Attitudes and opinions of evidence-based practice among hand therapists: a survey study.

The adoption of evidence-based practice (EBP) principles is advocated by many professional organizations. The purpose of this study was to assess the current attitudes and opinions of hand therapists toward EBP. A 35-item electronic survey was sent via e-mail to 2,997 hand therapists and 312 (10.4%) of eligible therapists responded. There was an overall strong endorsement of EBP among most respondents. Nearly all respondents believe that EBP plays a positive role in clinical practice, improves patient outcomes and clinical decision making, and that therapists should be familiar with EBP techniques to critically appraise clinical research studies. Respondents had a positive attitude toward EBP and the main barriers to EBP included: time limitations, limited journal access, and lack of evidence for treating specific diagnoses. Efforts to advance EBP in hand therapy should focus on reducing these barriers. 3b. Copyright © 2012 Hanley & Belfus. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Kristin Valdes, Rebecca von der Heyde. Attitudes and opinions of evidence-based practice among hand therapists: a survey study. Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand Therapists. 2012 Jul-Sep;25(3):288-95; quiz 296

Mesh Tags

PMID: 22575814

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