Presented as part of a workshop at IFOMPT 2012 conference in Quebec City, Canada

1. Satisfying the Evolving Role Of Physiotherapists
In Knowledge Translation Using
An International Physiotherapy Specific Wiki

2. Knowledge Translation
“….a process by which relevant research information
is made available and accessible for
practice, planning, and policy-making
through interactive engagement with audiences”.
McMaster University

5. • Inability to access evidence
• Lack of time to find the best evidence
• Lack of skills and time for appraising
evidence

6. Technology Enabled Knowledge Translation
Technology can
help translate
knowledge into
action

12. Whats The Big Deal?
• Make knowledge more easily accessible
• Information on demand
• Assists uptake by practitioners
• This speeds up the KT process
• Facilitates uptake by policy makers

13. We Can All Get Involved?

14. “Anything of value in life only
multiplies when it is given.”
Deepak Chopra

15. Clinical
Toolkit

16. The opportunity for us all
to get involved in
knowledge sharing
utlising technology
is an evolving role
that we can play
in the KT process

23. Examples

24. Elaine Lonnemann

25. Addressing a knowledge
translation problem using a
physiotherapy specific wiki
Jordan Miller, MSc, PT

26. Objectives
• To share my experiences with a knowledge
translation problem in neck pain
• To discuss potential barriers or facilitators to
evidence based practice
• To discuss why I chose to publish my knowledge
translation tools in a physiotherapy specific Wiki to
facilitate uptake of evidence

27. Neck pain
• Neck pain is a commonly experienced condition
– Up to 1/3 of adults experience neck pain each
year (Croft et al 2001)
• Neck pain can be disabling (Webb et al 2002)
• The costs of neck pain present a burden on the
health care system (Hogg-Johnson et al 2008)

28. A knowledge to practice gap exists
• A series of systematic reviews suggest manual
therapy and exercise are effective treatment
options for neck pain (Kay et al 2010, Gross et al 2010, Miller et al
2010)
• Current practice patterns do not match the best
available evidence
– Overutilization of diagnostic testing, narcotics,
and modalities
– underutilization of therapeutic exercise (Goode et al
2010)

29. Barriers to evidence based practice (EBP)
• Lack of time to read through large amounts of
research to find the best available research
• Lack of knowledge and skills for finding, assessing,
interpreting, and applying current best evidence
• Research perceived as too complex
• Lack of “user-friendly” resources
(Newman et al 1998; McKenna et al 2004; Solomons et al 2011)
• We created a knowledge
translation tool to try to overcome
some of these barriers

30. More Barriers to EBP
• Lack of time to search for research
• Difficulty accessing research
(Newman et al 1998; McKenna et al 2004; Solomons et al 2011)
We published in an open
access wiki aimed at our
target audience (rehabilitation
professionals) to try to
overcome some of these
barriers

31. Do knowledge translation tools and easy to use
open access publications solve all of the issues?

32. No, but they are a good start!
More Barriers to EBP
• Lack of perceived value for research and EBP
• Lack of systematic supports to implement EBP
• Having an EBP culture requires ongoing
commitment to stay up to date with evidence
• Difficulty in changing practice
– example: practitioners are resistant to stop using
established treatments in their practice even once their
own utility has been disproved
(Newman et al 1998; McKenna et al 2004; Solomons et al 2011)

33. Potential benefits of open access
• Increased visibility
• Increased uptake and possibly impact of work
• Faster and efficient publishing
• A different target audience than closed
publications
– Example: more likely to target clinicians
• Increased access in lower income countries (where
most research institutions often have no journal
subscription access)

34. Why did I choose Physio-pedia?
• A fast way to share information
• Increased visibility and uptake
• Maintain publication rights to our tools for other
publications
• Able to link to Physio-pedia from other
publications
• Ability to use interactive format for ease of use
• Target physiotherapists rather than researchers

35. Discussion

36. How Will You Use Physiopedia
To Facilitate The KT Process?

37. How Can Physiopedia Evolve to
Facilitate the Knowledge
Translation Process?

38. Editing