Evidence-Based Practice: Einstellungen, Kompetenzen und Barrieren bei Ergo- und Physiotherapeuten. Ergebnisse einer Kursevaluation an der Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften (ZHAW), Schweiz.

Background: Within the context of occupational and physical therapists' professionalisation evidence based practice (EBP) is gaining in importance. This development fundamentally changes therapeutic practice. Objective: This article examined the following questions: Which attitudes do Swiss occupational and physical therapists have towards EBP? Which barriers do they experience when implementing EBP? How can a course influence the attitudes and reduce barriers? Method: 46 occupational and physical therapists, who participated in the course Reflected practice -understanding science were interviewed twice with a questionnaire. Results: The interviewees had a positive attitude before participating in the course. Insufficient resources and competences were identified as main barriers. Follow-up showed that self-estimated research and information competences increased and that the barrier concerning competences and resources had declined. Conclusion: An increased self-confidence concerning database search, interpretation and understanding of scientific results is an important precondition for evidence-based working. Individual therapists as well as employers are responsible for promoting of EBP implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]