Occupational and Physical Therapists' Perception of Evidence-Based Practice.

BACKGROUND

The significance of evidence-based practice (EBP) cannot be overstated. However, literature on the perception of occupational and physical therapists toward EBP is scarce.

METHODS

This survey study was intended to examine occupational and physical therapists' perceptions of EBP. A total of 47 of 261 practicing therapists in a health care system in the Midwest U.S. responded to the questionnaire previously developed by Rubin et al. RESULTS: The results of the study showed that therapists reported familiarity with the EBP process and maintained an overall positive attitude toward EBP. Of the five subscale measures of EBP, familiarity with EBP process had the greatest average score (3.82±0.48) followed by attitude about EBP process (3.73±0.37). The smallest mean subscale score was found on the measure of current engagement in EBP process (2.93±0.55). Therapists reported intent to engage in the EBP process but were less favorable to engage in EBP and only reported engagement in EBP a little less than "some of the time." Barriers to engaging in EBP included time, access, and the constraints of the responders' practice setting. Implications of this study resulted in recommendations for clinical practice and educational programs.