RESULTS Knowledge translation interventions appear to have result ed in a positive change in physiotherapist beliefs , attitudes , skills and guideline awareness .
However , no consistent improvement in clinical practice , patient and economic outcomes were observed .
AND IMPLICATION OF KEY FINDINGS The intensity and type of knowledge translation intervention seem to have an effect on practice change .
BACKGROUND Many physiotherapists underuse evidence -based practice guidelines or recommendations when treating patients with musculoskeletal disorders , yet synthesis of knowledge translation interventions used within the field of physiotherapy fails to offer clear conclusions to guide the implementation of clinical practice guidelines .
OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effectiveness of various  knowledge translation interventions used to implement changes in the practice of current physiotherapists treating common musculoskeletal issues .
Do physiotherapists' attitudes towards evidence-based practice change as a result of an evidence-based educational programme?
RATIONALE The concept of evidence -based practice ( EBP ) encourages health care professionals to provide the most effective health care , and to be accountable for the interventions they provide . Little work has been undertaken to examine how practically allied health professionals ' encompass EBP and how they perceptive and underst and the concept of EBP . The use of opinion leaders to disseminate new evidence into practice , and thereby encourage the behaviour of health care professionals has been proposed . AIMS The aims of this study were to investigate physiotherapists ' attitudes towards EBP and to examine change in their attitudes following an education package , which utilized local opinion leaders . METHOD Thirty musculoskeletal physiotherapists from a Community Trust in North Staffordshire were cluster r and omized by location of work to two groups . The intervention group received an evidence -based programme on aspects of EBP including literature search ing and critical appraisal . The attention control group received a st and ard in-service training package on the management of common knee pathologies . The physiotherapists ' attitudes towards EBP were measured at baseline ( before r and omization ) and at 3 and 6 months follow-up . RESULTS Physiotherapists reported that they primarily relied on ' courses ' and ' in-service training ' for informing their clinical practice . Most agreed that clinical practice should be based on the best available evidence and that they would change their clinical practice if evidence suggested they should do so . However , many of the physiotherapists reported difficulty in reading journals and could not identify opinion leaders in key areas . In terms of clinical practice , literature , journals and research were ascribed low priority throughout . Differences in attitudes between the intervention and control groups were observed in relation to management support for EBP at 3 and 6 months follow-up . CONCLUSIONS In this study , physiotherapists appeared to be in favour of the idea of EBP , yet they remained reluctant to change their practice . Opinion leaders were not easily identifiable by physiotherapists , suggesting that this method alone may not be an effective method of changing attitudes in clinical practice . The process of changing attitudes in the clinical environment is a complex issue worthy of further research
RESULTS Knowledge translation interventions appear to have result ed in a positive change in physiotherapist beliefs , attitudes , skills and guideline awareness .
However , no consistent improvement in clinical practice , patient and economic outcomes were observed .
AND IMPLICATION OF KEY FINDINGS The intensity and type of knowledge translation intervention seem to have an effect on practice change .
BACKGROUND Many physiotherapists underuse evidence -based practice guidelines or recommendations when treating patients with musculoskeletal disorders , yet synthesis of knowledge translation interventions used within the field of physiotherapy fails to offer clear conclusions to guide the implementation of clinical practice guidelines .
OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effectiveness of various  knowledge translation interventions used to implement changes in the practice of current physiotherapists treating common musculoskeletal issues .