EBP Confidence and Behavior Throughout PT Edu

Evidence-based Practice Confidence and Behavior Throughout the Curriculum of Four Physical Therapy Education Programs: A Longitudinal Study

This study aimed to describe changes in EBP confidence and behavior of students from four physical therapy education programs throughout their curriculum using the Evidence-Based Practice Confidence (EPIC) Scale and the Evidence-Based Practice Implementation Scale (EBPIS).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Physical Therapy; Education; Evidence Based Practice
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Education

Detailed Description

Introduction Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a foundational process taught in health professional education, yet it is unclear when EBP confidence and skills are obtained.

Review of Literature Increases in EBP confidence and behaviors from the start of physical therapy programs to post graduation have been reported in studies that evaluated a single program or used non-valid questionnaires. This study aimed to describe changes in EBP confidence and behavior of students from four physical therapy education programs throughout their curriculum.

Subjects Two hundred sixty-nine physical therapy students were recruited across 4 PT programs (3 in US and 1 in Canada).

Methods Students completed the Evidence-Based Practice Confidence (EPIC) Scale and the Evidence-Based Practice Implementation Scale (EBPIS) at 6 timepoints: start of the program, prior to first clinical experience, after first clinical experience, at the end of classroom instruction, graduation, and one year post. Medians (Mdn) and 25th and 75th percentiles (P25, P75) were calculated for 42 (23.2%) students with complete data across all timepoints. Change between timepoints was assessed using Friedman's test and Wilcoxon signed rank test with a Bonferroni correction for post hoc analysis.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 269

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Participants will be enrolled in masters (University of Toronto) or doctorate physical therapy programs (Rutgers, Sacred Heart and Chatham). Physical therapy students and recent graduates will be invited to participate. Ages for students may range from 21-65

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• students enrolled in the 4 selected physical therapy programs

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

4

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
DPT A; Students from University A received their typical evidence based practice education over 3 years.	Behavioral: Education; This was an observational study of changes in evidence based confidence and behavior across 4 physical therapy programs. Students received their typical physical therapy education and we measured changes in evidence based practice confidence and behaviors across programs throughout the curriculum.
DPT B; Students from University B received their typical evidence based practice education over 3 years.	Behavioral: Education; This was an observational study of changes in evidence based confidence and behavior across 4 physical therapy programs. Students received their typical physical therapy education and we measured changes in evidence based practice confidence and behaviors across programs throughout the curriculum.
DPT C; Students from University C received their typical evidence based practice education over 3 years.	Behavioral: Education; This was an observational study of changes in evidence based confidence and behavior across 4 physical therapy programs. Students received their typical physical therapy education and we measured changes in evidence based practice confidence and behaviors across programs throughout the curriculum.
MSPT; Students from University D received their typical evidence based practice education over 2 years.	Behavioral: Education; This was an observational study of changes in evidence based confidence and behavior across 4 physical therapy programs. Students received their typical physical therapy education and we measured changes in evidence based practice confidence and behaviors across programs throughout the curriculum.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Evidence Based Practice Confidence	10 item questionnaire	4 years
Evidence Based Practice Behavior	18 item questionnaire	3 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
• Collaborators: University of Toronto; Chatham University; Sacred Heart University
• Investigators: Study Director: Wendy Romney, PhD, Sacred Heart University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 22, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 1, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): August 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 2, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 11, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): May 22, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 22, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 11, 2023
• Last Verified: May 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: Pro20140000413

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Data will be de-identified and shared with the study team.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No