Enablers and challenges to occupational therapists' research engagement: A qualitative study.
Laura Di Bona, Jennifer Wenborn, Becky Field and 4 others
PMID 29170592WHAT IT FOUND
Occupational therapists delivering dementia research found paperwork, videoing, recruitment and a new intervention overwhelming.
Peer and management support, protected funded time, and positive attitudes helped them stay involved.
Key findings
01Occupational therapists described research involvement as challenged by overwhelming paperwork, video recording, recruitment and delivering a new intervention.
02They described peer support, management support, protected time and positive attitudes towards research as enablers.
03Those without protected funded time reported doing research paperwork and preparation in their own time, while clinical crises took priority.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The findings come from 28 occupational therapists in focus groups, not all 44 who took part in the development phase, and the views of those who declined are unknown. The study was conducted in one UK research programme, so it may not reflect other settings, professions or research designs. The focus groups also covered intervention development and training, so they may not have fully explored research participation experiences. Because transcription was outsourced, quotations could not be confidently assigned to individual participants. The participants were occupational therapists already involved in delivering a dementia intervention, so they may differ from therapists who avoid research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that protected time or peer support improves patient outcomes. It reports therapists' experiences of taking part in research, and it does not test the dementia intervention.