Purpose: Peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) in older adult patients with a hip fracture improve morbidity and mortality, reduce health care costs, and improve quality of care. Despite the benefits, PNB use rates remain low. We aimed to use the Theoretical Domains Framework to investigate the barriers and facilitators to PNB use in patients with a hip fracture from the perspective of Canadian anesthesiologists.

Methods: We created an online survey that collected both quantitative and qualitative responses. After research ethics board approval, the survey was distributed among all Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society (CAS) members. We present five-point Likert responses as medians and interquartile ranges [IQRs], conducted thematic analysis on the narrative feedback, and performed cluster analysis to explore patterns associated with survey responses.

Results: We obtained responses from 256/2,498 (10.2%) CAS members. Of these respondents, 215 (84%) performed PNBs for patients with a hip fracture. The median [IQR] five-point Likert responses showed that participants felt confident placing a PNB (4 [4-5]) and agreed they possessed adequate knowledge and skills for PNB placement (4 [4-5]). Participants' responses showed lower ratings with greater variability for availability of adequate time (3 [3-4]), collaboration with the perioperative team (4 [2-4]), and adequate resources (4 [3-5]). Barriers to PNB use identified through thematic analysis included time pressure as well as inadequate human resources, training opportunities, and multidisciplinary collaboration with other health care professionals. Facilitators included more education, dedicated resources, and clinical care pathways.

Conclusion: Our results identified several barriers and facilitators related to physical resources, operational support, and educational factors that may inform future interventions to increase PNB use in older patients with a hip fracture. The results of this study may not be generalizable to all Canadian practice settings because of a low response rate and high proportion of respondents who performed PNBs at their local institution.