Promoting physical therapists' use of research evidence to inform clinical practice: Part 2 - A mixed methods evaluation of the PEAK program

Journal article

Clinicians need innovative educational programs to enhance their capacity for using research evidence to inform clinical decision-making. This paper and its companion paper introduce the Physical therapist-driven Education for Actionable Knowledge translation (PEAK) program, an educational program designed to promote physical therapists' integration of research evidence into clinical decision-making. This, second of two, papers reports a mixed methods feasibility study of the PEAK program among physical therapists at three university-based clinical facilities. Methods. A convenience sample of 18 physical therapists participated in the six-month educational program. Mixed methods were used to triangulate results from pre-post quantitative data analyzed concurrently with qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Feasibility of the program was assessed by evaluating change in participants' attitudes, self-efficacy, knowledge, skills, and self-reported behaviors in addition to their perceptions and reaction to the program. Results: All 18 therapists completed the program. The group experienced statistically significant improvements in evidence based practice self-efficacy and self-reported behavior (p < 0.001). Four themes were supported by integrated quantitative and qualitative results: 1. The collaborative nature of the PEAK program was engaging and motivating; 2. PEAK participants experienced improved self-efficacy, creating a positive cycle where success reinforces engagement with research evidence; 3. Participants' need to understand how to interpret statistics was not fully met; 4. Participants believed that the utilization of research evidence in their clinical practice would lead to better patient outcomes. Conclusions: The PEAK program is a feasible educational program for promoting physical therapists' use of research evidence in practice. A key ingredient seems to be guided small group work leading to a final product that guides local practice. Further investigation is recommended to assess long-term behavior change and to compare outcomes to alternative educational models. © 2014 Tilson et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Authors: Tilson, J; Mickan, S; Sum, J; Zibell, M; Dylla, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: BioMed Central
• Journal: BMC Medical Education
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 1
• Article number: 126
• Publication date: 2014-06-25
• DOI: 10.1186/1472-6920-14-126
• EISSN: 1472-6920
• ISSN: 1472-6920
• Language: English
• Keywords: Evidence based practice; Physical therapy; Mixed methods; Post-graduate training; Knowledge translation; Education