Systematic Review of the Psychometric Properties of Instruments Used to Measure Knowledge Translation in Healthcare Professionals

Start/End Dates: March 2008 - February 2009

Investigators: Carole A. Estabrooks, Janet Squires (PhD student), Lars Wallin, Phyllis Hempel, Petter Gustavsson

Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Grant Amount: $100,000

The purpose of this project is to conduct a systematic review of the psychometric properties of instruments designed to measure the 'use of research'* with an emphasis on measuring it among healthcare providers, decision makers, and in healthcare organizations.

*Use of research: The use of research-based information** to influence one or more of the following:

  • the clinical practice of healthcare providers (i.e., individual practitioners)
  • the actions of healthcare decision makers
  • the functioning of a healthcare organization

Many terms are used in this field, for example, use of research, research uptake, research implementation, research utilization, knowledge utilization, knowledge translation, knowledge mobilization, innovation diffusion, evidence-based practice, etc.

**Research-based information: information that is empirically derived. This information may be reported in a primary research article, review/synthesis report, clinical practice guideline, or protocol. For the purpose of this review, we will assume that the information contained within a clinical practice guideline is research-based. However, the authors must make the research-basis for a protocol (or other similar decision-making tool, such as a clinical pathway) apparent in the research report.

Specific Objectives:

  1. To identify instruments used to measure the use of research among healthcare providers

  2. To identify instruments used to measure the use of research among healthcare decision makers

  3. To identify instruments used to measure the use of research in healthcare organizations

  4. To assess the psychometric properties (reliability and validity) of instruments used to measure the use of research among healthcare providers, decision makers, and in healthcare organizations