The researcher-clinician gap has been acknowledged in the literature and has been attributed to a variety of factors. According to Olswang and Prelock (2015), this term refers to a gap between "what we know, and what we do" in the profession, and is essentially the gap between knowledge and evidence. There is often, but not always, a disconnect between what researchers are publishing and what is actually being implemented in a clinical setting (Olswang & Goldstein, 2017). Olswang and Goldstein (2017) provided a suggestion for bridging this researcher-clinician gap, namely through an active partnership during the research and development process. Researchers need to work together with practicing clinicians in order to help better understand delivery needs, which results in an active partnership between research and delivery (Olswang & Goldstein, 2017). An active partnership supports researchers to discern service delivery needs and the realities of the clinical world, which allows for a more balanced way to address internal and external validity while developing treatment protocols which can be implemented into practice (Olswang & Goldstein, 2017). Research is a costly and complex process that requires the collaboration of many individuals. Speech-language pathologists have numerous obligations that may hold them back from playing an active role in research collaboration. According to Craig (2014), the three major barriers that prevent clinicians from research collaboration include lack of time, lack of education and training, and lack of funding. Despite these barriers, collaboration in the field of SLP is crucial for the development of evidence-based (EB) resources for clinicians and to ensure the best outcomes for clients. Furthermore, collaboration between researchers and practicing clinicians can create relationships that evolve and grow stronger over time, which will, in turn narrow the researcher-clinician gap and improve evidence-based practice being pulled into clinical use. Involving practicing clinicians in research by formulating and answering questions relating directly to clinical practice has been suggested to address the researcher-clinician gap (Olswang & Goldstein, 2017). A first step to bridge this gap is to determine the research interests and needs of practicing clinicians. This should lead to the identification of research areas of shared interest and can form the basis of new research collaborations. Such clinical research projects will have the potential to inform clinical practice and benefit the clients and families we serve. The purpose of this survey research is to determine and describe the research interests and needs of practicing clinicians in the Tri-Cities area in Tennessee (TN).Method: An exploratory, descriptive design with quantitative and qualitative analysis was used to explore research interests of practicing clinicians within the Tri-Cities, TN. An exploratory design was deemed appropriate due to the paucity of research on the topic. This study addressed the following questions: What role does research play in the local practicing clinicians' activities?; What are the barriers to consuming and conducting research by local practicing clinicians?; What are the primary research resources of local practicing clinicians?; What are the research needs of local practicing clinicians?; Are local practicing clinicians interested in collaborating on research?; How do local practicing clinicians view themselves contributing to collaborative research?; and What are the differences between work settings, research resources, and interest in research? An electronic survey was developed based on an in-depth literature on the topic and a review of survey research (e.g. Blessing & Forister, 2012; Irwin, Pannbacker & Lass, 2014). The survey consisted of four sections: Research Background, Research Interest, Research Collaboration, and Demographics. It contained 23 questions. The question and response format consisted of the following: 1 question was open-ended and 22 used a semantic differential scale (i.e., Likert-Scale and verbal frequency scale). IRB approval was obtained. Purposive sampling was used as local SLPs certified by ASHA were targeted. A cover letter served to recruit respondents via email. An online survey system, SurveyMonkey ™ was utilized to administer the survey to local practicing clinicians. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be used to analyze the data. Thematic analysis will be performed on the results obtained from the open question. Results: The results will be described both quantitatively and qualitatively. Results will be presented in terms of the practicing clinicians’ overall research needs and with differences between work settings, research resources, and interest in research. Correlations will be determined between variables such as work setting, time to collaborate on research, and research needs. The implications of the findings will be discussed in terms of suggestions for research resources, interests, and potential future collaboration between practicing clinicians and researchers. Recommendations for further research will be discussed. This preliminary research project will serve as a stepping stone to establishing practicing researcher-clinician collaboration in the Tri-Cities, TN area.Conclusion: The researcher-clinician gap remains a concern in the field of speech-language pathology. However, researchers and practicing clinicians can collaboratively create relationships that evolve and grow stronger over time. This in turn will narrow the researcher-clinician gap and improve evidence-based practice to the benefit of the clients served.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:asrf-1237 |
| Date | 12 April 2019 |
| Creators | Weiner, Jessica, Trifiro, Mary, Fabrize, Lauren, Detty, Kara, Louw, Brenda |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Appalachian Student Research Forum |
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