Clinical physical therapists research activity reality and barriers to their utilizing research findings

Abstract

[Purpose] This research study was performed to investigate the barriers to using the research findings of physical therapists on evidence-based practice. [Subjects] The subjects of this research were physical therapists employed by hospitals that agreed to cooperate with the research in B city. [Methods] A questionnaire made up of 6 research items, 8 physical therapist items, 6 presentation items, and 8 setting items, for a total of 28 items, was distributed. The responses were scored so the higher result scores indicate a higher barrier level to using research findings. Differences in barrier levels related to the likelihood of therapists using research findings in their practice varied according to the general characteristics of the result as according to the t-test and ANOVA. Scheffe’s test was used as a post hoc test. [Results] The analysis of 158 returned questionnaires revealed that there were significant relationships between the age, educational level, and professional satisfaction of the therapists and the barriers to using research finding. Significant relationships were also found between the items of “Research participation in clinical research”, “Frequency of reading research articles”, and “Support of manager to use research” and the barrier level. No relationship was demonstrated between the recognition level of evidence-based practice and the performance level with the barrier score to using research findings. [Conclusion] This study demonstrated that to improve the utilization of research findings, there is a need to provide therapists with continual education and opportunities to participate in research, and environments and ways in which the research results can be given practical applications.

Physiotherapy: How to work with evidence in daily practice

“…Education, training, and peer support may be key strategies for promoting EBP knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior (evidence seeking) . Other studies have reported that continued education facilitates critical evaluation among physiotherapists and that to promote physiotherapists' use of EBP, systematic implementation of new learning is needed, particularly learning that demonstrates the practical applications of research results . To understand how EBP is carried out and how decisions are made in daily practice, it is important to grasp how the concept of evidence is perceived, there is still a lack familiarity regarding its concepts and applications …”

The impact of a unique knowledge translation programme implemented in a large multisite paediatric hospital

“…It was important to make the creation of local recommendations through small groups feasible. This is because the availability of local recommendations created via active participation of users is a strategy believed to improve use of EBP [3,24,[26][27][28]32,33]. Furthermore, when clinical questions were left unanswered by the COG, a research study was frequently initiated.…”

“…Finally, education of therapists on the KT process and local recommendations was believed to have been key revisions as on‐going education is a strategy shown to improve the success of KT . Strategies utilized to educate our staff including in‐services and brief written summaries have been found to be effective .…”

“…A recent Cochrane review indicates the importance of identifying individual obstacles to KT and tailoring the interventions to address these barriers . On‐going and continuous training may reduce knowledge barriers . Attitudinal barriers maybe reduced through the development of guidelines that allow for flexibility in practice .…”

“…At the organizational level, having leadership support for KT activities, may reduce barriers . This may include creating a culture that supports KT , utilizing a knowledge broker to facilitate KT , requiring staff participation in KT and engaging clinicians in research . To overcome a commonly reduced resource of time, it is important to make KT efficient by creating or displaying recommendations that are easily accessible during patient care and are relevant to clinical practice .…”