Perceptions of physiotherapists towards research: a mixed methods study

Abstract

This study showed that physiotherapists struggle to implement research in their daily practice and become involved in research. Changing physiotherapists' conceptions of research, making it more accessible and providing dedicated research time could facilitate increased involvement in the physiotherapy profession.

Engagement in performing clinical physiotherapy research: Perspectives from leaders and physiotherapists

“…Both PTs and leaders highlighted the value of research as a tool for providing evidence-based interventions. Time constraints can affect the possibility of applying research findings in clinical practice (Aljadi et al, 2013;Janssen et al, 2016). Leadership plays an important role in enabling research use in clinical practice and implementing guidelines (Dannapfel et al, 2013;Tistad et al, 2016).…”

“…The PTs highlighted the importance of ensuring that being part of a research project would not hinder their ordinary assignments and patient rehabilitation; in other words, that business must continue as usual. Other PTs have previously described time constraint as a barrier (Aljadi et al, ; Janssen et al, ). Even if there is specific funding for a research project, it is not always possible to find replacement personnel.…”

“…Consequently, an increasing number of physiotherapists (PTs) are engaged in various clinical research projects using a broad range of research methods. PTs generally have a positive attitude towards engaging in clinical research (Grimmer‐Somers, Lekkas, Nyland, Young, & Kumar, ; Janssen, Hale, Mirfin‐Veitch, & Harland, ; Kamwendo, ; Kamwendo & Tornquist, ) and regard it as an integrated component of clinical practice (Westerdahl, ). However, there are also barriers, including the perception that research can be too complicated, academic, and time‐consuming (Janssen et al, ).…”

Physiotherapy: How to work with evidence in daily practice

“…Furthermore, health care professionals need to understand the principles of EBP, recognize EBP in action, implement evidence‐based policies, and have a critical attitude to their own practice and to evidence to be able to provide “best practice.” Previous studies demonstrate that most physiotherapists have a positive attitude towards EBP and are interested in learning how to improve their skills in EBP, but its implementation is still deficient . There are some barriers that will impact the physiotherapists ability to implement EBP in the workplace as, eg, lack of time, lack of expertise, difficulty obtaining full‐text articles, inability to understand statistics, lack of support from employers, a limited understanding of scientific research, and misconceptions of the EBP concept …”

“…Research must also be facilitated by organizational structures and processes and continuously supported at the management level so that it becomes linked to the workflow in a manner that does not adversely affect productivity and patient flow …”