The purpose of this study was to evaluate the awareness and use of the Achilles tendinopathy toolkit (ATT), a knowledge translation (KT) strategy supporting evidence-informed management of midportion Achilles Tendinopathy (AT), by British Columbian physiotherapists (PTs).
A secondary goal of the study was to assess PTs strategies for AT management by examining the association between exploring the ATT and following best practice in clinical care as recommended by the ATT.
A total of 238 members of the Physiotherapy Association of British Columbia (BC) completed an online cross-sectional survey collecting information on demographics; awareness and exposure; perceptions, usability and applicability to clinical practice; knowledge; and attitudes. A clinical vignette assessed if respondents adhered to recommendations made by the ATT. Multi-variable logistic regression examined the association between exploring the ATT and following its recommendations.
This study revealed high awareness and moderate use of the ATT and suggested that future work should consider the impact of toolkits on patient outcomes. It also suggests toolkits are a feasible and meaningful KT strategy to provide clinicianswith valuable synthesized resources that have the potential to benefit patient outcomes.