Translational Medical Research Commons^™

Applying Knowledge Translation In Rehabilitation: An Exploration Of What It Means To Change Clinical Practice, Stacey D. Guy

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Health care providers are often required to implement evidence-based recommendations into the care they deliver. Resources that support health care providers’ efforts are a useful knowledge translation strategy. This thesis describes the development and usability evaluation of an evidence-informed clinical practice implementation toolkit to support implementation efforts. Two studies were undertaken to provide insight into what was needed to support health care providers, and to inform the development of the toolkit. A retrospective evaluation analyzed the performance of a team implementing a pressure ulcer risk assessment for patients with spinal cord injury. The rates of adherence to the risk assessment …

Understanding The Nursing Practices And Perspectives Of Premedication And Transfusion Reaction Reporting: A Qualitative Description Study, Wenxin Miao

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This qualitative description study is a sub-study of a knowledge translation (KT) project to implement evidence-based blood transfusion practices at an urban tertiary hospital. The goals of the KT project are to reduce the use of pre-transfusion medications (premedication) and to improve transfusion reaction (TR) reporting practices at this institution. This study explored the nursing practices and perspectives of premedication and TR reporting by conducting interviews with 25 nurses. The findings showed a lack of standardized premedication and TR reporting practices at this institution. A practice change is needed to achieve the goals of the KT project. The study also …

From Evidence To Practice: A Systematic Approach To Implementing Electrical Stimulation Therapy For Treating Pressure Injuries In Community Dwelling Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury, Deena Lala

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Pressure injuries are a common secondary health complication among individuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI) and can have a profound effect on quality of life. Unfortunately, pressure injury care in community dwelling individuals with SCI is often fragmented and inconsistent across Canada. Current best practice guidelines strongly recommend the use of electrical stimulation therapy (EST) to manage pressure injury in this population; however, there is little uptake of EST, and is not considered as a first-line treatment by many clinicians. Therefore, the objective of this dissertation is two-folds 1) to determine the impact of pressure injuries on individuals with …

Knowledge Translation And The Governance Of Health Research In Canada: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Kathleen S. Ellis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Knowledge translation (KT) is a dominant discourse in the governance of health research in Canada. I critically examine the KT discourse of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canada’s major health research funder. Informed by a governmentality perspective, I explore how the KT discourse operates to shape the directions of health research and the activities of health researchers using critical discourse analysis with a sample of publicly available CIHR documents.

This KT discourse is constructed through three rationales: a “gap” between knowledge creation and its application; financial and health care accountabilities for public investment in health research; and, the …

Re-Cognizing Power In The Culture Of Dementia Care Knowledge, Ryan T. Deforge

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In light of increasing system demands, system regulations, and constrained resources, those living and working with dementia in the long-term care sector are vulnerable to oppressive care practices. This is true so long as our understanding of how social power affects the ways in which dementia care knowledge is created, shared, and enacted remains limited. Based on prolonged field observations and on informal and formal interviews with care recipients, family members, and staff, the aim of this critical qualitative research was to examine the culture of dementia care knowledge in two sites: a specialized dementia care unit in a long-term …

Reassembling Knowledge Translation Through A Case Of Autism Genomics: Multiplicity And Coordination Amidst Practiced Actor-Networks, Julia J. Bickford

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Knowledge translation (KT) has become a ubiquitous and important component within the Canadian health research funding environment. Despite a large and burgeoning literature on the topic of KT, research on the science of KT spans a very narrow philosophical spectrum, with published studies almost exclusively positioned within positivism. Grounded in a constructionist philosophical position and influenced by actor-network theory, this dissertation aims to contribute to the Canadian KT discussion by imagining new possibilities for conceptualizing KT.

This is an empirical-theoretical study which is based on eight months of data collection, including interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. This data collection …

How Do Parents Use Health Information With The Aid Of A Knowledge Broker When Living With And Caring For Their Young Children With Cerebral Palsy?, Stephanie E. Lagosky

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research aims to understand how parents use health information (such as those developed from the Move & PLAY study) with the aid of a knowledge broker when living with and caring for young children with cerebral palsy. This research was conducted under a qualitative case study methodology and used questionnaires and in-depth interviews to collect data. Findings include the complexity of both parental use of health information and the desire to use a knowledge broker. A provisional model has been created to help describe information use of parents with young children with cerebral palsy. This provisional model is an …

Adherence To Canadian Best Practice Recommendations For Stroke Care: The Case Of Post-Stroke Depression, Katherine L. Salter

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Context: Canadian best practice recommendations for identification and treatment of post-stroke depression (PSD) have been established, but whether they have been adopted is not known.

Objectives: To compare current with recommended best practice.

Methods: A retrospective chart review from 5 inpatient rehabilitation programs in Southwestern Ontario was completed and a short online survey addressing current practices, opinions and attitudes regarding PSD conducted.

Results: Screening for PSD was documented in 41 of 294 patient records. Of the 41 patients screened, 16 were referred for assessment and 6 diagnosed with PSD. However, 113 patients (38.9%) received pharmacotherapy. Most staff …

An Exploration Of Knowledge Translation Amongst Homecare Providers, Family Caregivers, And Clients, L. Jansen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The aim of this two-phased investigation was to enhance understanding of urinary incontinence (UI) knowledge translation (KT) to inform how UI management knowledge might be translated within in-home nursing practice and family caregiving. Although UI can be managed conservatively, it is a principal reason for the breakdown of family-care and care recipient admission to long-term care. Research has afforded little insight into family caregivers’ experience of KT and the process of in-home KT for UI management.

The first study used a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to explore family caregivers’ experience of UI KT. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with a …