Have your say, and see what other people think about all things to do with WAD.

Blog One: What's in a name?

As we are increasingly focusing on efforts to bridge gaps between research evidence and clinical practice, we are confronted with lack of clarity at the very first step, which is describing this process…what is this process of integrating research evidence into clinical practice actually termed as? Do we have a universally agreed nomenclature which defines and describes this process? Well, not surprisingly, there is no simple answer. In the latest edition of the Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, we (my project mentor and I) discuss this very issue. Here is the link to that article. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/ijahsp/vol7/iss3/3/

Have a look and I would be eager to hear your thoughts!

-SK

Blog Two: Implementation Workshop

Sunday, 13^th September 2009, is going to be an exciting and an important day for this research. On Sunday, all participating physiotherapists and chiropractors will participate in the one day workshop, facilitated by external experts and local opinion leaders, which will introduce evidence based assessment and treatment strategies for Whiplash Associated Disorders. This workshop, targeted at guideline implementation strategies, is the first of its kind in South Australia and will provide an ideal setting for key stakeholders to work in a collaborative manner. Using interactive workshops as a medium to introduce evidence, and as a tool to help in guideline implementation, has been supported by research evidence. However, from a practical perspective, what do you think? Has attending such workshops in the past (and as practitioners you would have attended similar workshops), really influenced your behaviour and clinical practice?

Your thoughts and comments are welcome!  

-SK

Blog Three: Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) Conference Week

For Physiotherapists in Australia, the coming week is an important week as Sydney plays hosts to APA Conference Week 2009. This is an important event as the conference week provides opportunities for 1Blog specialities within Physiotherapy to showcase cutting edge research and clinical expertise of Physiotherapists from all over Australia and the World. I have the opportunity to showcase my Fellowship research findings via a free paper session and a 5 X 5 session. I will also be facilitating a workshop on evidence implementation with another NHMRC NICS Fellow, Dr. Julie Redfern. A quick glance at the program for this conference indicates the rich diversity of Physiotherapy research and practice and the increasing importance of integrating evidence into practice. Upon my return, next week I will provide an update on the conference proceedings. If you are attending the conference, do stop by and say hello!

-SK

Blog Four: Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) Conference Week – update

An update from the APA conference week! As mentioned in the last blog, I attended the APA conference week in Sydney during the first week of October. What a buzz to be presenting and networking with a range of stakeholders from Physiotherapy. It has been a while since I attended an APA conference and I must say I was totally taken back from the scale of the event! There were so many wonderful presentations, workshops and plenary sessions. The workshop that I conducted with Julie Redfern (another NICS Fellow) was attended by enthusiastic physiotherapists, even though it was an early morning start (6.45 AM!), and we had wonderful discussions about implementing evidence into clinical practice. The other two presentations I did was also well received with some good feedback and discussions about how best to support clinicians in implementing evidence into clinical practice. Based on my experiences at the conference, I have written a commentary for the current edition of the Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. Check it out here: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/ijahsp/vol7/iss4/4/

What do YOU think? Agree or disagree with me?

-SK 

Blog Five: Evidence Based Practice (EBP) in Asia

For the last week or so, Prof. Karen Grimmer-Somers and I have been travelling in Asia as part of our ongoing commitment to progress EBP in Asia. First stop was Hong Kong, where Karen and I worked with allied health clinicians at the Hong Kong Hospital Authority on a range of issues relevant to EBP. Karen taught research methods and biostatistics while I consulted with multidisciplinary allied health clinicians on a range of guideline development and implementation initiatives. After this, we travelled to Manila, Philippines, to meet with local allied health clinicians and academics at the University of Santo Tomas. We had very productive discussions on a range of EBP issues, including undertaking basic science research to current trends in EBP to the role of qualitative research in EBP. We also discussed the progress of our second book on clinical guidelines and laid the foundation for our third book on evidence implementation. Keep a look out for more information on these individual initiatives in our upcoming editions of CAHE newsletters.

-SK 

Blog Six: The year that was
 

As we are nearing the time when we farewell yet another year and look forward to the dawn of a new year, may be it is time we reflect on what 2009 has been for all us. For me, 2009 has been a year when the WAD implementation was operationalised. I, along with a team of researchers from iCAHE, recruited a range of diverse physiotherapy and chiropractic practices across Adelaide, audited case notes from these practices, organised and delivered the intervention and now are preparing for the final (evaluation) phase. During this “journey” (yes, there’s that word made famous by reality TV), I have been fortunate to meet, and work with, diverse group of health professionals, who all share a dream of providing quality health care. 2009 was also a year where implementation science further grew with several innovative works on evidence implementation and knowledge transfer. However, 2009 also highlighted that significant and persistent barriers confront all stakeholders of health care when implementing evidence into practice and underscored the importance of keep on keeping on! Let me conclude this year by paraphrasing the great speech by John F Kennedy in 1962… “we choose to implement evidence into practice and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard…”

From all us, merry Christmas and a happy, safe and prosperous New Year!

-SK

P.S. Recently published in Physiotherapy Canada is my most recent article which investigates how the Allied Health fraturnity can take pointers for implementing change from Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Follow this link to the journal, Physiotherapy Canada. 
Articel Citation: Kumar S and Grimmer-Somers K (2009): What can evidence implementation learn from Obama’s campaign? Physiotherapy Canada. 61(4):181-184. 

Blog Seven: EBP in allied health education; today's student, tomorrow's clinician

Much of my 2011 was spent as an academic involved in teaching two evidence based practice (EBP) courses to nearly 900 undergraduate allied health students at University of South Australia. During the development, and the delivery, of these two courses, it was not too difficult to reminisce about my own undergraduate days and experiences as a student. While some things have remained the same (such as hard work and commitment required to study an allied health program which is often wonderfully balanced by the joyous of student life), some things have changed, including the multidisciplinary nature of allied health education and, specifically, the importance placed on EBP courses. Compared to my undergraduate days, a student in an allied health program today undertakes a comprehensive suite of EBP courses throughout the duration of the program. While it may be seen as overkill, it is imperative as educators of tomorrow’s clinicians, we provide today’s student with the knowledge, skills and competencies to use EBP in their respective healthcare contexts. It is also recognised that it is difficult to achieve behaviour and practice change once it is well established in clinical practice. The challenge that I found in 2011 was being able to successfully, and consistently, communicate the message of the importance of EBP to today’s student. This is a challenge that I will continue to tackle in 2012. Will keep you updated on the progress!

From all us at iCAHE, merry Christmas and a joyous, safe and prosperous New Year!

  
Blog Eight: Got evidence? - The fluidity of evidence.

The only constant thing in life is change and that phrase couldn’t ring truer about the ever evolving world of food fads. The world of milk has never been more varied than it is now with consumers spoilt for choice (read confused!) with options like full fat, low fat, no fat, rice, almond, oat, coconut, soy ….Phew! The list goes on. In spite of the competition from other varieties of milk, the constant quest to combat obesity keeps low and no -fat milk options as the focus of public health messages. A recent review published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) questions the recommendation of having low fat (0-2 %) milk over the whole milk option in order to curb weight gain. The authors point out that numerous studies on consumption low fat milk actually found greater rates of weight gain in children, adolescents and adults. Their rationale is that people over compensate for the lower calorie content of reduced fat milk by eating more of other foods which are often high in refined sugars in order to feel satiated. Some health professionals’ stick to the old adage and recommend that the healthiest choice is to consume all foods, including organic (of course) dairy, in moderation. At the other end of the spectrum is the view that animal milk has no place in the human diet at all and that it is merely an evolutionary addition which has no nutritional advantage. I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to digest (pun intended) that last one. After all what would the satisfying snack of cookies and milk be without the milk!

Have a read and before your next shopping trip and decide for yourself!

https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/the-skinny-on-lowfat-20130704-2pd1y.html