1. Co-leads: D Kairy, PhD, PT & A Thomas, PhD, OT
Advancing Knowledge Translation Research in Rehabilitation: a Quebec Strategic Initiative
Co-leads: D Kairy, PhD, PT & A Thomas, PhD, OT
Team members:
S Ahmed, PhD, PT
D Anaby, PhD, OT
A Bussières, PhD, DC
C Gagnon, PhD, OT
ME Lamontagne, PhD, OT
A Rochette, PhD, OT
K Shikako-Thomas PhD, OT
Supported by: K Montpetit-Tourangeau, MC Hallé
NAME ALL TEAM MEMBERS AND WHERE THEY ARE FROM

2. KT-SIRQ
Financial support provided by the Quebec Rehabilitation Research Network (REPAR)

3. Rationale for a strategic initiative in KT research in rehabilitation in Quebec
Sub-optimal research use in rehabilitation clinical practice despite growing body of research in rehabilitation (e.g Di Rezze 2012, Duncan 2002, Law 2004)
Various patient populations (eg. MSK, neuro)
Across the lifespan (eg. Pediatrics, older adults)
Advances in the field of KT research, including in rehabilitation
Need to organize KT research specifically in the field of rehabilitation:
Knowledge Translation Strategic Initiative in Rehabilitation in Quebec (KT-SIRQ)
We know that despite a rapidly growing body of evidence in rehabilitation in numerous fields, research use remains sub-optimal. And this research-practice-gap holds true across conditions and across the lifespan, from pediatrics to aging.
At the same time, the field of implementation science has been growing steadily, thus providing the rehabilitaiton community with a better understanding of the reasons for the research-practice gap as well as tools aimed at reducing it.
In Quebec, the field of KT research specifically in rehabilitation, has been growing over the last few years. There is an increasing number of researchers that have carried out part of their training in this field or that have integrated parts of KT into their research. And therefore, in 2014, sensing that this field was growing and that there may be a critical mass of researchers contributing to this field in Quebec, a strategic inititiative was put into place. The research team led by Aliki Thomas PhD, OT (McGill University) and Dahlia Kairy PhD, PT (Université de Montréal) submitted a request to the Réseau provincial de recherche en adaptation-réadaptation (REPAR) to develop a Quebec Knowledge Translation in Rehabilitation Strategic Initiative.

4. KT-SIRQ - Who are we? 4 universities
Range of patient populations, target audiences and stakeholders
McGill University
Université de Montréal
Pediatric to older adults
Université Laval
Neurology, orthopedic
Université de Sherbrooke
Clinical, academic, community, patients, caregivers, government and policy makers
3 research centers
CRIR
CIRRIS
GRIMN
So who are we? Let me tell you a little bit about how we came about. We are a group of 9 researchers in Quebec from 4 universities and 3 multi-site research centers, addressing issues for various patient populations, across the lifespan and in divers settings. We first got together to identify the needs and resources that would be needed to help move this field forward. We were encouraged to do so by our research centers and an extensive rehabilitation research network in Quebec of which we are a part of, the REPAR.
While the researchers worked with various patient populations, and addressed different end user needs, we quickly saw that we had common needs, questions and goals related to KT in rehabilitation.
I would just like to point out that several years prior to this initiative, the rehabilitation research network, the REPAR mentioned previously, recognized the importance of KT in rehabilitation and there was an attempt at regrouping researchers and clinicians in this field. Although there was an interest in this group that was formed, there likely was not yet the critical mass needed to provide a network that could work together and help advance the field

5. Mission of the KT-SIRQ
Build capacity and promote collaborative KT research in rehabilitation to improve the delivery of services and ultimately the health and wellbeing of individuals with physical disabilities

6. Specific objectives for 1st year (2014-2015)
To develop a mission statement for the KT-SIRQ
To conduct an environmental scan of KT research activities taking place in rehabilitation in Quebec
Develop a 5-year strategic plan for KT rehabilitation research in Quebec
So what I’ll be talking to you about today are the activities that we’ve done to date and where we hope to go in the near future.

7. Methods used to date Mixed-methods approach
Iterative consultation process among team members for mission, vision and goals of KT-SIRQ
Environmental scan of current rehabilitation KT research activities in Quebec
University and funding agency websites, or direct contact to funding agencies
Consensus retreat session and Delphi consensus method for priority setting for the strategic plan
Expert validation

8. Outcomes to date – 12 month Vision, mission, and goals
While the goal of the talk today is not to report specific findings from each step, we wanted to give you an overview of where we are at and the direction we feel this strategic initiative could go in.
In fact, as we advance in some of our activities from the strategic plan, developing our goals has remained an iterative process, we still come back to them, examine their relevance, look for overlap… so what i have here are the initial goals that were developed.

9. Vision: To enhance the health of individuals with physical disabilities in Quebec by advancing KT research in rehabilitation science.
Mission: To build capacity and promote collaborative KT research in rehabilitation to improve the delivery of services and ultimately the health and wellbeing of individuals with physical disabilities.
The goals are to:
Build capacity in KT research in and implementation in rehabilitation and promote networking
Identify and engage relevant stakeholders (e.g., consumers of rehabilitation services, service providers, organizations, decision makers) to support the mission of the Quebec KT Rehabilitation Strategic Initiative
Be a catalyst for the creation, application and evaluation of innovative and effective KT strategies for individuals with physical disabilities
Advance KT research in rehabilitation

10. Outcomes to date – 12 months Environmental scan
Classification categories of researchers
Primarily a KT researcher (e.g. has formalized training in KT (PhD, post doctoral training in KT or courses with KT Canada), all research conducted is centered on an aspect of KT)
Researcher conducts research in the field of KT as well as research in areas not directly related to KT.
Researcher whose main area of research is not related to KT but appears to include an element of KT in a part of this research (e.g. developing clinical practice guidelines in their main area of research)
Exclusion criteria:
Researcher excluded because does not meet inclusion criteria (i.e. falls into exclusion criteria: research is not in the field of rehabilitation or not in the field of physical disabilities, research is not in KT field or research projects were prior to 2005, researcher is retired)

11. Outcomes to date – 12 months Environmental scan
From 8 universities
Across various stages of the KT process from knwoelge creation to implementation and with different stakeholders
We also found 96 projects that had been funded in the last 10 years, funded by 14 different agencies or programs.
As you can see one of the limitations we encountered is related to the terminology used, which during our online searches lead to the identification of researchers not involved in KT research.

12. Outcomes to date – 12 months 5-year strategic plan
4 goals:
Build capacity in KT research and implementation in rehabilitation
Engage stakeholders
Be a catalyst for KT in rehabilitation
Advance KT research in rehabilitation
Identified relevant strategies for each goal, required actions and resources
Conducted expert consultation process regarding coherence, feasibility, relevance (N=7).
A 5 year strategic plan that would move the field of rehab research forward

13. Moving forward: A few lessons learned
Importance of :
Structuring the initiative to move it forward
Buy-in, dedication and active involvement from team members
Buy-in from relevant stakeholders
Adequate financial resources
Range of expertise among team members (different perspectives)
Strategic initiative as a valuable tool for capacity building
Using frameworks in the strategic initiative: comprehensive frameworks versus multiple models.
Given that KT is a multidisciplinary field, researchers with various views are essential

14. Next steps for the KT-SIRQ
Integrate feedback from expert consultation process
Validate and expand on environmental scan findings
Identify current strengths/weaknesses of and needs for KT research in rehabilitation in Quebec
Targeted groups (clinicians, patients, caregivers, decision makers…)
Component of the KT process (knowledge creation, dissemination, implementation)
Nature of KT research projects

15. Next steps for the KT-SIRQ
Undertake actions from the strategic plan for each goal
Some examples:
Identify or develop and promote training programs in KT
Identify stakeholders in clinical settings and develop links with other complementary initiatives and groups
conduct scoping reviews
Identify funding opportunities for sustainability of the strategic initiative

16. Conclusion
Over 60 researchers in rehabilitation in Quebec addressing KT in some area of their research
Timing is good to put in place structure and resources, as well as identify relevant partnerships and collaborations to help advance the field of KT research in rehabilitation
More to come…

17. Acknowledgments
Strategic initiative funded by the REPAR ( , )
Dr. Bonnie Swaine and Dr. Eva Kehayia, CRIR co-directors
Katherine Montpetit-Tourangeau (PhD candidate and team coordinator)
Marie-Christine Hallé (post-doctoral fellow)
Experts consulted during strategic plan validation process