Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Iranian Speech and Language Pathologists Toward Evidence-Based Practice

Abstract

Background: Despite the great need and significance for documentation of knowledge, attitudes, and practice of speech and language pathologists (SLPs) about evidence-based practice (EBP), few studies have been performed in this field among SLPs, especially Iranian SLPs. Objectives: The present study aimed at investigating the knowledge, attitude, and practice of Iranian SLPs toward EBP. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from October to December 2019, in Iran. A valid and reliable self-administrated questionnaire (The Speech and Language Pathology Evidence-Based Practice questionnaire (SLP-EBPQ)) was used to evaluate the attitude, knowledge, and the use of evidence sections of SLP-EBPQ among 600 Iranian SLPs. Results: Four hundred twenty-two out of 600 questionnaires were returned. The mean figure of the knowledge score of the SLPs was 3.85 (± 2.8), while SLPs with postgraduate degrees scored higher in the knowledge section than those with an undergraduate degree (P < 0.001). The mean figure of the attitude score of the SLPs was 46.97 (± 4.55). Conclusions: The findings of the present study showed that SLPs in Iran have positive and favorable attitudes toward EBP with an effective application. Our findings also showed that EBP knowledge is not very comprehensive among SLPs; however, the postgraduate SLPs presented a higher EBP compared with the undergraduate SLPs.