Integrating research into practice: A challenge for local authority occupational therapy.
Författare
Summary, in English
The aim of this qualitative study was to identify and analyse the experiences of Swedish local health authority occupational therapists with regard to their participation in, and the implementation of, research. Data were collected from three focus-group interviews, with five different occupational therapists in each. The interviews were taped and transcribed and thereafter analysed using broad coding. One core category-"feeling professionally competent"-emerged, comprising three subcategories: "perceiving congruence between research and practice", "having the necessary skills", and "making a contribution". Feeling professionally competent embraces the occupational therapists' definition and delimitation of their professional domain and the obligations related to this. It also embraces the perception of having the skills necessary for participating in research projects and implementing research findings in a scientific manner. The implementation of research was not only perceived as contributing to the knowledge base of the profession, but personal gains could also be made. The knowledge gained from this study can help in the development of strategies to promote the integration of research in local authority occupational therapy practice. This is necessary; otherwise the occupational therapy provided will be based on the knowledge and perceptions of individual professionals, rather than on state-of-the-art knowledge gained through research.
Publiceringsår
2009
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
40-48
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy
Volym
16
Länkar
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
Taylor & Francis
Ämne
- Occupational Therapy
Status
Published
Forskningsgrupp
- Sustainable occupations and health in a life course perspective
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 1651-2014