Note.
Confidence using research evidence. ‘Not applicable’ responses excluded from analysis.

Barriers to using research to inform decision-making and practice

Survey respondents were asked to choose one main barrier to using research to inform decision-making and practice in their team/area of work (Figure 2). ‘Not enough time’ stood out as the leading area of difficulty (43%), followed by ‘lack of knowledge of research’ (15%). Other potential main barriers were identified by smaller proportions of respondents. Regarding the choice of main barrier, there were no significant differences between staff groups in terms of seniority and role.
[CHART]
Figure 2: Practitioner views on the barriers to using research to inform decision-making and practice in their team/area of work. Respondents asked to select one leading barrier . n=240

Further analysis of differences between practitioner groups

This section reports comparisons between staff groups, including those between grades, professions, duration of service, and prior experiences of research. As might be anticipated, respondents who held more positive response to the ‘Research Views’ measures (outlined in Table 3), were significantly more likely to report significant changes to practice as a result of research findings (p <.001) and to have conducted or participated in research themselves (p<.001 for both measures). However, those with more positive Research Views were not more likely to have attended a course related to using research to inform decision making and practice (p= .102).
Staff in senior leadership roles and staff who were registered professionals were significantly more likely than those in non-registered professions to report:
The survey returns allowed for comparisons between two leading professional groups in adult social care. With respect to all staff grades (registered and non-registered professionals) those working in occupational therapy were more likely than those in social work to have:
There were no differences between those in occupational therapy and social work/care in terms of:
When a comparison was made between those who had “worked in social care up to 10 years” and those who had “worked in social care for 11 years or over” (a similar comparison to that made by Gray et al, 2014), there were no significant differences in terms of Research Views, practice changes resulting from research findings, and other key variables. The only difference was that respondents who had worked in social care for 11 years or over and who were also on higher grades, were more likely to have attended a course related to using research in evidence-based practice (p =.034).
Multiple comparisons identified no differences between recency of qualification or age groups, with the exception that those aged over 39 years were more likely to positively rate their ability to apply research (p =.026)
There was little difference between the three local authorities in terms of the patterns of response. Compared to Local Authorities C and B, practitioners in Local Authority A were less positive in terms of their Research Views (p =.026) and had less experience of having conducted research (p =.049). However, this difference may be attributed to a lower proportion of senior leaders and management staff respondents in Local Authority A than the other authorities (p =.05).