Article type
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Abstract
Background:The Canadian Cochrane Centre (CCC) and the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA) collaborated to develop a two-part webinar program for clinical physiotherapists to apply evidence-based healthcare information to practice.
Objectives: There is continued concern from knowledge producers and users how to effectively connect research to clinical practice. Using an integrated knowledge translation (IKT) model with active collaboration, a tailored online educational program pairing researchers and clinicians was developed and delivered to help bridge the gap.
Methods:The program was divided into two independent but related series. Each series included three 90-minute webinars exploring the steps for finding, understanding and making informed, effective use of the best evidence for clinical physiotherapy decisions. The first series covered how to frame a clinical question for researching, where to look for quality evidence, and practice implications. The second series introduced statistics used in systematic reviews, presented challenges and opportunities in understanding research evidence, and illustrated how to put research into practice. The CCC knowledge broker and the CPA education programs manager recruited and coordinated both Cochrane and physiotherapy presenters, delivered the webinars, and evaluated the webinars series.
Results: The sessions provided the basic foundation for interpreting research and evaluating the evidence as it applies to clinical physiotherapy. Clinical case examples illustrated how the concepts could be applied to a variety of practice areas and patient populations. Feedback from participants indicated that the webinars have improved their confidence and skill level. They are able to better recognize and appraise relevant evidence to answer clinical questions.
Conclusions: It is anticipated that physiotherapists with improved critical appraisal skills will understand and use Cochrane Reviews in their clinical practice. Although presenter timing and recruitment were challenging, this ‘pairing research/clinical presenters’ model can be used to aid other health care professionals in disseminating, interpreting, and applying Cochrane Review findings.
Objectives: There is continued concern from knowledge producers and users how to effectively connect research to clinical practice. Using an integrated knowledge translation (IKT) model with active collaboration, a tailored online educational program pairing researchers and clinicians was developed and delivered to help bridge the gap.
Methods:The program was divided into two independent but related series. Each series included three 90-minute webinars exploring the steps for finding, understanding and making informed, effective use of the best evidence for clinical physiotherapy decisions. The first series covered how to frame a clinical question for researching, where to look for quality evidence, and practice implications. The second series introduced statistics used in systematic reviews, presented challenges and opportunities in understanding research evidence, and illustrated how to put research into practice. The CCC knowledge broker and the CPA education programs manager recruited and coordinated both Cochrane and physiotherapy presenters, delivered the webinars, and evaluated the webinars series.
Results: The sessions provided the basic foundation for interpreting research and evaluating the evidence as it applies to clinical physiotherapy. Clinical case examples illustrated how the concepts could be applied to a variety of practice areas and patient populations. Feedback from participants indicated that the webinars have improved their confidence and skill level. They are able to better recognize and appraise relevant evidence to answer clinical questions.
Conclusions: It is anticipated that physiotherapists with improved critical appraisal skills will understand and use Cochrane Reviews in their clinical practice. Although presenter timing and recruitment were challenging, this ‘pairing research/clinical presenters’ model can be used to aid other health care professionals in disseminating, interpreting, and applying Cochrane Review findings.