title: Exploring the individual determinants of evidence uptake in allied health using a journal club as a medium.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A recent trial which examined the impact of a structured model of journal club (JC) demonstrated variability in evidence-based practice (EBP) outcomes across allied health disciplines. The aim of the current study was to determine if there are individual practitioner characteristics that could explain this variability and identify potential predictors of EBP outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  This exploratory study used the data obtained from the JC trial. The predictive value of practitioner-related variables including academic degree, previous exposure to EBP training, and previous research involvement was analyzed using univariate logistic regression models. The dose of intervention was also included in the exploratory analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The change in self-reported knowledge, evidence uptake, and attitude following participation in a JC was influenced by individual practitioner characteristics including their discipline, academic background, previous EBP training, previous research involvement, and JC attendance. Improvement in objective knowledge did not seem to be affected by any of these variables. Whether these individual characteristics have the ability to predict who will achieve less than, or greater than, 50% change in knowledge, attitude, and evidence uptake, is not known, except for academic background which predicted physiotherapists' improvement in attitude.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Participation in a structured JC can lead to significant improvements in EBP knowledge irrespective of the characteristics of individual practitioners. The change in attitude and evidence uptake, however, may be influenced by individual characteristics which will therefore require careful consideration when designing EBP interventions. An EBP intervention is likely to be successful if a systematic assessment of the barriers at different levels (ie, individual, organizational, and contextual) informs the choice of evidence implementation strategy.
authors.affiliation: International Center for Allied Health Evidence, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: Lucylynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lizarondo
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Grimmer
authors.forename: Saravana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
keywords: allied health; evidence uptake; evidence-based practice; individual predictors; journal club