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One knowledge translation method, of putting evidence into practice, is the use of clinical practice guidelines (CPG). The purpose of this brief report is to describe an 8‐step process of "how to" contextualize a training programme to increase CPG‐uptake for a targeted audience in a clearly defined setting. This process may assist implementation practitioners to fast‐track the development of contextualized training to improve CPG‐uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lack of time has consistently been reported as a major barrier to effective research evidence uptake into clinical practice. There has been no research to our knowledge that explores time as a barrier within the transtheoretical model of stages of change (SoC), to better understand the processes of physiotherapists' uptake of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). This article explores the concept of lack of time as a barrier for CPG uptake for physiotherapists at different SoC. Methods: A six‐step process is presented to determine the best‐fit SoC for 31 physiotherapy interviewees. This process used an amalgamation of interview findings and socio‐demographic data, which was layered onto the SoC and previously identified time‐barriers to CPG uptake (few staff, high workload, access to CPGs, evidence‐based practice as priority in clinical practice, 'time is money' attitude and knowledge on the use of CPGs). Results: The analysis process highlighted the complexities of assigning individuals to a SoC. A model of time management for better CPG uptake is proposed which is a novel approach to assist evidence implementalists and clinicians alike to determine how to progress through the SoC and barriers to improve CPG uptake. Conclusions: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first attempt at exploring the construct of (lack of) time for CPG uptake in relation to the physiotherapists' readiness to behaviour change. This study shows that 'lack of time' is a euphemism for quite different barriers, which map to different stages of readiness to embrace current best evidence into physiotherapy practice. By understanding what is meant by 'lack of time', it may indicate specific support required by physiotherapists at different stages of changing these behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Clinical practice guidelines (CPG) are vehicles for translating evidence into practice, but effective CPG‐uptake requires targeted training. This mixed methods research project took a staged evidence‐based approach to develop and test a tailored training programme (TTP) that addressed organisational and individual factors influencing CPG‐uptake by South African physiotherapists treating patients with low back pain in primary healthcare settings. Methods: This multi‐stage mixed methods study reports the development, contextualisation and expert content validation of a TTP to improve CPG‐uptake. Finally, the TTP was evaluated for its feasibility and acceptability in its current format. Results: The TTP (delivered online and face‐to‐face) contained minimal theory, and focussing on practical activities, clinical scenarios and discussions. Pre‐TTP, physiotherapists expressed skepticism about the relevance of CPG in daily practice. However, post‐TTP they demonstrated improved knowledge, confidence, and commitment to CPG‐uptake. Discussion: The phased‐construction of the TTP addressed South African primary healthcare physiotherapists' needs and concerns, using validated evidence‐based educational approaches. The TTP content, delivered by podcasts and face‐to‐face contact, was feasible and acceptable in terms of physiotherapists' time constraints, and it appeared to be effective in improving all outcome domains. This TTP is now ready for intervention to a wider audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) should provide busy health care professionals with easy‐to‐use tools that support efficient uptake of current best evidence in daily clinical practice. However, CPG uptake rarely occurs at the speed of evidence production. The aim of this study was to explore the factors influencing CPG uptake among South African (SA) physiotherapists (PTs). Method: An exploratory, descriptive qualitative study design was used, within an interpretative research paradigm. A phenomenological approach was taken, as the study aimed to explore the phenomenon of CPG uptake by SA PTs and how the themes and subthemes related to each other within this phenomenon. Semistructured interviews were undertaken via telephone calls that were audiotaped and independently transcribed. An inductive and deductive thematic content analysis approach was taken where the transcript content was analysed by hand. Findings Thirty‐one PTs from the private, public, and education sectors participated in the interviews. The main themes identified were resources, training, and organizational factors. The SA PT workforce, particularly that in the public sector, is limited and patient load and need is high. Time to implement and stay up‐to‐date with current evidence were barriers for many interviewees. Participants also perceived CPG uptake as not being financially rewarding. Training in CPG uptake was mostly perceived as a facilitator, and the PTs felt that they would be more inclined to implement CPGs if they felt more confident in how to source and use CPGs, particularly if they were incentivized to undertake such training. Roles, responsibilities, and power in the health care team were perceived as being both organizational barriers and, conversely, facilitators, depending on work environments. Conclusions: The findings of this study generally concur with previous studies about PT barriers to CPG uptake; however, it provides novel information on barrier contexts in one LMIC with complex PT service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) provide conveniently packaged evidence-based recommendations to inform clinical decisions. However, intended end-users often do not know how to source, appraise, interpret or choose among CPGs. Moreover, it can be confusing when recommendations on the same topic differ among CPGs, in wording, intent and underpinning evidence. Objectives: This article reports on the processes of: (1) identifying current CPGs for acute and subacute low back pain (LBP) to fit the needs of South African physiotherapists, (2) collating and summarising CPG recommendations to produce a user-friendly end-user product and (3) testing the utility of the summary CPG document on South African physiotherapy clinicians to efficiently determine acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility to inform clinical decision-making. Method: An adapted approach was followed by systematically searching online CPG repositories and online databases for LBP CPGs; screening and critically appraising identified CPGs; summarising recommendations from relevant CPGs and organising them into clinical practice activities. Feedback on utility was obtained from 11 physiotherapists. Results: Three high-quality, international CPGs provided 25 recommendations on the assessment and management of acute and subacute LBP relevant to South African physiotherapy practice. They were organised into 10 headings. Physiotherapy user feedback suggested that this document would assist in clinical decision-making. Conclusion: Organised recommendations extracted from multiple, relevant CPGs provide an end-user-friendly resource for physiotherapists treating LBP. Clinical implications: Collated and organised CPG recommendations may effectively assist South African physiotherapists' clinical decision-making in assessing and managing patients with acute and subacute LBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale, aims, and objectives: Good‐quality clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) provide recommendations based on current best‐evidence summaries. Hypertension is a prevalent noncommunicable disease in Africa, with disastrous sequelae (stroke, heart, and kidney disease). Its effective management relies on good quality, current, locally relevant evidence. This paper reports on an all African review of the guidance documents currently informing hypertension management. Methods: Attempts were made to contact 62 African countries for formal guidance documents used nationally to inform diagnosis and management of hypertension. Their quality was assessed by using Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation (AGREE) II, scored by 2 independent reviewers. Differences in domain scores were compared between documents written prior to 2011 and 2011 onward. Findings were compared with earlier African CPG reviews. Results: Guidelines and protocols were provided by 26 countries. Six used country‐specific stand‐alone hypertension guidelines, and 10 used protocols embedded in Standard Treatment Guidelines for multiple conditions. Six used guidelines developed by the World Health Organization, and 4 indicated ad hoc use of international guidance (US, Portugal, and Brazil). Only 1 guidance document met CPG construction criteria, and none scored well on all AGREE domain scores. The lowest‐scoring domain was rigour of development. There was no significant quality difference between pre‐2011 and post‐2011 guidance documents, and there were variable AGREE II scores for the same CPGs when comparing the African reviews. Conclusions: The quality of hypertension guidance used by African nations could be improved. The need for so many guidance documents is questioned. Adopting a common evidence base from international good‐quality CPGs and layering it with local contexts offer 1 way to efficiently improve African hypertension CPG quality and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Therapeutic exercises play a crucial role in the management of burn injuries. The broad objective of this review is to systematically evaluate the effectiveness, safety and applicability to low-income countries of therapeutic exercises utilised by physiotherapists to improve function in patients with burns. Population = adults and children/adolescents with burns of any aspect of their bodies. Interventions = any aerobic and/or strength exercises delivered as part of a rehabilitation programme by anyone (e.g. physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses, doctors, community workers and patients themselves). Comparators = any comparator. Outcomes = any measure of outcome (e.g. quality of life, pain, muscle strength, range of movement, fear or quality of movement). Settings = any setting in any country. Methods/design: A systematic review will be conducted by two blinded independent reviewers who will search articles on PubMed, CiNAHL, Cochrane library, Medline, Pedro, OTseeker, EMBASE, PsychINFO and EBSCOhost using predefined criteria. Studies of human participants of any age suffering from burns will be eligible, and there will be no restrictions on total body surface area. Only randomised controlled trials will be considered for this review, and the methodological quality of studies meeting the selection criteria will be evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration tool for assessing risk of bias. The PRISMA reporting standards will be used to write the review. A narrative analysis of the findings will be done, but if pooling is possible, meta-analysis will be considered. Discussion: Burns may have a long-lasting impact on both psychological and physical functioning and thus it is important to identify and evaluate the effects of current and past aerobic and strength exercises on patients with burns. By identifying the characteristics of effective exercise programmes, guidelines can be suggested for developing intervention programmes aimed at improving the function of patients with burns. The safety and precautions of exercise regimes and the optimal frequency, duration, time and intensity will also be examined to inform further intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of critical importance that findings from the wealth of clinical physical therapist research are transferred into clinical practice without unnecessary delays. There is a lack of knowledge about strategies that can be used to effectively implement physical therapist research findings and evidence-based practice (EBP) into everyday clinical practice in different national settings and contexts. The purpose of this article is to contribute to knowledge about effective strategies for implementing EBP that have been studied in different national physical therapy settings. The specific aims of this article are to share experiences and provide a current multinational perspective on different approaches and strategies for implementing EBP and to highlight important considerations and implications for both research and practice. Six research studies from various settings in 3 countries are described and synthesized. Key characteristics of the studies and intervention components are tabulated and mapped to the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care taxonomy. Commonalities and differences are presented. The implementation strategies described were: a theory-based guideline implementation tailored to identified barriers and facilitators; a multifaceted EBP training package; journal clubs; a multifaceted strategy comprising contextualized procedures, protocols, and standardized resources; barrier identification, education, audit, feedback, and reminders; and contextualized guidelines. Commonalities were the use of a multifaceted approach, educational measures, and clinical guidelines. Key outcomes across the studies were improved attitudes and increased awareness, knowledge, skills, and confidence in EBP; better access to clinical practice guidelines and other EBP resources; identification of barriers that could be targeted in future implementation activities; earlier referrals; and use of recommended outcome measures. The article can serve as a template for other physical therapist researchers in designing implementation studies, as well as to inform policies and practice for health care managers and decision makers who are looking for ways to implement research findings in their organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Developing new clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) can be time-consuming and expensive. A more efficient approach could be to adopt, adapt or contextualise recommendations from existing good quality CPGs so that the resultant guidance is tailored to the local context. Results: The first steps are to search for international CPGs that have a similar purpose, end-users and patients to your situation. The second step is to critically appraise the methodological quality of the CPGs to ensure that your guidance is based on credible evidence. Then the decisions begin. Can you simply 'adopt' this (parent) clinical practice guidelines, and implement the recommendations in their entirety, without any changes, in your setting? If so, then no further work is required. However this situation is rare. What is more likely, is that even if recommendations from the parent clinical practice guidelines can be adopted, how they are implemented needs to address local issues. Thus you may need to 'contextualise' the guidance, by addressing implementation issues such as local workforce, training, health systems, equipment and/or access to services. Generally this means that additional information is required (Practice/Context Points) to support effective implementation of the clinical practice guidelines recommendations. In some cases, you may need to 'adapt' the guidance, where you will make changes to the recommendations so that care is relevant to your local environments. This may involve additional work to search for local research, or obtain local consensus, regarding how best to adapt recommendations. For example, adaptation might reflect substituting one drug for another (drugs have similar effects, but the alternative drug to the recommended one may be cheaper, more easily obtained or more culturally acceptable). There is lack of standardisation of clinical practice guidelines terminology, leading clinical practice guideline activities often being poorly conceptualised or reported. We provide an approach that would help improve efficiency and standardisation of clinical practice guidelines activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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