Janet M. Craik

Enhancing Research Use through Online Action Research

Background. Many health professionals, including occupational therapists, have difficulty utilizing research findings in daily practice. Purpose. To determine if an online action research project could enhance research use among occupational therapists working in similar practice areas. Methods. Four groups of 12–14 occupational therapists met online for approximately one year. They discussed barriers and facilitators to research utilization, defined practice questions, and attempted to search for, synthesize and apply relevant research findings. Online communications and post-group interviews were thematically analyzed. Results. Only half of the participants who began the project were still online with the research project at completion. These participants believed that their involvement in the group led to increased personal awareness, motivation and confidence regarding the use of research evidence in practice and knowledge to be used in practice. Time to review, critique and synthesize research evidence continued to be a major barrier to enhanced research utilization. Practice Implications. Online meetings designed to enhance research use among occupational therapists appear to hold some promise, but refinements are needed to ensure their ultimate success.

Developing the occupational therapy profession through leadership and mentorship: energizing opportunities

Abstract To successfully advance the profession of occupational therapy and improve access to our services, we need leadership as well as mentorship strategies and initiatives. Leaders help push boundaries and champion advancements in practice, policy, research and education to develop and promote client-centred, occupation-based enablement. To further develop leadership capacity, we need to put in place multiple, innovative mentorship strategies. This article illustrates some concrete strategies and initiatives undertaken by the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT) to foster mentorship and leadership such as the creation of a new Fellowship program. Our goal in sharing this information is to inspire and encourage occupational therapists worldwide to develop personalized and creative initiatives to foster the role of leaders and mentors.

A case study of a national association's actions to advance the integration of occupational justice and human rights in occupational therapy

ABSTRACT Objective: To consider a professional associations actions in supporting an occupational therapy communitys awareness and learning about occupational justice and human rights-informed practice. Presentation: The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT) is a national professional association that promotes excellence in occupational therapy through advocacy, professional development opportunities, and resource and product development. For its 2015 Conference, CAOT focussed on the intersection between justice, human rights and occupational therapy. Technique: Conferences are intense knowledge mobilisation platforms and are an opportunity for professional associations to demonstrate leadership in advancing and promoting the occupational therapy profession. Conclusion: Occupational therapy associations are encouraged to use their resources and voice to unite occupational therapists within their region in pursuit of the goal to make our communities more just and inclusive for all.

Managerial leadership for research use in nursing and allied health care professions: a systematic review

BackgroundLeadership by point-of-care and senior managers is increasingly recognized as critical to the acceptance and use of research evidence in practice. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify the leadership behaviours of managers that are associated with research use by clinical staff in nursing and allied health professionals.MethodsA mixed methods systematic review was performed. Eight electronic bibliographic databases were searched. Studies examining the association between leadership behaviours and nurses and allied health professionals’ use of research were eligible for inclusion. Studies were excluded if leadership could not be clearly attributed to someone in a management position. Two reviewers independently screened abstracts, reviewed full-text articles, extracted data and performed quality assessments. Narrative synthesis was conducted.ResultsThe search yielded 7019 unique titles and abstracts after duplicates were removed. Three hundred five full-text articles were reviewed, and 31 studies reported in 34 articles were included. Methods used were qualitative (n = 19), cross-sectional survey (n = 9), and mixed methods (n = 3). All studies included nurses, and six also included allied health professionals. Twelve leadership behaviours were extracted from the data for point-of-care managers and ten for senior managers. Findings indicated that managers performed a diverse range of leadership behaviours that encompassed change-oriented, relation-oriented and task-oriented behaviours. The most commonly described behavior was support for the change, which involved demonstrating conceptual and operational commitment to research-based practices.ConclusionsThis systematic review adds to the growing body of evidence that indicates that manager-staff dyads are influential in translating research evidence into action. Findings also reveal that leadership for research use involves change and task-oriented behaviours that influence the environmental milieu and the organisational infrastructure that supports clinical care. While findings explain how managers enact leadership for research use, we now require robust methodological studies to determine which behaviours are effective in enabling research use with nurses and allied health professionals for high-quality evidence-based care.Trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42014007660

Realizing the vision: A new partnership to strengthen the journal and advance occupational therapy research, practice, and education internationally

[...]CAOT reviewed the production and distribution of CJOT and considered how best to engage readers, advance the dissemination of occupational therapy research, and consequently, profile the work of Canadian occupational therapy, nationally and internationally. First and foremost, SAGE is a leading publisher with an impeccable reputation.