Grant: Operating Grant: Knowledge to Action

Knowledge Translation (KT) activities aim to improve the use of research evidence by healthcare decision makers to improve their decisions and optimise patient care. Canadian physicians engage in over 3 million hours of group learning continuing professional education and development (CEPD) each year. It is the commonest knowledge translation activity that physicians participate in to maintain their knowledge and competence. There is strong evidence that group learning can lead to improvements in the quality of care provided to patients. However at present it is likely that we are not maximising the benefits of CEPD activities by using emerging evidence from knowledge translation research on how to plan and deliver CEPD activities. The proposed project will bring together a team of nationally and internationally recognised CEPD providers (knowledge users) and KT researchers to develop the methods of planning and delivering KT optimised CEPD activities. They will use current KT concepts and methods to design three CEPD activities targeting common problems in family practice (low back pain, smoking cessation and diabetes management). The project will evaluate the impact of these KT optimised CEPD activities on participating family physicians' educational and cognitive outcomes. In addition, the project will collect data on CEPD providers' and KT researchers' perceptions on the value and feasibility of this approach. If successful, the project has the potential to enhance the benefits from physicians' participation in CEPD activities.