Application of current research evidence to clinical physiotherapy practice

Abstract

This paper reviews the nature of physiotherapy intervention studies published in core physiotherapy journals (Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, Physical Therapy, Physiotherapy, and Physiotherapy Canada) between October 2001 and September 2002. The clinical applicability of their evidence was considered in light of the clinical relevance of diagnostic criteria used for subject recruitment, the nature of the interventions tested, and the outcome measures used to determine effectiveness of the intervention. Most studies investigated a "package of care" and used clinician-oriented measures of outcomes to determine the effectiveness of an intervention. This mirrors current clinical practice. However, few studies used tissue-based diagnostic criteria for subject recruitment, tested interventions within an episode-of-care model, or measured outcome from multiple stakeholders' perspectives. These findings highlight potential barriers for clinicians in the uptake and sustained application of research evidence in the clinical setting. Both clinical and research physiotherapists need to be involved in producing generalizable research findings to ensure that evidence-based practice can be widely and readily adopted.