Keeping connected: helping rehab therapists use research findings
From her earliest experiences as an occupational therapist, Dr. Susan Rappolt has been interested in the processes that enable health professionals to provide the best services possible. These days, her focus is on helping rehabilitation professionals apply the latest and best research findings.
A Senior Scientist at Toronto Rehab, Dr. Rappolt has found that too often, there are barriers – such as time constraints – which make it difficult for health professionals to use new scientific evidence to help their clients.
It’s not hard to imagine why rehabilitation professionals might feel time pressures. If you’ve ever been to an occupational therapist or physical therapist, you know how busy they are with clients.
So how can anyone keep up? Dr. Rappolt has worked with colleagues and students to identify how therapists can be more successful in applying relevant research evidence in their clinical practices.
Her former research student, Janet Craik, found that therapists who are most likely to use relevant research evidence in their practices are those who keep current by continuing their own education and teaching students, and –in addition to practicing – engage in some type of research activity themselves.
Dr. Rappolt and her colleagues have found that the organizations where therapists work can also make a difference. Those that provide access to research databases on computers and the time needed to implement effective new treatments with their clients, create a “culture” of evidence-based practice.
Collaboration has many benefits too. In one study, Dr. Rappolt and colleagues observed the interactions of four groups of occupational therapists from isolated settings across Canada while they met online for a year. Together, these groups searched for and applied research findings to specific clinical problems.The participants reported that their online collaborations led to “increased awareness, motivation and confidence in applying research evidence.”
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Dr. Susan Rappolt
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Quick Biography
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Dr. Rappolt is a Senior Scientist at Toronto Rehab. She is Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy and the Graduate Department of Rehabilitation Science at the University of Toronto. She trained as an occupational therapist and sociologist and received her PhD from the University of Toronto. She has published and lectured extensively on knowledge translation and the effects of the practice context on the content of health professionals' clinical services. Her research interests are in the following areas: knowledge translation and research utilization, the effects of the social and policy contexts on professional practices, occupational therapy, occupational science, and rehabilitation.
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