Date Presented 4/19/2018
Professional organizations encourage therapists to use research evidence in their daily practice and have provided many resources, including access to online databases, to facilitate this. Little is known regarding how the availability of these resources has influenced therapists’ behaviors.
Primary Author and Speaker: Susan Doyle
Additional Authors and Speakers: Yvonne Swinth
PURPOSE: Past research indicates that therapists use little or no research evidence for decision making (Doyle et al., 2013; Swinth et al., 2007). Barriers identified include lack of access to evidence sources, and to overcome this barrier professional organizations developed online evidence resources. It is unclear whether therapists use these resources. The purpose of this study, given the increased availability of online resources, was to identify therapists’ sources of information for decision making and their familiarity with and perception of the new online resources and to describe their online information-seeking behaviors.
METHOD: This survey used a purposely designed questionnaire that was mailed to 500 randomly chosen therapists from the Washington and Oregon state licensure board lists. The questionnaire included 23 questions, 10 of which sought demographic information in open-ended or multiple-choice formats. The first question tried to identify participants’ familiarity with information resources using a Likert-scale format. The next five questions related to perceived barriers to and facilitators for using information sources. A further six questions were related to how therapists used the information they obtained.
RESULTS: Surveys were returned by 171 participants; just over half reported they were practicing in Washington State (n = 89, 52.0%), just under half in Oregon (n = 77, 45.0%), and a few (n = 5, 2.9%) in both states. Overall, respondents were very experienced, with a mean of 19.13 yr of experience, although a wide range was noted (SD = 11.80 yr, range = 1–43 yr). Almost three-quarters (72.5%) reported working full time (M = 34.23 hr/wk, SD = 10.76 hr, range = 0–60). Respondents most frequently relied on personal observations, colleagues, and theories for information. They were often unaware of the breadth of resources available, and more than half to almost all the sample reported not using the available online databases. Multiple situations prompted these therapists to seek information, including being unsure of what to do with a client, receiving a client or family request, and changing practice setting. Participants reported spending an average of 29 min searching online, but only one-third reported that the information they obtained was often or always useful. They used research evidence most commonly to decide on interventions but not to identify populations to serve or duration of therapy. Respondents identified written instructions, online video resources, and live phone or web help as potentially increasing their use of online databases and incorporation of the information into practice. Barriers included not being able to find what they wanted, too many results, no time to do a search, and limited access to full-text articles.
CONCLUSION: Although there has been a considerable increase in the availability of online databases for therapists to access, the findings of this study indicate little change in the sources of information used for clinical decision making. The survey identified potential methods to increase therapists’ use of research evidence. These results warrant further exploration of methods for increasing use of research and online databases.
IMPACT STATEMENT: Although online research databases and resources are increasingly available, therapists’ awareness and use of these resources are very limited. When developing resources to increase therapists’ use of research evidence in decision making, strategies to change behavior and overcome barriers to increased use need to be considered.
References
Doyle, S., Bennett, S., & Gustafsson, L. (2013). Clinical decision making when addressing upper limb post-stroke sensory impairments. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 76, 254–263. https://doi.org/10.4276/030802213X13706169932789
Swinth, Y., Spencer, K. C., & Jackson, L. L. (2007). Occupational therapy: Effective school-based practices within a policy context. Retrieved from http://copsse.education.ufl.edu/docs/OT_CP_081307/1/OT_CP_081307.pdf
