Evidence based practice: a survey of physiotherapists' current practice

Backgound and Purpose . Evidence‐based practice is the explicit use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients and is a concept of growing importance for physiotherapy. The aim of the present study was to investigate Australian physiotherapists' self‐reported practice, skills and knowledge of evidence‐based practice and to examine differences between recent and experienced graduates, physiotherapists with low and high levels of training and physiotherapists working in private practice and hospital settings. Method . A survey was sent to 230 physiotherapists working in hospitals and in private practice. One hundred and twenty‐four were completed and returned. Results . Although 69.4% of respondents said they frequently (at least monthly) read research literature, only 10.6%, 15.3% and 26.6% of respondents, respectively, searched PEDro, Cochrane and Medline or Cinahl databases frequently, and only 25.8% of respondents reported critically appraising research reports. Recent graduates rated their evidence‐based practice skills more highly than more experienced graduates, but did not perform evidence‐based practice tasks more often. Physiotherapists with higher levels of training rated their evidence‐based practice skills more highly, were more likely to search databases and to understand a range of evidence‐based practice terminology than those with lower levels of training. Private practice and hospital physiotherapists rated their evidence‐based practice skills equally and performed most evidence‐based practice activities with equal frequency. Conclusions . Respondents had a positive attitude toward evidence‐based practice and the main barriers to evidence‐based practice were time required to keep up to date, access to easily understandable summaries of evidence, journal access and lack of personal skills in searching and evaluating research evidence. Efforts to advance evidence‐based practice in physiotherapy should focus on reducing these barriers. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New Concepts and Evidence Based Practice in Physiotherapy：Examples from Stroke Rehabilitation

Objective:The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of new concepts and evidence based physiotherapy practice in stroke rehabilitation in the acute,post acute and chronic stage of stroke. Background:Historically physiotherapy has developed through the years from a focus on health,beauty,and equilibrium between spiritual,moral and physical powers,to a client centered service to people and populations to develop,to maintain and to restore maximum movement and functional ability throughout the lifespan. Still the health perspective is strong and divided into first,second and third prophylaxis. New concepts like Evidence Based Medicine,Evidence Based Practice,International Classification of Function and research within neurophysiology have had a deep impact on physiotherapy services,practice and education. The highest levels of documentation are Meta analyses and Randomised Controlled Trials,and today many of the physiotherapy methods used in rehabilitation of neurological conditions are tried out in different trials,bringing up-to date knowledge into practice. This paper focuses on rehabilitation of persons with stroke and physiotherapy methods in particular. Result:Physiotherapy in the acute stage improves motor function and enhances mobility. Rehabilitative efforts within the first few weeks as opposed to later favors better recovery. Type of physiotherapy in the acute stage is task oriented training with a focus on intensity and variability. Post acute therapy-based rehabilitation services targeted towards stroke patients living at home appear to improve independence in personal activities of daily living. In the chronic stage there is good evidence that aerobic exercise is beneficial for improving aerobic capacity in people with mild and moderate stroke. Progressive resistance strength training programmes reduce musculoskeletal impairment after stroke,without increasing tone or spasticity.     

Blending critical realist and emancipatory practice development methodologies: making critical realism work in nursing research

PARLOUR R and MCCORMACK B. Nursing Inquiry 2012; 19: 308-321 Blending critical realist and emancipatory practice development methodologies: making critical realism work in nursing research This paper examines the efficacy of facilitation as a practice development intervention in changing practice within an Older Person setting and in implementing evidence into practice. It outlines the influences exerted by the critical realist paradigm in guiding emancipatory practice development activities and, in particular, how the former may be employed within an emancipatory practice development study to elucidate and increase understanding pertinent to causation and outcomes. The methodology is based upon an emancipatory practice development approach set within a realistic evaluation framework. This allows for systematic analysis of the social and contextual elements that influence the explication of outcomes associated with facilitation. The study is concentrated upon five practice development cycles, within which a sequence of iterative processes is integrated. The authors assert that combining critical realist and emancipatory processes offers a robust and practical method for translating evidence and implementing changes in practice, as the former affirms or falsifies the influence that emancipatory processes exert on attaining culture shift, and enabling transformation towards effective clinical practice. A new framework for practice development is proposed that establishes methodological coherency between emancipatory practice development and realistic evaluation. This augments the existing theoretical bases for both these approaches by contributing new theoretical and methodological understandings of causation.     

Factors affecting evidence translation for general practice nurses

This paper explores the domains of influence affecting practice nurses' ability to find, evaluate and use clinical evidence. A cross-sectional survey of general practice nurses (n = 590) in Victoria, Australia in 2008 provided data for a principal components analysis. The research replicates a study undertaken in the UK using the Developing Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire. Five domains of influence on nurses' translation of evidence were identified: skills in finding/reviewing evidence; barriers to finding/reviewing evidence; knowledge from published sources; knowledge from other sources; and barriers or facilitators to change. Each domain was interpreted as underlying the relationship of nurses with evidence-based practice and was comparable to the original study's findings when subjected to factor analysis. Findings from this study show that the Developing Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire-Au is a valid and useful instrument in determining the influences on practice nurses' ability to effect knowledge translation and conduct practice based on evidence. Given these findings, a new model is proposed that explains the influence of a number of domains on Australian general practice nurses' translation of knowledge into practice.     

What is the relationship between nurses’ attitude to evidence based practice and the selection of wound care procedures?

Aim. To investigate qualified nurses’ attitudes to evidence‐based practice and whether this influenced their selection of wound care products. Background. The literature shows that previous studies on attitudes to evidence‐based practice tended to be part of a wider study. The general consensus was that there was a positive attitude to evidence‐based practice. However, there appeared to be no published studies specifically addressing nurses’ attitudes to evidence‐based wound care. Design. Survey design using a questionnaire completed by 156 qualified nurses working in three UK National Health Trusts. Results. A statistically significant difference was seen between those nurses with a tissue viability link nurse role (p = 0·002) and those without a link nurse role; those educated to first degree (p < 0·001) and those without a first degree; and those who had received formal tissue viability training (p < 0·001) and those with informal tissue viability training. There was also a highly statistically significant relationship between the clinical grade of staff and the overall attitude to evidence‐based practice (p < 0·001). Conclusions. Nurses who had attained a higher level academic qualification, had a tissue viability link nurse role and those who had received formal tissue viability training scored generally higher in the wound care knowledge tests and in attitude to evidence‐based practice. Relevance to clinical practice. The care received by patients in relation to wound care could be dependent upon factors that are related to the individual characteristics of the nurse providing the care and these factors, in turn, are related to education and training with respect to wound care. Better general education and better specific training in wound care could lead to better wound care.     

Conceptions of evidence, evidence-based medicine, evidence-based practice and their use in nursing: independent nurse prescribers' views

Aim. The purpose of this study was to explore nurses’ conceptions of evidence and evidence‐based practice, whether there are differences between evidence‐based practice and evidence‐based medicine and to identify the uptake of research evidence in the workplace. Background. The use and comprehension of the term ‘evidence‐based practice’ in relation to nursing shows remarkable variation. Numerous definitions are provided, some tend to be closely related to the concept ‘evidence‐based medicine’. Independent nurse prescribers need to be able to understand the concept of evidence‐based practice to utilize and apply this concept in order to provide adequate medication management of their patients. Method. Data were generated by focus group interview and open question questionnaire and analysed by analytical abstraction. Results. Nurses offered a variety of views on the use and uptake of evidence in the workplace. Some nurses acknowledged that they did not read research papers but were aware that they used a lot of evidence in their practice. Nurses had difficulty differentiating evidence‐based practice from evidence‐based medicine. Conclusions. Nurses were familiar with the research process but not the canons of evidenced‐based practice. The data generated indicate different levels of evidence are used by nurses. This may be a reflection of the level of intrigue of the nurses involved. Relevance to clinical practice. The education and training of independent nurse prescribers should include the exploration of evidence from randomized controlled trials and from naturalistic studies and their contribution to evidenced‐based practice and evidence‐based medicine. Both concepts need to be explored in relation to the medication management of patients.     

Evidence‐based nursing: clarifying the concepts for nurses in practice

Aim. To provide a critical analysis of key concepts associated with evidence‐based nursing (EBN) to substantiate an operational definition for nurses to use in practice. Background. Despite the plethora of literature surrounding what evidence‐based nursing is and is not and how it differs from its cousins, evidence‐based medicine and evidence‐based practice, nurses still struggle to get evidence into practice. Several reasons for this have been reported, for example, a lack of understanding about what evidence‐based nursing means or time to engage with and apply the evidence into practice. Design. An in‐depth critical review and synthesis of literature was undertaken. Method. Using the key words; evidence‐based nursing, evidence‐based medicine and evidence‐based practice 496 articles were yielded. These articles were limited to 83. Using Burns and Grove’s (2001) phased approach to reviewing the literature the articles were critically reviewed and categorised into key concepts and themes. Results. The in‐depth critical review and synthesis of the literature demonstrated that evidence‐based nursing could be defined as a distinct concept. The review clearly shows that for evidence‐based nursing to occur, nurses need to be aware of what evidence‐based nursing means, what constitutes evidence, how evidence‐based nursing differs from evidence‐based medicine and evidence‐based practice and what the process is to engage with and apply the evidence. Conclusion. The in‐depth critical review and synthesis of the evidence‐based nursing literature reinforces the need to consolidate a position for nursing in the evidence‐based field. The review confirms that evidence‐based nursing can be defined and conceptualised; however, for nurses to engage and apply with the evidence‐based processes they need to be informed of what these are and how to engage with them in practice. Relevance to clinical practice. This paper examines the concept of evidence‐based nursing and its application to clinical practice.     

循证护理在护理实践中的运用

循证护理就是慎重、准确和明智地应用当前所能获得的最好的研究证据，同时结合护理专业技能和多年临床经验，考虑患者的价值和愿望，将三者完美地结合，制定护理措施。循证护理实践是依据科学证据基础的临床实践，是指整合患者主客观资料与科学证据为最佳状态，它既是服务对象的需求，又是护理学发展的必然，它证明了护士自身价值，使护理活动更加科学化、专业化、为护理学科提高权威性、独立性，促进学科的发展提供了机遇。本文对循证护理的概念与产生背景，循证护理促进独立学科体系的形成，循证护理方法的认识及应用方面存在的一些误区进行分析，认为循证护理是一种模式或工作形式，同时循证护理在护理实践运用中护理问题期待研究证据，整个过程进行系统评价，以及护理实践所面临的新使命及合理运用，着重阐述了循证护理必须从问题出发，重视证据、重视整体观，注重个体化差异，只有这样，才能切实推进循证护理在我国护理实践中的运用。