Translating Research into Practice: How Confident Are Allied Health Clinicians?

AIM: Knowledge translation (KT) is a multistage process of implementing practice change to align with evidence-based practice. This study aimed to determine the confidence of allied health professionals (AHPs) to undertake KT.

METHODS: A quantitative questionnaire was disseminated to AHPs over a 4-week period. Awareness of and confidence with KT was assessed using a 100-mm visual analogue scale.

RESULTS: 374 AHPs responded from 12 metropolitan hospitals in Queensland, Australia. Moderate confidence was reported for identifying an evidence-practice gap (median 70 mm, interquartile range [IQR] 50-80 mm), finding relevant literature/evidence (67 mm, 40-84 mm), and sharing evidence with colleagues (70 mm, 50-85 mm). Clinicians were less confident in choosing a KT framework (20 mm, 3-50 mm), implementing a practice change (40 mm, 15-61 mm), assessing barriers and enablers (50 mm, 25-70 mm) and supporting less experienced clinicians undertaking KT (42 mm, 14-68 mm). There was a weak positive correlation between years of experience and confidence in implementing practice change (rho=0.127, p=0.017). A majority of respondents (89%, n=333) reported an interest in learning more about KT.

CONCLUSIONS: AHPs were interested in KT but had low confidence in implementing research into practice. These findings identify opportunities to support the training and education needs of AHPs in KT.