Evidence based practice and teamwork: comparison of physical therapists’ and social workers’ attitudes towards adoption of new knowledge

Abstract

Background: Knowledge translation research is relatively new area of inquiry where the aim is to close the gap between the ideal evidence based-practice (EBP) diagnostics or treatment choices and the actual practices of the real-world professionals. Despite increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary teamwork in health care, most research in this area focus on the practice of practitioners from a single health profession. Purpose: To compare attitudes towards EBP among physical therapists and social workers and to study the psychometric properties of an Icelandic translation of a standardized questionnaire on such attitudes. Methods: Secondary analysis of data from two separate online surveys was e-mailed to all Physical Therapists and Social Workers in Iceland. The data for social workers was collected in 2012 (N= 163) and for physical therapists in 2013 (N= 214). The participation rate was 40% for both surveys. The Evidence Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS) was used to assess the professionals’ attitudes. Scores on the EBPAS derive from the total scale and four subscales (i.e., Appeal, Requirements, Openness, and Divergence). Multivariate linear regression was used to explore the association between each of the five EBPAS scales and the professional groups, accounting for the effects of sex, age, highest degree, years licensed, employment type, main content of work, and number of co-workers. The factor structure and internal consistency of this Icelandic translation of EBPAS was examined. Results: The two professional groups differed significantly on a few background variables. There were a higher proportion of men (p< 0.001) in the physical therapy group (23.7%) compared to the social workers group (7.8%). A larger proportion (p< 0.001) of the social workers had been licensed for 10 years or less (46.8%) compared to physical therapists (26.3%). Higher proportion (p< 0.001) of physical therapists was self-employed (55.4%) compared to the social workers (5.1%), and higher proportion (p< 0.001) of physical therapists worked mainly with individual treatments (88.2%) compared to social workers (52.3%). The multivariate analysis revealedmore positive attitudes among physical therapists compared to social workers, on three of the five EBPAS scales. Being a physical therapists was independently associated with a higher total score on EBPAS (p= 0.006), more intuitive appeal of EBP (p= 0.001), and greater openness to new practices (p= 0.001). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original four dimensions (subscales) and the internal consistency of the Icelandic version of EBPAS. Conclusion(s): The results suggest that attitudes towards EBP may differ based on professional background. Further research is needed to identify if the existing differences are rooted in the medical versus social background of the participating professions. Moreover, the results support the applicability of the EBPAS in a new context. Implications: Using standardized questionnaires to assess professionals’ attitudes towards EBP can be used to facilitate knowledge translation interventions in interprofessional education, teamwork, and other collaboration activities.