Exploring the experiences of physiotherapists who engaged as knowledge users in integrated knowledge translation research partnerships related to balance measurement practices in Canadian hospitals: a qualitative descriptive study
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Date
2023-12-07
Authors
MOSER, CHERYL ANN
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Abstract
Background: Integrated knowledge translation (IKT) is an approach to doing health research that engages academic researchers and knowledge users (KU) as equal partners. IKT intends to increase the chances that resulting research evidence will be useful to those engaged, striving toward improved health system functioning and public health outcomes. With this study, I set out to learn what physiotherapists (PTs) had to say about their experience engaging as KUs in an IKT research partnership related to balance measurement practices in Canadian hospitals.
Methods: I used basic qualitative descriptive research methodology, in vivo coding, and conventional content analysis to answer the research questions. Five PTs (n=5) who had engaged as KUs on three balance measurement studies in two provinces were purposefully selected. All five (n=5) participated in online semi-structured interviews. PTs were asked to describe their IKT engagement experience, identify environmental factors that affected their engagement, and discuss how their engagement influenced the research process and evidence use. PTs also characterized themselves using an independently completed pre-interview questionnaire.
Results: Participants described their experiences as positive, meaningful, and associated with benefits such as more clinical treatment options, greater sense of personal pride and professional recognition among PTs, increased research capacity for host organizations, and specific contributions to a body of knowledge. PTs said factors conducive to IKT engagement were supportive organizational culture, as well as devoted time, money, material resources, and human resources. PTs described their contributions to research as brokering trusting relationships; providing an insider point-of-view, project management, and resource coordination; and contributing to increased organizational capacity for research. Participants described how evidence-use was impacted by PT career-stage, individual risk perception, usefulness to the profession, organizational culture, treatment environment (especially since COVID-19 introduced pressures to deliver health care online), and third-party endorsement for change.
Conclusions: KU engagement in IKT health research partnerships provides researchers with increased clinical access, an insider point-of-view, and stronger research evidence. KU engagement increases the accessibility of resulting research evidence, but sustaining desired outcomes is another issue. The KU engagement experience is greatly affected by organizational culture. KU engagement concepts in IKT research partnerships must include feasibility and resource planning, as well as strategies for organizational change and risk management. PTs described external factors such as professional endorsement as being stronger influences on evidence use outcomes than research engagement. The IKT approach may be strengthened if issues related to change, risk, and resources are addressed early and often throughout the partnership.
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Keywords
integrated knowledge translation (IKT), rehabilitation sciences, physiotherapy, Canadian public health, health care reform, organizational culture, knowledge users (KU), knowledge translation (KT), physiotherapist, clinician, health organization leaders, partnership research, health research partnerships