Knowledge Translation in Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Abstract

Knowledge translation (KT) has emerged recently in the health science community as a means to address perceived gaps in the application of the best research to treatment of disease. Specifically, in the area of disability and rehabilitation research, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) has identified KT as one of the three areas for critical outcome achievement. This article analyzes some of the issues raised by the notion of KT. First, the article puts KT in the broader context of the study of knowledge flow problems. Second, it introduces the knowledge value mapping (KVM) framework as an avenue for addressing some of the fundamental issues that KT raises in the context of disability and rehabilitation research. Third, it illustrates the application of the framework with a KVM case study of accessible currency. Finally, it discusses the implications of the case study in the broader context of health research agencies such as NIDRR.