Characterizing clinical questions of occupational therapists,

physical therapists, & speech-language pathologists

Lorie A. Kloda, MLIS, PhD(c), AHIPJoan C. Bartlett, MLS, PhD

McGill University

Medical Library Association Annual MeetingMay 2012, Seattle

Research objective

To explore the clinical questions of rehabilitation therapists

in the context of their everyday practice

Research questions

1

2

Research questions

What types of questions do rehabilitation therapists ask?1

2

Research questions

What types of questions do rehabilitation therapists ask?

How do rehabilitation therapists formulate their clinical questions?

1

2

Sampling & recruitment

Stroke rehabilitation

Purposeful, snowball sampling

Methods

Informants

4 Occupational therapists4 Physical therapists

+ 7 Speech-language pathologists________

15

Clinical questions

26 Occupational therapists44 Physical therapists

+ 59 Speech-language pathologists________

129

Findings

12 Foci8 Structural elements

Clinical question foci

Treatment selection 33%

Clinical manifestations of disease 17%

Prognosis 13%

Assessment tool selection 9%

Terminology 9%

Treatment procedures 9%

Etiology 5%

Practice-related self-improvement 4%

Assessment tool procedures 3%

Patient or family’s experiences and concerns 2%

Anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology 2%

Epidemiology 1%

Clinical question foci

Treatment selection50%

Clinical manifestations of disease

Prognosis 13%

Assessment tool selection 9%

Terminology 9%

Treatment procedures 9%

Etiology 5%

Practice-related self-improvement 4%

Assessment tool procedures 3%

Patient or family’s experiences and concerns 2%

Anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology 2%

Epidemiology 1%

Clinical question structure

Problem 69%

Intervention 41%

Population 39%

Outcome measure 11%

Temporality 7%

Context 5%

Professional stakeholder 3%

Patient or family stakeholder 1%

Discussion

Implications

Reference interview

Information literacy instruction

Resource design and selection

Conclusions

Evidence-based practice framework inadequate for rehabilitation

12 possible foci

8 possible structural elements

Acknowledgements

Dissertation committeeJoan Bartlett (chair), France Bouthillier,

Nicol Korner-Bitensky, Andrew Large & Pierre Pluye

Funding Thomson Scientific / MLA Doctoral Fellowship

Fonds québecois de la recherche sur la société et la culture

Canadian Library Association World Book Scholarship

Study informants

Contact

lorie.kloda@mcgill.ca

@loriekloda slideshare.net/lkloda