Occupational Therapy News OTnews January 2019 | Page 35
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FEATURE
Di Bona et al (2017) conducted a qualitative study
to improve understanding about enablers of, and
challenges to, occupational therapists’ research
engagement. Occupational therapists (n=28) from
eight healthcare organisations that participated in the
Valuing Active Life in Dementia research programme
took part in focus groups. Thematic analysis revealed
two main themes, ‘research challenges’ and ‘research
enablers’, and associated sub-themes. Challenges
included recruitment, delivering a new intervention and
overwhelming paperwork; whilst peer and management
support, protected time and positive attitudes were
found to enable research involvement. The authors
identify the need for multifaceted collective action to
minimise challenges and maximise enablers, so that
occupational therapists are supported to engage with
research as part of clinical practice.
research here:
Find out what are your staff interested in: scope your areas
of clinical practice and identify potential research topics. To enthuse
staff’s interest in research, it needs to be an area that they want to
consolidate or improve.
Find collaborators: as clinicians we cannot work in isolation.
We need to develop a support link with academic colleagues in local
universities, undergraduate, post-graduate students, the research
and development office within your trust and clinical research
networks.
Seek out funding: research costs money. It is important
to explore various avenues for funding. Small amounts may be
available within your own trust or local authority to support your
team in preparation for developing your research proposal. This
may allow time-out for clinical staff to work on a proposal, provision
of equipment, production of information leaflets and treatment
protocols.
Larger funding amounts may be sourced from condition specific
charities, government initiatives or within our own profession, for
example the RCOT Annual Awards for Learning Development and
Research or the UK Occupational Therapy Research Foundation
(UKOTRF).
Develop resilience: the research journey is not without its
pitfalls. The process, paper work and procedures that have to be
followed, especially if seeking ethical approval, can be complex and
tedious. You may have to deviate from your original plans and good
team support is vital to keep teams going. Sometimes you need to
take time out to ‘reflect and re-group’.
Be an encourager: I have found taking the opportunity to be
involved in research gives great encouragement and positivity within
our team. We have been given many opportunities to showcase our
work locally, regionally and nationally.
Patricia says: ‘Our involvement in the world of research as
clinicians has brought many challenges, but also great satisfaction
and sense of achievement. The journey has included juggling the Reference
Di Bona L, Wenborn J, Field B, Hynes SM, Ledgerd R,
Mountain G, Swinson T (2017) Enablers and challenges
to occupational therapists’ research engagement:
a qualitative study. British Journal of Occupational
Therapy, 80(11), 642–650
She has been the motivator and encourager for her team to
dip their toe into research. In 2011, she established research links
with Dr Alison Porter-Armstrong, senior occupational therapy
lecturer from the Institute of Nursing and Health Research,
Ulster University, to form a research interest group within her
department. From these small beginnings research involvement
has included studies into seating on a rehabilitation ward and
upper limb stroke rehabilitation.
In 2014, Patricia was a co-applicant on a successful RCOT
UK Occupational Therapy Foundation Research Priority Grant
funding application. This funding allowed completion of a pilot
randomised controlled trial (RCT) of Mirror Box Therapy in upper limb
rehabilitation with sub-acute stroke patients.
In July this year the research team gained further funding from
Cross-border Healthcare Intervention Trials in Ireland Network
(CHITIN), which will allow them to complete a cross-border full
powered RCT of mirror box therapy in upper limb rehabilitation.
Patricia outlines her five top tips for engaging staff in and with
balance of clinical demands with protected time for research.
‘This experience has inspired our occupational therapy
department to further embrace the research process and to be
proactive in bridging the gap between clinical practice and academic
research.
‘It has been exciting to watch our ideas grow into fruition over
the last eight years. Now that we have tested the waters of research
we realise that it is a vast ocean of opportunities. It reinforces the
principle that evidence based practice and research can and should
be an integral component of clinical practice.
‘So, as a manager of a small occupational therapy department
who, yes, still have to meet the increasing demands of our day-to-
day clinical work, I challenge other occupational therapy managers to
take up the research challenge.’
Natalie Jones is acting head of occupational therapy at Sheffield
Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and research impact fellow with the
Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care
Yorkshire Humber (CLAHRC YH), where she is developing a research
impact tool for the NHS.
She is the research lead for acute therapy services and employs
two research therapists in a clinical research facility to deliver and
develop occupational therapy and physiotherapy research.
With over 24 years of experience, her research interests include
stroke and assistive technologies and she demonstrates her
commitment to supporting her teams to engage in and with research
through her own achievements.
Natalie is the founder and lead of a collaborative research
OTnews January 2019 35