Category: Clinical Practice (assessment, diagnosis, treatment, knowledge translation/EBP, implementation science, program development); Measurement
Objective : To investigate the perception of Idaho Physical Therapists in what new clinically-relevant research is of greatest value for physical therapy practice.
Design : Delphi Study with 3 rounds of surveys
Setting : Online
Participants (or Animals, Specimens, Cadavers) : A list of all licensed Physical Therapists in Idaho with a listed email (N=409) was obtained from the Idaho Bureau of Licenses. The Physical Therapists (PT) were recruited via email, which included a link to an online survey. Participants who completed Survey 1 (n=71) were invited to participate in Survey 2 (n=22). PTs invited for Survey 1 were invited to participated in Survey 3 (n=76).
Interventions : Not Applicable
Main Outcome Measure(s) : Survey 1: Open-ended question, "What new (or additionally) clinically-relevant research would be of greatest value to your practice as a physical therapist?" Survey 2: Open-ended question for additional research ideas within specific topics. Survey 3: Most important 4 research ideas for the topics: practice parameters, pathology/condition, and interventions. Additional question included demographics and questions regarding why PTs feel a need for further research on PT practice.
Results : Survey 1: Responses were analyzed and grouped into topics. Survey 2: Results provided few additional items in each topic. From the responses, more than 180 different research questions could be developed. Survey 3: The 4 most important research ideas related to practice parameters, pathology/condition, and interventions were calculated by frequency of rank and frequency of item chosen regardless of top 4 ranking. Reasons why PTs want more research were analyzed.
Conclusions : Even though the sample size was small compared to the number of PTs practicing in Idaho, the results indicate Idaho PTs are wanting additional clinically-relevant research that adds value to clinical practice.
Cindy Seiger
– Assistant Professor, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho
Trent Jackman
– Clinical Associate Professor, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho