Predicting Habits of Engaging in Evidence-Based Practice

Implementation climate theory suggests that evidence-based practice (EBP) engagement can be understood through probing a clinician’s attitudes and beliefs and their perceptions of their workplace climate (Aarons et al., 2012). Another theory suggests EBP implementation is better understood by gaining a deeper understanding an individual’s habits of engaging in critical activities, even when barriers are present. The aim was to understand what factors can predict the habits of engaging in EBP activities of rehabilitation therapists.

METHOD: The sample of 173 rehabilitation therapists of an in-patient rehabilitation corporation were asked to complete an on-line survey which consisted of demographic items, the measure of evidence-informed professional thinking (EIPT), and the Evidence-Based Practice Attitudes Scale (EBPAS). The respondent’s scores on the two scales of the measure of EIPT, and the 12 subscales of the EBPAS were calculated and entered a linear regression model and stepwise regression to build a predictive model ascertaining primary influences for habits of implementing EBP.

RESULTS: All but two respondents completed the survey. The best fitting predictor model identified the Critical Clinical Reasoning (CCR) scale score, or habits of clinical reasoning, as best predicting their habits of engaging in EBP (F=88.647, p<0.001). This model explains 68.9% of the variance for evidence-based practice implementation. No other variables fit the predictor model.

CONCLUSION: Habits of critical clinical reasoning have the strongest ability to predict habits of engaging in EBP. While some attitudes have a significant relationship to EBP implementation, adding these variables did not result in statistically significant change to the model. Implementation studies may benefit from understanding the habits of clinical reasoning more than their attitudes about EBP. Increasing frequency of critical reflection will likely increase self-regulated engagement in EBP.

References

Aarons, G. A., Cafri, G., Lugo, L., & Sawitzky, A. (2012). Expanding the domains of attitudes towards evidence-based practice: The Evidence based practice attitude scale-50. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 39(5), 331–340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-010-0302-3

Benfield, A. M., & Johnston, M. V. (2020). Initial development of a measure of evidence-informed professional thinking. Aust Occup Ther J, 67(4), 309–319. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.12655

Benfield, A., & Jeffery, H. (2022). Exploring Evidence Based Practice Implementation by Occupational Therapists: Implications for Fieldwork. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 6(4), 10. https://doi.org/https://encompass.eku.edu/jote/vol6/iss4/10