Knowledge Translation Research Anne Sales Faculty of Nursing University of Alberta

Acknowledgements Funding from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Support from CIHR as a Canada Research Chair

Five W’s of KT research Who What When Where Why

Who: targets of KT Most KT research has focused on transfer or uptake of knowledge to professionals/providers Majority of KT research has focused on physician providers Not entirely clear why

What: Evidence and/or knowledge Not entirely clear what constitutes evidence Most KT research has focused on results of empirical research as evidence Strong emphasis on hierarchies of evidence Based on treatment models– causality as the primary question for empirical research Not clear if these are the most appropriate models for KT research Problem of external validity/generalizability

When: when is something ready for translation? Test of time issue Repeated questions about external validity Dynamic nature of knowledge and evidence “Community standard” vs. guideline

Where: Context In the organizational frame, this is a key question for external validity Things that work in one place don’t always work in another Currently a major focus of KT research

Why: the need for theory Most existing KT research has little to no explicit theory base Rests on unstated assumptions Lack of awareness Lack of recognition Lack of time Lack of motivation Lack of coordination Lack of self-efficacy Lack of planning Human psychology/social science theories cover most of these factors Need to test and improve the theory base to create more efficient, knowledge-generating approaches to KT

Open questions When should we initiate KT activity? What criteria make it worth the cost of attempting to induce behavior change? What contextual factors influence knowledge uptake? Can we do anything to make contexts more amenable to KT/U? Can we arrive at robust theories that help us plan and implement KT/U activities?