Occupational therapists’ research engagement: enablers and challenges Royal College of Occupational Therapists Conference Birmingham, 20th June 2017 Occupational therapists’ research engagement: enablers and challenges Laura Di Bona Occupational Therapist/ Engagement Manager Sheffield Health & Social Care NHS Foundation Trust Honorary Research Fellow University of Sheffield he National@ Programme and is a @SheffOTCA @VALIDResearch 1

Valuing Active Life in Dementia (VALID) This is independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Programme Grants for Applied Research scheme (RP-PG-0610-10108). The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. The Valuing Active Life in Dementia (VALID) research study is funded by the National Institute for Health Research’s Programme Grants for Applied Research Programme and is a partnership between North East London NHS Foundation Trust and University College London, University of Sheffield, University of Hull, Radboud University of Nijmegen, University of East Anglia, University of Manchester, Swansea University, Kings College London and Dementia UK 2

Rationale & Aim To improve understanding of how to enable occupational therapists to deliver interventions within research studies Increase evidence base of occupational therapy Many challenges to research involvement Occupational therapists’ experiences of delivering interventions within research studies largely unknown

Valuing Active Life in Dementia 5 year programme of research Randomised controlled trial Clinical and cost effectiveness Community occupational therapy in dementia – UK (COTiD-UK) Pilot & Feasibility (2014) Development (2013)

Occupational therapists’ research engagement Learn the intervention Recruit participants Deliver intervention with fidelity Describe intervention in practice

Method What challenged or enabled research involvement? 5 focus groups 28 occupational therapists 8 organisations (Greater London, Yorkshire & Humber) Thematic analysis  

Results: research challenges “we go in with a plan…do it.. go out so this has been quite difficult to take a step back” Learning the intervention: Person centred & flexible Adhering to fixed structure Changing practice

Results: research challenges Recruiting participants: Time consuming Consent procedures Eligibility criteria Willing and able “a lot of phone calls and visits before you actually get someone to say yes”

Results: research challenges Videos (delivering intervention with fidelity): Learning to use equipment Data transfer Emotional exposure “frustrating countless hours….video recorders that don’t video ….. don’t charge”

Results: research challenges Paperwork (describing intervention in practice) : Volume of paperwork Changes to paperwork “overwhelmed… I am just so confused and all the changes…”

Results: research enablers Positive attitudes: Research Intervention Belief “very exciting for us to have this research… raise the profile of OT”

Results: research enablers “to ask questions, like oh my goodness what do I do with this” Peer support: Practical Emotional

Results: research enablers Management support: Links to research department Funding Team influence Promote research value “couldn’t have done it without xx ..the amount of work that she has done”

Results: research enablers “ you’ve got a semi crisis on… VALID’s gone out the window” Protected time: Increase priority of research Protects against crisis & risk management

Implications / Conclusions To enable research engagement: Reduce practical challenges Maximise support Involve service users & clinicians in research design Promote research culture Consider individual & organisational contexts

References Wenborn, J. et al., (2016) Community occupational therapy for people with dementia and family carers (COTiD-UK) versus treatment as usual (Valuing Active Life in Dementia [VALID] programme): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials. 17:65 DOI: 10.1186/s13063-015-1150-y2. Pain et al., (2015) Comparison of research experience and support needs of rural versus regional allied health professionals. Australian Journal of Rural Health 23 (5), 277-285 Hysong et al., (2012) Recruiting clinical personnel as research participants: a framework for assessing feasibility. Implementation Science 8, 125 Newall et al., (2009) Nurses’ experiences of participating in a randomised controlled trial in the community. Wound Practice and Research 17, 24-34 5. White E, Hampson H, Gardiner L et al. (2013). A review of occupational therapy research and development activity in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The British Journal of Occupational Therapy. 76 (1), 2–8.

References 6. Eriksson C, Tham K & Guidetti S (2013). Occupational therapists' experiences in integrating a new intervention in collaboration with a researcher. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 20, 253-263. 7. Pighills AC, , Plummer D, Harvey D et al. (2013). Positioning occupational therapy as a discipline on the research continuum: Results of a cross-sectional survey of research experience. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal. 60 (4), 241–251. 8.Guest et al., (2012) Introduction to Applied Thematic Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA. SAGE Publications 9. Damschroder LJ, Aron DC, Keith RE, Kirsh SR, Alexander JA & Lowery JC (2009). Fostering implementation of health services research findings into practice: a consolidated framework for advancing implementation science. Implementation Science 2009, 4:50 doi:10.1186/1748-5908-4-50 10. May, et al., (2016) Implementation, Context & Complexity. Implementation Science 11, 141

Thank You people with dementia, supporters, occupational therapists, colleagues, and voluntary organisations who have contributed to the VALID study AND colleagues who have contributed to this presentation VALID research teams, grantholders, management and advisory groups The VALID research team acknowledges the support of the National Institute of Health Research Clinical Research Network @SheffOTCA @VALIDResearch