Abstract

BUCHANAN, Helen; LORENZO, Theresa  and  LAW, Mary. Fostering evidence-based practice in community-based rehabilitation: Strategies for implementation. S. Afr. j. occup. ther. [online]. 2015, vol.45, n.2, pp.56-62. ISSN 2310-3833.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2310-3833/2015/V45N2A9.

Occupational therapists around the world are taking up the challenge to implement an evidence-based practice approach to the development of occupational therapy services. The emphasis in applying evidence-based practice within occupational therapy has been strongly biomedical in focus. In South Africa, many occupational therapists work in communities where their work is largely community-based rehabilitation. With no examples of how evidence-based practice can be applied in such settings, therapists have struggled with how it may be used to inform their practice. This paper explores the concepts of evidence-based practice and community-based rehabilitation, and illustrates how evidence-based practice can be applied within community-based rehabilitation. Examples are provided to show how evidence-based practice can realistically be applied in community-based rehabilitation programmes with the intention of empowering therapists to begin using evidence as a basis for their practice. It further explores how evidence-based practice can be used by occupational therapists to inform decision-making related to the development of community-based rehabilitation programmes and services.

Keywords : evidence-based practice; community-based rehabilitation; occupational therapy; practice-based evidence.

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