Practice Context (practice + context)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Evaluating the context within which continence care is provided in rehabilitation units for older people

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OLDER PEOPLE NURSING, Issue 1 2007
Jayne Wright
Aim., This paper presents the first phase of an all Ireland 2-year study between the University of Ulster and University College Cork, to determine the contextual indicators that enable or hinder person centred continence care and management in rehabilitation settings for older people. The primary outcome of the study was the development of a tool to enable practitioners to assess the practice context within which continence care is provided. The main focus of this paper is the value of understanding practice ,context' (culture, leadership and evaluation) and its impact to the provision of person centred continence care. Background., The literature highlights the effect of continence problems on the quality of life of older people. Incontinence is often seen by health care professionals and older people as an inevitable consequence of ageing and difficult to treat. Furthermore, health care professionals do not always have the necessary skills and knowledge of best practice in continence care and treatments. The Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework utilized in the study proposes that successful implementation of evidence in practice is dependent on the inter-relationship of three key elements; the nature of the evidence, the quality of the context and expert facilitation. Kitson et al. propose that for successful implementation, evidence needs to be robust, the context receptive to change and appropriate facilitation is needed. Consequently understanding practice ,context' and its impact on the provision of person centred continence care is of value. Methods., Case study methodology with several data collection methods was utilized to measure all aspects of ,context' as identified by the PARIHS framework. Methods include: Royal College of Physicians Audit Scheme, Staff Knowledge questionnaire, semi-structured observation of practice and multidisciplinary focus groups. Findings., The data were analysed in two stages. Stage 1 using both qualitative and quantitative (SPSS 12) methods. Stage 2 analysed all the data utilizing the characteristics of context from the PARIHS framework in order to identify the strong and weak characteristics of the context within which continence care was provided. Continence care and management in this study was found to be focused on continence containment rather than proactive management. The evidence suggests that the context (leadership, culture and evaluation) was weak and not conducive to person centred continence care and management. Conclusion., An analysis of the data using the context framework provided a picture of the context within the units and the identification of the specific contextual issues hindering and enabling the delivery of person centred continence care. This process has thus, added to our understanding of the importance of context to the provision of person-centred care. [source]


Evaluation of Continuing Professional Education: Toward a Theory of Our Own

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR ADULT & CONTINUING EDUCATION, Issue 86 2000
Judith M. Ottoson
Program evaluation theory seeks to make the evaluation of continuing professional education a transparent process. This chapter introduces the Situated Evaluation Framework, which situates the learner and knowledge assessment at the junction of the educational context, the practice context, and the evaluation context. [source]


Development pathways in learning to be a physiotherapist

PHYSIOTHERAPY RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2006
Ingrid Lindquist
Abstract Background and Purpose.,Few studies have examined the experiences of students' professional socialization in physiotherapy. This international longitudinal study aimed to study experiences of situated learning and change in a student cohort during a physiotherapy education programme.,Method.,A phenomenographic design with semi-structured interviews was carried out with a cohort of physiotherapy students from two sites, strategically selected for variation in gender, age, educational background, work experience and academic level. Interviews were carried out after each of the first five semesters in the programme by a team of researchers. Seventy-six interviews explored students' learning experiences. Analysis identified the variation in experiences seen as important to becoming a physiotherapist.,Results.,Distinct perceptions of professional growth and progression are identified in four pathways of development: ,Reflecting on Practice'; ,Communicating with Others'; ,Performing Skills'; and ,Searching Evidence'. These pathways demonstrate qualitative differences in the focus of learning experiences and preferred learning context, and include learning in a context which supports reflection, learning as agreed by others in a context with patients and other professionals, learning physiotherapy skills in a practice context and learning formal knowledge in a context where theory can be linked with practice.,Conclusions.,In a cohort of students professional growth can be seen in a variety of development pathways. Each shows progress of professional growth in the ,what' as changes in experiences and the ,how' as ways of learning from them. In addition, the pattern of pathways in a cohort may change from one semester to another suggesting individuals may adopt different learning pathways throughout their education. Teaching staff are challenged to consider how they recognize a variation in development pathways in their student cohorts and how they purposefully ensure experiences to guide students through different learning pathways in socialization to become a physiotherapist. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Implementing Clinical Practice Guidelines in occupational therapy practice: Recommendations from the research evidence

AUSTRALIAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY JOURNAL, Issue 2 2010
Mary Stergiou-Kita
Background:,Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) are prominent tools in evidence-based practice which integrate research evidence, clinical expertise and client input to develop recommendations for specific clinical circumstance. With the push to use research evidence in health care, it is anticipated that occupational therapists will become increasingly involved in implementing CPGs in practice. The research evidence has revealed several factors that can affect guideline uptake, and a variety of strategies that can facilitate implementation. Methods:,This narrative review examines the health-related literature in CPGs to answer the following questions. Based on the research evidence, (i) what are the factors that may influence guideline implementation? (ii) What implementation strategies may enhance guideline implementation? Results:,Factors within the guideline itself (e.g. quality, complexity and clarity), within the practitioner (e.g. experience, perceptions and beliefs), the patient (e.g. expectations and preferences) and the practice context (e.g. resource availability, organisational culture and opinion leaders) can all affect implementation success. Currently, there is no conclusive evidence to support the use of one implementation strategy over another, in all situations. The choice of implementation strategy must take into account the guideline to be implemented, the practice context and the anticipated challenges to implementation. Conclusions:,By understanding the factors that can influence implementation and the strategies for successful implementation, occupational therapists will be better prepared to implement guidelines. Recommendations to assist with guideline uptake and implementation are provided. [source]


Congruence and co-operation in social workers' assessments of children in need

CHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 4 2007
Dendy Platt
ABSTRACT This paper examines the concepts of congruence and co-operation in social work practice with children and families. It describes findings from the author's own research and attempts to deconstruct the interaction of the two phenomena. Using material from other published research, the paper proposes a model and suggests methods for analysing congruence and co-operation in the practice context. The key implication is that the depth of a social worker's understanding of a family situation may affect his or her assessment of parental co-operation. [source]


Methods for Disseminating Research Products and Increasing Evidence-Based Practice: Promises, Obstacles, and Future Directions

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE, Issue 4 2002
Michael E. Addis
Although several different rationales for psychotherapy dissemination research have been well articulated, the most effective means for bringing research products to clinical practice have yet to be determined. Two commonly proposed methods are the dissemination of empirically supported treatments and the dissemination of general evidence-based stances to clinical decision making. Obstacles to either approach include (a) practical constraints on practitioners' ability to use research products, (b) lack of research on process and outcome of both empirically supported treatments and existing services in different practice contexts, (c) lack of research on acceptability of research products to end users including practitioners, clients, and administrators, (d) lack of research on training in the integration of science and practice at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels, (e) systemic economic contingencies that favor or punish evidence-based decision making, and (f) the tendency to construct dissemination as a hierarchical and unidirectional process of transmission from research to clinical practice. Each obstacle is considered in detail and followed by recommendations for ways to broaden the scope of dissemination efforts. [source]