Indicators facilitating research-based practice in allied health profession departments

Abstract

Lois Thomas, Hazel Roddam, Paula Baker, Beverley French, Christopher Burton Background: The implementation of research in practice is influenced not only by individual clinicians, but the organisational context in which they operate. Strategies aimed at increasing research use therefore need to incorporate a wider range of factors, rather than solely focusing on achieving change in individual practitioners. Content: This article presents findings relating to the identification of organisational factors facilitating research-based practice in allied health profession (AHP) departments. Fifty eight AHP clinicians and operational managers from nine teams participated in the study, representing four National Health Service organisations. Participants completed the benchmarking survey tool in their teams and were asked to provide examples of elements within their organisation which facilitated research-based practice in relation to 17 benchmarks of departmental context. Conclusions: The AHPs in this study provided a rich variety of indicators facilitating research-based practice in their organisations. There was some evidence of strategies in place to facilitate this at an organisational level but little evidence of collaboration across professional boundaries.