Evidence-based practice knowledge, self-efficacy, and use among respiratory therapy faculty and students

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is considered a major respiratory therapy competency established by the profession and essential to the clinical decision-making process. Currently, there is a limited understanding of what factors influence the use of EBP among respiratory therapists. The purpose of this study was to assess the factors associated with the use of EBP among respiratory therapy faculty teaching in a large community college system and post-professional students enrolled in a university-based, respiratory therapy baccalaureate degree completion program. Additionally, strategies and resources used to teach EBP by faculty were described. Evidence-based practice knowledge, self-efficacy in knowledge, self-efficacy in use, learning experiences, use in practice, teaching strategies and resources used, and demographics were measured using a researcher-developed survey instrument. A total of 25 faculty and 58 post-professional students responded to the survey. Post-professional students viewed their learning experiences moderately favorable but had varied levels of self-efficacy in knowledge and use of evidence-based practice. Students rated their self-efficacy high in knowledge of assessing the outcome of a treatment (M = 86.9, SD = 16.5) and in assessing patients’ needs, values and treatment preferences for self-efficacy in use of EBP (M = 92.0, SD = 14.2). Students rated their self-efficacy in knowledge lower regarding the PICO technique (M = 73.5, SD = 27.8) and interpreting common statistical tests (M = 50.9, SD = 24.6). Students were more likely to search the research literature six or more times per month compared to critically appraising and using the research literature. The majority of faculty had a more negative view of their learning experiences and also reported varied levels of self-efficacy in knowledge and use of evidence-based practice. Faculty scored their self-efficacy high in knowledge of knowing which type of research study yields the highest level of evidence (M = 83.9, SD = 18.5) and in assessing patients’ needs, values and treatment preferences for self-efficacy in use of EBP (M = 90.0, SD = 14.0). In contrast, faculty were less confident in their knowledge regarding using the PICO technique (M = 67.4, SD = 24.9) and interpreting common statistical tests (M = 47.4, SD = 30.2). Faculty were more likely to read the research literature six or more times per month compared to conducting critical appraisal. Case studies (87%) were the most common teaching strategy and AARC clinical practice guidelines (87%) were the most common resource used by faculty. All of the steps of EBP were reported as being taught to students, with searching efficiently for the best available evidence used most often (65.2%) and formulating a clinical question was used least often (21.7%). Binary logistic regression was conducted to determine which independent variables were predictors of EBP use in clinical decisions. A test of the full model versus a model with the intercept only was not statistically significant, ?2 (4, N = 54) = 7.73, p = .10. Results suggest faculty and post-professional students in this study are knowledgeable and confident regarding EBP but the frequency of using EBP in clinical decisions is limited. [This abstract has been edited to remove characters that will not display in this system. Please see the PDF for the full abstract.]]]> 2019 Evidence-based medicine Respiratory therapy English http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/Clark_uncg_0154D_12834.pdf oai:libres.uncg.edu/26792 2019-08-26T10:52:11Z UNCG Task performance is inversely related to spatial external focus target removal Cochran, Sean M. NC DOCKS at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro <![CDATA[External focus (EF) of attention (focusing on the effects of movement on the environment and/or on an external target) has shown to enhance performance in motor tasks. These findings are consistent in the literature, however, there is limited literature for attentional focus in the virtual environment (VE). Target characteristics and target occlusion are known to change in VE, positively effecting performance. This study examined the effects that EF and target characteristic changes have on jump performance in a controlled virtual environment. Sixty participants performed a series of single leg jumps with or without EF instructions, in and out of a VE. Significant differences both RW and VE for performance were observed for baseline Significant differences between groups for the training conditions of the target removal were not dependent on time between removal and movement execution. Lastly, both groups had better performance at retention than at baseline. This study showed that an EF target supplements the stimulus-response link by adding to environmental characteristics affecting event-file retrieval, and performance