Physical Therapy Knowledge Broker

_{Alison Hoens}

_{Paul Blazey}

Alison Hoens and Paul Blazey are Co-Physical Therapy Knowledge Brokers (PT KB). This position is jointly funded by the UBC Department of Physical Therapy, The Physiotherapy Association of British Columbia and Arthritis Research Canada.

What is Knowledge Translation?

The Canadian Institute of Health Research defines Knowledge Translation (KT) as the exchange, synthesis and ethically-sound application of researcher findings within a complex system of relationships among researchers and knowledge users. KT is critical in reducing the gap between what is ‘known’ from research and what is ‘done’ in practice and enhancing the involvement of clinical practice in the research process. Consequently, the PT KB role aims to facilitate both evidence-informed practice and practice-informed evidence. Key objectives of the PT KB include:

To build awareness of KT opportunities in the BC PT community
To engage stakeholders (eg. clinicians, opinion leaders, researchers, administrators, professional organizations) in collaboration to enhance knowledge translation.
To develop resources and capacity for ‘evidence-informed’ decision making
To incorporate evaluation to ensure accountability