Clinical Supervision Handbook - CAMH Knowledge Exchange ...

Clinical Supervision, Knowledge Translation and Evidence-Based Practice
Clinical Supervision,
Knowledge Translation
and Evidence-Based Practice
Organizations of all sizes are increasingly concerned that clinical practice be based
on research where possible. The rise of “best practice” documents and guidelines
attests to the urgency of bridging the gap between research and practice and reflects
the reality that most clinicians do not read—let alone incorporate—scientific findings
and practice protocol. Funders, consumer groups, researchers and agency/program
management have all identified “knowledge translation” as a major challenge.
Knowledge translation has been defined by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
(cihr) as “the exchange, synthesis and ethically-sound application of research findings
within a complex system of relationships among researchers and users.” There is a
growing body of literature on the topic of knowledge translation relevant to health
care. The notion that clinical decisions should be made based on evidence-based
practices and systematic review has become widely accepted (Zwarenstein & Reeves,
2006). It is also well recognized that the results of research are unevenly adopted in
clinical practice (Haines, 1998). The process of translation does not happen on an
immediate or consistent basis because of the varying characteristics of adopters
(i.e., practitioners). For example, Rogers (1983) suggests that innovations are picked
up first by innovators and early adopters—the “champions” of practice innovations—
followed by the early majority, the late majority and the small group of late adopters
or “laggards.” In recognition of the challenges of transferring and adapting research
findings to clinical practice, attention has been focused on understanding factors
affecting the transfer of knowledge.
Reviews of knowledge transfer literature have suggested that the failure of collaboration
and communication between health care professionals has a profoundly negative
effect within the health care system (Kerner et al., 2005; Zwarenstein & Reeves, 2006).
To address this issue, it is important to design a clinical supervision process that
accommodates the needs of the many professions and disciplines in the health care
system, and to develop good inter-professional collaboration.
One of the most common strategies in enhancing or incorporating evidence-based
practice has been through clinically focused, continuing education workshops.
13