of the ACOG/AAP Task Force report.

Study Design: A questionnaire investigating knowledge of neonatal encephalopathy and cerebral palsy was mailed to 1060 members of ACOG, 337 of whom participated in a similar study in 2001.

Results: There was a strong association between familiarity with ACOG documentation and knowledge of neonatal encephalopathy (NE) and cerebral palsy (CP) (p<0.

Contemporary clinical issues in outpatient obstetrics and gynecology: findings of the Collaborative Ambulatory Research Network, 2001-2004: part II.

Obstetrician/gynecologists are taking on more primary care responsibilities and thus are expected to have a wider base of medical knowledge on a variety of women's health issues. The Collaborative Ambulatory Research Network (CARN) was created in 1990 to investigate issues pertinent to women's health and to the practice of obstetrics and gynecology in the outpatient setting. This article summarizes the findings of CARN studies from 2001 to 2004, covering topics of abnormal pregnancy outcomes, complications of pregnancy, and psychologic disorders.

Contemporary clinical issues in outpatient obstetrics and gynecology: findings of the Collaborative Ambulatory Research Network, 2001-2004: part I.

Obstetrician/gynecologists are taking on more primary care responsibilities and thus are expected to have a wider base of medical knowledge on a variety of women's health issues. The Collaborative Ambulatory Research Network (CARN) was created in 1990 to investigate issues pertinent to women's health and to the practice of obstetrics and gynecology in the outpatient setting. This article summarizes the findings of CARN studies from 2001 to 2004, covering topics of infectious diseases, cancer screening, and metabolism and nutrition.

Cervical cytology screening practices among obstetrician-gynecologists.

Objective: To estimate the current cervical cytology screening practices of American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Fellows, to establish a baseline for tracking future changes in practice.

Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of ACOG Fellows (n = 599) and to a group of Fellows who have regularly participated in past ACOG surveys (n = 409). The questionnaires asked about current cytology screening and evaluation practices and presented clinical practice vignettes with additional questions.

Neonatal encephalopathy and cerebral palsy: a knowledge survey of Fellows of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Objective: To assess practicing obstetricians' knowledge of the etiology and pathophysiology of neonatal encephalopathy and its relationship to cerebral palsy.

Methods: A questionnaire designed to test both knowledge and practice patterns was mailed to 413 members of the Collaborative Ambulatory Research Network of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), as well as 600 randomly selected non-Network ACOG Fellows. The questionnaire was composed of 15 knowledge questions and three clinical scenarios containing seven knowledge questions.

Clinical practice guidelines as educational tools for obstetrician-gynecologists.

Objective: To examine the awareness of and attitudes toward clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) produced by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) among its fellows and to identify factors that would enhance the perceived value of the CPGs.

Study Design: A questionnaire survey on clinical practice guidelines sent to 1,000 practicing fellows of ACOG.

Results: Four hundred sixty-two fellows (46.