Are provider self-efficacy and attitudes related to cardiovascular prevention associated with better treatment outcomes?

Cardiovascular risk factor control is inadequate in many high-risk patients. Although many provider-directed educational interventions attempt to address this issue by enhancing provider self-efficacy, a link between greater self-efficacy and better patient outcomes has not been established. Primary care providers (PCPs) in outpatient clinics of a large Veteran's Administration (VA) facility were asked to complete 4 subscales assessing self-efficacy and attitudes related to cardiovascular prevention (CVP). Using a cross-sectional study design, responses were linked with process and CVP outcomes related to blood pressure (BP) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) control and the Framingham Risk Score (FRS), a summary measure of risk factor control, in diabetic patients observed by participating PCPs between December 1, 2004 and December 31, 2005. Multivariable, multilevel models assessed associations between these patient outcomes and provider self-efficacy and CVP-related attitudes, after accounting for patient characteristics, including baseline risk factor control, provider characteristics, and patient clustering within provider practices. Fifty-nine PCPs (86%) providing care to 1495 patients with diabetes completed the survey. Mean scores for provider efficacy and CVP-related attitudes were moderate to high. Higher self-efficacy scores were associated with initiation of medications in previously untreated individuals with inadequate BP or lipid control at baseline. Despite adequate power, however, multilevel models demonstrated neither consistent nor substantive associations between providers' self-efficacy and CVP-related attitudes and patient outcome measures. These findings underscore the need for interventions to enhance cardiovascular risk factor control that look beyond educational strategies to address a broader range of factors with potential influence on patient outcomes and the delivery of preventive care.