Speech pathologists’ experiences with stroke clinical practice guidelines and the barriers and facilitators influencing their use: a national descriptive study

Table 1 Key factors that influence the implementation of clinical practice guidelines in allied health professionals

Area	Factors	Professionals studied	References
(a) Aspects relating to the guideline itself	Clarity of recommendations	Physiotherapists, occupational therapists	[23, 24]
	Applicability to clients
	Amount of detail provided
	Allowed the health professional to draw their own conclusions
	Allowed the health professional to take the client’s preferences into account
(b) Characteristics of the health professional	Desire to maintain accountability	Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses, managers	[22, 24]
	Willingness to change practice
	Agreement with the guidelines
	Level of knowledge
	Level of skill
(c) Patient characteristics	Severity of the patient	Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses, managers	[22, 24]
	Patient motivation
	Patient expectations
(d) Work environment	Time availability	Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses, managers	[22–24]
	Staff availability
	Training and education
	Workplace policies
	Team collaboration
	Access to other professionals
	Colleagues
(e) Implementation strategies	Multifaceted interventions were no more effective than using one strategy only. There is no clear evidence to support a set guideline implementation strategy for allied health professionals.	Pharmacists (8 studies), physiotherapists (3 studies), dietitians (2 studies), and speech pathologists (1 study)	[21]

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