Barriers and facilitators to research use: developing an

evidence resource

Mary DunneNational Documentation Centre on Drug Use

Health Research Board

Disseminating evidence

‘a key challenge is to disseminate best practice among

service providers to ensure that it is applied’

(Department of Community, Equality & Gaeltacht Affairs (2009) Interim National Drugs Strategy, p.75).

Barriers

What are the barriers to research use among allied health practitioners in the AOD area?

EVIDENCE PRACTICE

BARRIERS

Facilitators

What are the services, strategies and resources that may alleviate these issues?

EVIDENCE PRACTICE

LIS Facilitators

LIS Facilitators

BARRIERS

Studybarriers & facilitators to research use

among allied health practitionersin the alcohol and drugs (AOD) area.

• 3 focus groups• Survey of 175 counsellors

Method29 potential barriers to research use under

4 factors1:

• Practitioner • Setting • qualities of the research • communication 1Funk, S. G., Champagne, M.T., Wiese, R.A. & Tornquist, E.M. (1991). BARRIERS: The

barriers to research utilization scale. Applied Nursing Research, 4(1), 39–45.

Barriers to research useModerate/ great barriers for the majority of counsellors

Communication

Setting

Not aware of research

Not capable of evaluating quality

Do not have time to read

Not generalizable to setting

Inadequate facilities for implementation

Uncooperative medical staff

Statistics not understandable

Unclear practice implications

Amount is overwhelming

Not compiled in one place

Not clear or readable

Not readily available

Not relevant to practice

Practitioner

Communication

Placement 1 Statistical analyses are not understandable 2 Implications for practice are not made clear 3 The amount of research information is overwhelming 4 The relevant literature is not compiled in one place 5 The research is not reported clearly and readably 7 Research is not readily available 8 The research is not relevant to my practice

Mean: 2.78

Setting

• Green – scored above the mean

Placement 6 I do not have time to read research

9 I feel results are not generalisable to my setting

12 Facilities are inadequate for implementation

13 Medical staff will not cooperate with implementation

14 There is insufficient time on the job to implement new ideas

19 Administrators/managers will not allow implementation

20 Other staff are not supportive of implementation

23 I do not feel I have enough authority to change

Mean: 2.39

Qualities of the research

Placement 15 The literature reports conflicting results

17 I am uncertain whether to believe research results

18 The research has not been replicated 21 The research has methodological inadequacies

24 Research reports/articles are not published fast enough

26 The conclusions drawn from the research are not justified

Mean: 2.17

Practitioner

• Blue – scored above the mean

Placement 10 I am unaware of the research 11 I do not feel capable of evaluating research quality 16 I am isolated from knowledgeable colleagues 22 I feel benefits of changing practice will be minimal 25 There is not a documented need to change practice 27 I see little benefit for myself 28 I do not see the value of research for practice 29 I am unwilling to change/try new ideas

Mean: 2.03

LIS Facilitators for research use

BARRIERS

Statistics not understandable

Unclear practice implications

Amount is overwhelming

Research not compiled in one place

Not clear or readable 6

Do not have time to read

Research not readily available

Not relevant to practice

Cannot generalise to setting

Practitioner not aware of research

Not capable of evaluating quality

Inadequate implementation facilities

Uncooperative medical staff

List of evidence-based websites

An email summary newsletter

Plain English summaries

Facility to email information professional

Organised meetings with others

Current awareness service

Help with literature searching

Online discussion forum

Facilitators Mean

A list of evidence-based websites 3.62

An email newsletter summarising research news 3.60

‘Plain English’ summaries of new research 3.54

The facility to email an information professional with a question 3.28

Organised meetings with others from your field 3.14

Current awareness service 3.09

Help with literature searching 3.03

An online discussion forum with others from your area of practice 2.79

Evidence sources

Evidence sources

• Cochrane Library

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs & Drug Addiction

• National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

• National Institute on Drug Abuse

• National Registry of Evidence-based Programs & Practices SAMHSA.

• National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse

• Social Care Institute for Excellence

• World Health Organization mhGAP Evidence Resource Centre

Evidence resource: search

Evidence resource search by type

Evidence resource: record

www.drugsandalcohol.ie

‘Remember, each barrier offers an opportunity for change’

Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network (2004). The change book: a blueprint for technology transfer (2nd ed.). Missouri: ATTC Network, p.24

EVIDENCE PRACTICE

BARRIERS

LIS Facilitators

Information literacy training