Integrated Knowledge Translation Guiding Principles for Conducting and Disseminating Spinal Cord Injury Research in Partnership

Abstract

To address a gap between spinal cord injury (SCI) research and practice by rigorously and systematically co-developing integrated knowledge translation (IKT) guiding principles for conducting and disseminating SCI research in partnership with research users. Design: The process was guided by the internationally accepted The Appraisal of Guidelines for REsearch & Evaluation (AGREE) II Instrument for evaluating the development of clinical practice guidelines. Setting: North American SCI research system (ie, SCI researchers, research users, funders). Participants: The multidisciplinary expert panel (nZ17) and end users (nZ35) included individuals from a North American partnership of SCI researchers, research users, and funders who have expertise in research partnerships. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Clarity, usefulness, and appropriateness of the principles. Results: Data regarding 125 principles of partnered research were systematically collected from 4 sources (review of reviews, scoping review, interviews, Delphi consensus exercise). A multidisciplinary expert panel held a 2-day meeting to establish consensus, select guiding principles, and draft the guidance. The panel reached 100% consensus on the principles and guidance document. The final document includes a preamble,

Assessment of body composition in spinal cord injury: A scoping review

“…It would also provide the foundation for internationally standardized methods and outcome measures for SCI trials such as longitudinal exercise and nutrition trials. As highlighted by others [ 82 ] and by our stakeholder consultations, any document guidance must be inclusive of describing any associated risks and accessibility concerns in individuals with SCI.…”

“…This is the first systematic scoping review on measurement properties of various tools to assess fat and fat-free mass in adults with SCI, in accordance with international standards [16][17][18]. The collaborative work of the expert panel ensured the representation of the voices of various stakeholder groups [19,82], and facilitated setting priorities for future research [83]. The expert panel used a convenience sampling approach to reach out to their professional stakeholder networks.…”

Participation of people living with disabilities in physical activity: a global perspective

“…127 Tokenism can be avoided by ensuring IKT partners can represent the interests and perspectives of PWD, and recognizing and valuing their diverse knowledge and expertise. 128 IKT approaches shift the focus from doing research on PWD to doing research with PWD and are critical to rectifying the inherent ableism in national and international PA policies and related resources. Although IKT can take more time and effort than traditional research approaches, IKT-based research can lead to more rapid development and revision of inclusive PA policies (such as GAPPA), and PA resources that are relevant to PWD (see Section 3 for an example).…”

Outcomes of peer mentorship for people living with spinal cord injury: perspectives from members of Canadian community-based SCI organizations

“…A community-university partnership was established between four provincial community-based SCI organizations and researchers from two universities [10,11]. Using the IKT guiding principles for SCI research [12], members of the partnership were involved with the funding application, co-developing the research questions, and interpreting and disseminating the results. The research team consisted of directors of community-based SCI organizations with, collectively, over 25 years of experience (TC and HF), academic SCI researchers with qualitative research experience (SS and HG), a qualitative academic researcher (LS), and graduate students (LH, ZS, and SH).…”