Sheila Kennedy and Kellie Duckworth
Wednesday September 10, 2014 at noon
BCTRA Webinar
Learning objectives
 FLW: Upon the completion of the session the
participants will be able to define and understand the
role of ‘Knowledge Broker’
 ADV: Upon the completion of the session the
participants will be able to identify three resources
available to support evidence based practice.
 ADV: Upon the completion of the session the
participants will be able to develop an action plan to
bring evidence based practice to their workplace.
What to expect
 Context of our talk
 History of our journey thus far
 Lessons learned
 Where we are now
 Role of the Knowledge Broker
 Our next steps
 Resources to share
 Applying evidence at your workplace
A little context
 Sunny Hill Health Centre is a provincial facility, part of
BC Children’s Hospital, but on a different site in east
Vancouver
 We see children/youth with disabilities and their
families from across the province
 Therapeutic Recreation has been part of the provision
of inpatient, outpatient and outreach services for more
than 30 years – services are currently shifting
Some history
 Became increasingly evident that we
needed to have measurable outcomes
and proof that we were using the best
evidence available to back up what we
were doing in TR
 Drivers propelling us forward included:
a) budget constraints, focus on best value
b) shift from interdisciplinary to
interprofessional collaboration
A little more history
c) models of rehabilitation being reviewed
and “core therapies” being identified
d) looking at “best standard of care” in specific
situations within the organization
e) outside influences – govt priorities, policies
 The Department began looking for help both within
and outside the organization
Last bit of history
 Looked to Douglas College’s TR Program
to provide increased focus on research in their
curriculum – encouraged these changes as a member
of the Advisory Board and 2 staff have taken research
courses to upgrade
 Found some “champions” in other staff within the
organization (PT/OT based) willing to assist us in new
learning, how to move forward
Lessons learned
 Enlist Support Wherever You Can Get It!
(Physicians, Other Therapists, Families, Students)
 Look for ways to increase the team’s skills, selfconfidence, and visibility (learn how to do a
professional poster, encourage public speaking
opportunities)
 Engage a motivated leader – “Knowledge Broker”
More lessons
 Doing it “on your own” will be unsuccessful
(the group needs to be involved in annual goal setting,
in-services, reviewing articles, learning from and
supporting each other)
 Support from all levels of the organization
is crucial
 Start small with a methodical approach,
use regular set time to review progress
Where are we now?
 Developing a portfolio of evidence with our
program protocols to help support some of
the recreation activities we regularly use with clients
 One staff member has now been through the rigorous
ethics approval process in the organization and is in
the process of completing a formal research project
with the support of both Sunny Hill and Douglas
College
Where are we now?
 We’re certainly not there yet!
 Have made EBP an ongoing priority within the
Department
 Continue to struggle with “dedicated time” issue
(although there has been some progress)
 Education funding requests being more closely
examined to ensure opportunities are evidence-based
Where are we now?
 Have significantly increased our presence in various
public speaking opportunities and in outreach visits
throughout the province
 Have 2 certified staff (with another upcoming), have
internship students help us with finding and using the
evidence
 all “service learning” requests relate to EBP
 Monthly prof. practice meeting specific to EBP
Evidence Based Practice
Evidence
Research
Clinical
Experience
Client’s
Perspective
Knowledge Broker
 Helps to facilitate evidence based practice
 A capacity builder who improves access to evidence
and empowers colleagues to use relevant evidence
 Leads in the development of strategies and tools to
improve the efficiency and ease by which department
colleagues can access, appraise and apply
pertinent quality evidence to practice with
the ultimate goal of improving TR service
delivery for clients.
Competencies of a Knowledge
Broker
 Four basic competencies
 Staying Current
 Needs assessment
 Facilitating EBP
 Evaluating EBP
http://www.childdevelopment.ca/Libraries/Knowledge_Brokering_webpage_resources/KB_Competency_SelfEvaluation.sflb.ashx
What we’ve done…our steps
 Developing an understanding of the role
 Needs assessment
 Group learning
 Annual Department Goals
 Staff Meetings
 Annual Calendar
What we’ve done…our steps
continued
 Students
 Ipads
 TR Research Network
 Evidence based folder
 Research project(s)
Where we’re headed………
 Students
 Find partners –CFRI, Douglas College
 Research project
 Learning opportunities
 Capacity building
 Presentations
 Networking
Web resources
 Child Development & Rehabilitation
 http://www.ktdrr.org/ktlibrary/articles_pubs/ktmodel
s/ktintro.pdf
@SunnyHill_Evid
Group Activity/Discussion
How can you apply evidence based
practice in your workplace?
Resources
 http://www.childdevelopment.ca/Home.aspx
 http://www.ktdrr.org/ktlibrary/articles_pubs/ktmodels/ktintro.pdf
 Atherton, C., Barratt, M. & Hodson, R. ((2005). Teamwise using




research evidence a practical guide to teams. www.rip.org.uk/teams
Glasziou, P., Del Mar, C., & Salisbury, J. (2003). Evidence-based practice
workbook. 2nd Ed. Malden: BMJ Books.
Glegg, S. (2010) Knowledge brokering as an intervention in paediatric
rehabilitation practice. International Journal of Therapy and
Rehabilitation. 7(4):203-211.
Hodson, R. & Cooke, E. (2007). Leading evidence-informed practice a
handbook. www.rip.org.uk
O’Donnell, M.E. & Roxborough, L. (2002) Evidence-based practice in
pediatric rehabilitation. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of
North America 13, 991-1005
Resources Continued…..
 Schon, D.A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: how professionals think
in action. New York: Basic Books.
 Stumbo, N.J. & Wardlow, Brad. (2011). Facilitation of therapeutic
recreation services: an evidence-based and best practice approach to
techniques and processes. State College. Venture Publishing Inc.
 Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and
identity. New York: Cambridge University Press.
 Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W.M. (2002) Cultivating
communities of practice a guide to managing knowledge. Boston:
Harvard Business School Press.
Thank you!
Questions?
skennedy@cw.bc.ca
kduckworth@cw.bc.ca