Development and Refinement of the American Occupational Therapy Association's Knowledge Translation Toolkit.

Area of Science:

• Occupational therapy
• Knowledge Translation
• Evidence-Based Practice Implementation

Background:

• Occupational therapy practitioners are expected to integrate research findings into practice.
• Barriers to knowledge translation (KT) hinder the uptake of evidence-based practices (EBPs).
• The American Occupational Therapy Association developed the KT Toolkit to address these challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify common barriers encountered by occupational therapy practitioners when implementing EBPs.
• To explore potential strategies for supporting the uptake of EBPs.
• To inform the development of practical resources for occupational therapy practitioners.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was conducted with occupational therapy practitioners in the United States.
• Data analysis included descriptive statistics and directed content analysis using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.
• 818 occupational therapy practitioners participated in the survey.

Main Results:

• Common barriers identified include lack of time, insufficient resources, and difficulty interpreting research.
• The KT Toolkit was developed based on these identified barriers.
• The toolkit provides resources for evidence searching, analysis, and application in practice.

Conclusions:

• Survey findings directly informed the creation of the KT Toolkit.
• The KT Toolkit offers targeted resources to aid occupational therapy practitioners in EBP implementation.
• The toolkit is available online and will be updated regularly to support ongoing knowledge translation efforts.