From knowledge translation to engaged scholarship: promoting research relevance and utilization

Abstract

It is now accepted within health care that clinicians and managers should base their practice and decision making on evidence. One would think that this would be quite a simple undertaking--if good research is available and well communicated, people will act on it. But most of our efforts to date, which have focused largely on research transfer, have had modest success. This has created a need to reexamine the evidence--and the assumptions--on which our current knowledge-to-action activities are based. This article will summarize what is known about what works in promoting evidence-informed action, tracing the evolution from a linear focus on research transfer to complex strategies for user engagement. Using concrete examples, it will illustrate the strengths and limitations of various approaches and implications for rehabilitation medicine.