Table 3 Understanding the barriers and enablers of regional physiotherapists in evidence access (n = 57)
TDF Domain (construct) | Quantitative data | Qualitative data | Theme |
|---|---|---|---|
Knowledge | Participants disagreed this was a barrier - 84% of participants either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement, “It’s hard to apply evidence because I don’t know where to find evidence.” | Participants disagreed this was a barrier Focus group data: “The evidence is out there, and people have access to it.” “But now, it’s still somewhat easy peasy because they are reviewed, whether they be Cochrane reviewed or at least a systematic review.” | Prioritisation Access limitations driven by competing demands of clinical practice (and resulting time limitations) not the knowledge of how to access evidence. |
Skills | Participants disagreed this was a barrier - 55% of participants either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement, “It’s hard to apply evidence because it’s hard to access evidence.” | ||
Context and resources (Environmental stressors) | Reported as a barrier Focus group data: “The big problem is always having enough time to access evidence.” Survey qualitative data: “My only barrier is time... which is more of an excuse than a barrier.” “Not only are we trying to stay abreast of current evidence and trying to incorporate that into our practice. Most business owners, like myself, carry a bigger caseload than they should. And then with what time you have left over after doing all that, you’re trying to run a business. And so, you’ve got all of the financial aspects of that.” | ||
Context and Resources (Resource availability) | Reported barrier Survey qualitative data: 5 free text responses to the question, “Please list any other barriers you have to accessing and applying evidence to your practice,” mentioned paywalls or restricted access to full text articles. For example, “Access to full text journals has been main barrier.” | Paywalls Paywalls were viewed as a barrier to accessing evidence. | |
Reported enabler Survey qualitative data: 2 free-text responses to the statement, ‘Please list anything else that might make it easier for you to access and apply research to your practice’ listed reduced cost or no paywalls. For example, “Better access to full text articles without paywall barriers.” | Removing paywalls was viewed as an enabler to accessing evidence | ||
Social influences | Reported enabler Focus Group data:“It [evidence] all comes through Facebook. I’ve always kind of got an eye on what’s gone on, because there’s business stuff gone on there and I’m not kind of just sitting there all day on it. But I’m always just – you know – having a quick look. So, yeah, if anything of that – any physio related stuff comes up, I’ll usually notice it and again triage if I’m going to actually read it or not.” | Social media |