title: Attitudes and opinions of evidence-based practice among hand therapists: a survey study.
abstract: The adoption of evidence-based practice (EBP) principles is advocated by many professional organizations. The purpose of this study was to assess the current attitudes and opinions of hand therapists toward EBP. A 35-item electronic survey was sent via e-mail to 2,997 hand therapists and 312 (10.4%) of eligible therapists responded. There was an overall strong endorsement of EBP among most respondents. Nearly all respondents believe that EBP plays a positive role in clinical practice, improves patient outcomes and clinical decision making, and that therapists should be familiar with EBP techniques to critically appraise clinical research studies. Respondents had a positive attitude toward EBP and the main barriers to EBP included: time limitations, limited journal access, and lack of evidence for treating specific diagnoses. Efforts to advance EBP in hand therapy should focus on reducing these barriers.
  
  
  METHODS
  3b.
authors.affiliation: Hand Works Therapy, 2616 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota, FL 34239, USA. hotglassgal@comcast.net
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Valdes
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: von der Heyde
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003657:Decision Making; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D006801:Humans; D026761:Physical Therapy Specialty; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires